Are You Ready For Smart Workout Clothes?
What if you could tell whether or not your client was hydrated by simply looking at an app? A research breakthrough increases the likelihood that, in the near future, athleticwear sensors in smart workout clothes will provide this valuable performance data. Soon, organic thin-film transistors may be embedded in athletic apparel for real-time data collection, according to Canadian researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Ottawa.
What this means is that coaches may be able to monitor hydration levels and other metabolic data from athletes during training by using sweat analysis in smart workout clothes. “The applications are sort of anything you can dream of,” said senior investigator Benoît Lessard, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa. The goal is to create a startup company and then pursue further development options.
The research was published in ACS Applied Materials (2020; 13 [1], 1008–20).
See also: New Wearables Can Measure Body Chemistry
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
