How tech enables modern athletes to train better

After being substituted against Serbia with an ankle sprain and ruled out for the next couple of games, Neymar posted a picture on social media of his leg wrapped in a huge compression boot. Developed by NASA, the boot employs a trifecta of massage treatments to get the blood circulating. It also helps with soft tissue and bone healing, as well as venous return, reducing swelling, relieving pain, reducing muscular fatigue, and getting rid of built-up lactic acid and cramps.

Thanks to this, the Brazilian star player came back in the vital group-16 game to become the man of the match. Had this injury been in a match 10 years ago, Neymar could have ended up being an audience member for the remainder of the Qatar world cup. This is a fresh example of  how tech can help athletes get ready for the sports.

Technology in sports training is here to stay. Some applications and devices increase on- and off-field performance. Smart gear tracks athletes' biometrics and movements to avoid injury and quantify performance. VR headsets combined with software platforms offer a realistic training environment. Here is more on how tech supports sports training.

Wearables

From cycling to tennis, swimming to running, football to cricket, wearable technologies are an integral part of modern day sports training, offering a detailed view of how an athlete's body is functioning. As the name would suggest, this sports performance technology is designed to be worn by players on or off the playing field. Through which coaches and fitness experts get different data to work with. The athlete's respiration, heart rate, hydration levels, and body temperature may all be monitored and these metrics can help the trainer determine what aspects each athlete needs to focus on more. 

Virtual Reality

Avik Anwar is the first Bangladeshi racer to win on a Formula 1 track. How do racers like him drill? The answer is Virtual Reality (VR). With the help of VR you can experience truly immersive sim racing and practice in the same sense of speed and connection to the track. Allowing players to practise without the fear of physical injury, a virtual reality device simulates game conditions to train basketball players, football players, and other athletes who compete in team sports.

In football training, VR technology is far more effective. One can play in a virtually simulated training ground and get an analysis of his performance. At the same time, it prevents players from real world distractions.

With immersive headsets, head-tracking sensors, high-resolution displays, VR technology, though cannot replace physical training, is by far the most effective training tech, allowing players hundreds of hours of training without that much of physical effort.

Data Driven Analysis

At the core of any technology-driven training is to leverage data for improved performance and getting ready for specific opponents. Rather than leaving practice sessions to chance, today's high-tech environment allows trainers to document and track the performance of their athletes with a degree of precision that was impossible in earlier generations. Big data tools make sense of the athletes' training data.

Video based technologies have brought a paradigm shift in cricket analysis. Nothing remains a mystery now.  In cricket, for example,  coaches often use video recordings to identify and correct technical flaws in batsman stance, backlift, timing, footwork, follow-through, etc. In bowling, it helps to analyse the bowler run-up line, run-up speed, ball gripping, release positions, ball swing and spin, etc.

Vision Training

Vision training is a newer form of sports performance technology that's starting to become more mainstream among professional athletes. Essentially, the goal of vision training is to improve your reflexes, cognitive function, and visual accuracy. While these mental benefits can certainly pay off in the real world as well, they are particularly useful in sports like football, basketball, hockey, and more.

Injury Prevention and Recovery

Injuries in sports are quite prevalent. Cutting edge tech now helps expedite recovery times. Muscle performance may be analysed by wearable devices. After that, medical professionals may fine-tune rehabilitation procedures. Compression treatment, oxygen therapy, and cryotherapy are all examples of technological interventions that have been shown to aid in healing. It is possible to reduce the number of sports-related injuries with the use of wearable gadgets that monitor an athlete's vital signs. Wearing one of these gadgets during practice or a game is a great way to keep tabs on your vitals like heart rate and breathing rate, as well as your core temperature.