New Tech: Smart Clothing for Fitness

Many fitness lovers like data. We can track our heart rate, stress, sleep cycles, and activity level. We can't always tell on a day-to-day basis the progress our bodies are making just by sight, but with today's technology, we get instant feedback. It's one of the reasons why smartwatches, heart rate monitors, and activity trackers have become so popular. But what if that technology was rolled into your workout attire? And, what if they could track even more data to help you reach your goals? A few innovators are trying to do just that. We've put together a brief overview of some of the smart clothing and wearable products other than your standard smartwatch or activity tracker.

Wearable Smart Clothing for Fitness

From vibrating yoga pants to socks with sensors or brainwave headbands, the options for smart wearables are getting pretty creative. Many of these products may still be in their infancy within the market, however, they just might be on to something. If you like to track your data and performance, consider giving them a try. As innovators continue to improve data accuracy, style, availability, and cost, they might be the next big trend in fitness.

Athos Core

This wearable compression attire seems to be one of the leaders in the smart clothing industry today. The clothing features little sensors inside the shirts and shorts. The sensors measure a variety of biometric data (heart rate, calorie expenditure, rest periods compared to activity periods, and more). The sensors send feedback to the user's smartphone. But, what the one thing that makes this product stand out is its ability to track muscle activity during a workout. Not only does it track muscle contribution (which muscles are being used) but it also tracks how hard those muscles are working.

• Company: Athos

• Best For: Everyone

• Price: $149-$746

Hexoskin

Hexoskin Smart is another leader in smart clothing. The innovative wearable sensors are tucked into high-quality performance fabric. They track a variety of biometrics like heart rate, breathing, steps, and intensity of an activity. But, the sensors don't just monitor biometrics during exercise. They can also collect data on sleeping habits (sleep time, sleep positions, sleep efficiency, amount of time in each stage of rest, and more). And, the line has sizes available for men, women, and kids.

• Company: Hexoskin (Carré Technologies Inc.)

• Best For: Everyone

• Price: $169-$499

Nadi X Yoga Pants

These one-of-a-kind pants are used specifically for yoga. Little sensors are embedded in the pants near the major joints of the legs. The sensors supply vibrational feedback to help the wearer feel their posture. The creators have tried to pack comfort and style into the pant but also allow them to double as a digital instructor that helps guide the user to proper yoga form.

• Company: Wearable X

• Best For: Yoga lovers of all levels

• Price : $249

Sensoria Smart Socks

These lightweight, flexible socks that contain three textile sensors in the fabric located underneath each foot. A lightweight anklet connects to the ankle of the socks and sends feedback to the user's smartphone. The sensors can track cadence, distance, heart rate during runs, and even foot strike (which may help catch injury-prone techniques).

• Company: Sensoria

• Best For: Runners

• Price: $199

OMSignal Smart Bra

It's a sports bra built specifically for female runners. It combines some of the data tracking benefits of a smartwatch or a heart rate monitor. The creators emphasized comfort, support, and fit, but the sports bra can also track heart rate, distance, and breathing rate. A few reviewers have claimed that after data is collected from a handful of runs, the individual's heart rate zones are calculated to help guide their workouts.

• Company: OMSignal

• Best For: Runners

• Price: $169

Other Smart Wearable Technology for Fitness

These options technically aren't clothing but they are still interesting pieces of technology for fitness.

Moov Run

It's a lightweight electronic wearable that can track a variety of biometrics, typically worn on the ankle or wrist. The type of data collected varies based on the type of exercise. For example, when swimming it can collect stroke count, lap count, distance per stroke, etc. For cyclers, it can capture speed, distance, cadence, and more. And, for runners, it can gather pace, range of motion, cadence, etc.

• Company: Moov

• Best For: Everyone

• Price: $59.95

Mocapsuit SE

This may not be something you would want to wear to the gym but it's an interesting data collector. It is a unique full-body suit with up to 24 sensors that capture data to help support movement analysis during athletic performance. The sleek, stretchy fabric allows the sensors to track the movement without resistance. However, this wearable doesn't seem to be available in the US yet.

• Company: AiQ Synertial

• Best For: Athletes or anyone in the sports science industry evaluating biomechanics

• Price: Varies in each country

InteraXon (Muse)

The Muse headband senses an individual's brain waves and translates those waves into sounds that help guide meditation. More mellow sounds indicate a calmer mind while more intense sounds indicate the brain is more active. The intention is to help remind the individual to bring their awareness back to their breath and calm the mind.

• Company: Interaxon

• Best For: Everyone

• Price: $150-$345

Do you enjoy learning different ways to help increase your client's athletic performance? If so, check out ISSA's Strength and Conditioning Certification. You'll gain the knowledge to help you translate some of these biometrics into improved performance.