New Metric Feature: Distance Covered
A Key Metric in Athlete Load Monitoring and Injury Prevention
In sports science and athletic performance, monitoring an athlete's workload is crucial for optimizing performance and preventing injuries. At Plantiga, we're excited to announce another advancement in our athlete monitoring system with the release of our new Distance Covered metric. This feature enables our users to bridge the gap between laboratory-based force plate data and on-field GPS tracking by providing a comprehensive in-game/practice athlete monitoring solution.
Understanding Distance Covered
Distance Covered is the cumulative distance an athlete travels during training a session or competition. It quantitatively measures the overall volume of physical demand placed on an athlete during a given activity. Some examples of its applications include:
Total Workload Quantification: a straightforward way to quantify an athlete's workload. It allows coaches and sports scientists to track the volume of work an athlete is doing over time.
Intensity Insights: When combined with time data, it provides a lens into the intensity of a training session or match. For example, a higher distance covered in a shorter time indicates a more intense session.
Position-Specific Analysis: The distance covered in team sports can vary significantly between playing positions. This metric helps in tailoring training programs to meet the specific demands of different roles within a team.
Marrying Lab Precision with Field Usability
Traditionally, athlete monitoring has relied on two systems: force plates in laboratories and GPS tracking on the field. While both provide valuable insights, they're always used in isolation.
While distance covered on its own is a valuable metric, it’s important to also consider its limitations when used without contextual information:
Quality vs. Quantity: Total distance doesn't account for the quality of movement or the specific activities performed.
Sport-Specific Relevance: The importance of total distance may vary depending on the sport. For example, it may be more relevant in soccer or rugby than in sports like weightlifting.
Individual Variations: Athletes may have different thresholds for a high or low total distance based on their physiology and sport-specific position.
Plantiga’s approach allows you to assess the total distance covered, as well as the distance covered in different speed zones, and analyze asymmetries within these zones. The ability to assess asymmetries in speed zones in conjunction with the distance covered provides a new, more fine tuned view of movement strategies and compensation patterns from on-field/on-court environments.
How Our Approach is Different
Extremely Accurate: We've developed one of the most accurate distance tracking algorithms available, with an error rate of less than 2%. Because we measure directly from the feet, we are not bound by the limitations of GPS technology, such as satellite dependency and sampling frequency issues, providing consistent and accurate data.
Versatile and Accessible: Perhaps the most significant advantage of our system is its versatility. Unlike traditional GPS units, our system works anywhere - indoors, outdoors, underground, or on top of a mountain.
Speed Zone Analysis: Our technology provides detailed speed zone analysis, a crucial metric in modern sports science. We've taken this further by characterizing movement asymmetries in addition to distance covered within each speed zone, offering a more nuanced understanding of an athlete's performance across different intensities.
Informed RTP Decision Making: We analyze crucial biomechanical asymmetries linked to injury, rehabilitation, and recovery. This provides coaches and trainers with invaluable insights into how athletes adapt to training, especially post-injury.
Conclusion
By combining distance covered, speed zones, and biomechanical asymmetries, we offer a comprehensive picture of an athlete's mechanical load and overall training intensity, providing coaches, trainers, and athletes with the tools to optimize performance and minimize injury risk.
Stay tuned for more updates!