Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Sweat Tracking

I would really more information about my fitness levels and performance.  One aspect that I'd like to deal with is going into a workout properly hydrated and being able to track hydration throughout the exercise.  There doesn't appear to be much out there in terms of commercially available equipment.  But this article discusses much of current state of the art and the ongoing research in the field.

My preferred usage of the device would be:

  1. Slip moisture tracking device on around 11am.
  2. Around 11:15 or so, get email or text advising me to drink a certain amount of water before I workout at noon.  The amount and timing is sufficient to ensure that when I start my workout, I will be adequately hydrated.
  3. I begin my workout shortly after noon.
  4. Throughout my workout, either at specified time intervals or hydration intervals, I'm updated to my body's hydration status.
  5. After my workout, I'm advised on the idea amount of water to consume to ensure a speedy recovery from the workout I've just done.
  6. Information is tracked and easily integrated into fitbit and other data.

I think that while this could eventually be integrated in an all-in-one tracking device (like the Surge), I don't think that it needs to be to be a successful device.  Here's why:

  • I don't need to track hydration all of the time.  Certainly not while sitting in my office chair.
  • Accurate hydration likely requires a fairly large area patch of skin to get useful measurements.  Not ideal for continuous wear.
  • Athletes will be willing to pay a fair bit in both money and inconvenience to get this information.

Those are my thoughts for now, more may be added as it comes to me.  Let me know what you think!