Professional and amateur athletes have a lot invested in the level of their physical performance and fitness, and more athletes are looking to wearable technology to help them reach and remain in peak shape.
One such product is Push Band, an armband that tracks and analyzes an athlete’s weight training program. The Push Band retails at $189, tracks sets, reps, and power, providing metrics that let you make an informed decisions about how and when to change your workout routine. The Push mobile app will make the decisions on your behalf, recommending when to push forward to a higher level or to slow down before you tear something. Push Band is mainly for upper body exercise and does not monitor heart rate.
From a business standpoint, sports is looking more and more to be a profitable niche market, especially for wearables. After all, in the professional sphere we’re talking about players who get multiple millions for a single season, and owners and coaches who will pay almost anything to win.
Canadian investors and entrepreneurs seem to have jumped into this area a bit more quickly than others. In February, the Canadian business incubator DMZ announced a hub for sports startups, the first of its kind in North America.
One startup, Project 1, has designed a GPS-based movement tracker intended to improve an athlete’s skills by providing information on in-play speed, direction, acceleration and jumping. The first iteration of the tracker focuses on soccer players, but there are plans to expand the device’s scope.
Since the company is Canadian, hockey seems a good next choice. SCOOOOORE!