Hope everyone is doing well and had an enjoyable Memorial Day holiday weekend. Thanks to all those who work so hard to memorialize our heros, those who have passed on and those who are still with us.
I wanted to take the opportunity in this post to discuss briefly a paper that was published in September of 2009 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning. The title of the paper is "Using near-infrared spectroscopy to determine maximal steady state exercise intensity." In this paper, the authors (Snyder and Parmenter, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) discuss a study they did on 9 men and 7 women using a medical version of the MOxy device, in this case referring to the metric as StO2 (Tissue Oxygen Saturation).
In the paper, the authors state that "Maximal steady state (MSS) speed can be determined from blood lactate concentration (HLa); however, this method is not optimal. (Lactate requires a finger stick blood sample). The purpose of this study was to determine whether near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology could be used to detect a breakpoint in percent oxygen saturation (StO2) of the muscle and whether the determined breakpoint exercise intensity could be used to determine MSS exercise intensity."
The testing protocol included "Sixteen distance runners and triathletes ... they completed an incremental exercise test. A change from linearity when plotting StO2 or HLa (Lactate) vs. running speed was defined as the breakpoint."
"The subjects then completed constant speed runs to determine maximal lactate steady state (MLSS). In 12 subjects, breakpoints were identified for both HLa and StO2 values." the paper goes on to say. This work was all done on a treadmill with the StO2 sensor on the calf muscle of the athlete.
Snyder states that "The results of this study lead us to conclude that the NIRS determination of StO2 is a noninvasive technique that is comparable with HLa (Lactate) in determining MSS intensity and therefore appropriate for use in determining exercise training intensity."
In other words, the MOxy approach to measuring Maximal Steady State, or the pace at which a runner or triathlete can sustain long distances without running out of energy, and without pacing too slow, is an "appropriate" methodology. And it is real-time, continuous, and non-invasive - which you can't get with a HLa (Blood Lactate) system.
Our thanks to Snyder and Parmenter for this excellent study. This is good work.
In the near future I will be highlighting some work being done at the University of Minnesota Athletic Department with the MOxy device. Stay tuned, its some pretty exciting feedback from real users of the device.
As I stated in previous posts, "The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the MOxy product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority."
That's all for now. Thanks for reading my blog!
Stuart Giere is CEO/Co-Founder of the Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor - Moxy Measures Your Muscle Oxygenation (SmO2) During Exercise.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Why? Why? Why?
Why are we doing this? Why would anyone need a MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor - from the extreme athlete looking to hit the top of their field, to a jogger looking for weight loss or cardio gains. As I stated in my last blog, we are doing this because:
"The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority."
Well, this week we have seen another major step forward in the potential of this product. As you know from my last blog entry, last week we talked to trainer and tri-athlete Christian Wilhelm of MVP Fuel in San Diego(http://www.mvpfuelsport.com/). This week we have feedback from another trainer and top athlete, Anna Larsson. If you are interested in who Anna is, just google "Anna Larsson Fitness" and she will show up in articles and pictures. Anna is a colleague of Christian at MVP Fuel. She's also got quite an impressive resume'. Here's what it says on her profile: "her sports are IFBB Professional Figure Athlete, MMA Fighter and Swedish Gladiator". (I'll show you a sample picture later.)
Anna's comments after using the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor last week were:
What struck our team as we reviewed our notes from the meeting with Anna was that there are a lot of products out there that really don't have nearly the meaningful impact as MOxy. The thing the folks at MVP Fuel are getting at with many of their comments is that it's "Real" or "Accurate" because it really measures the oxygen content in their muscle during their workout.
That's it for this entry in Stu's Blog. Thanks for reading my blog! (And feel free to comment!)
Oops - almost forgot the picture of Anna. Enjoy!
"The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority."
Well, this week we have seen another major step forward in the potential of this product. As you know from my last blog entry, last week we talked to trainer and tri-athlete Christian Wilhelm of MVP Fuel in San Diego(http://www.mvpfuelsport.com/). This week we have feedback from another trainer and top athlete, Anna Larsson. If you are interested in who Anna is, just google "Anna Larsson Fitness" and she will show up in articles and pictures. Anna is a colleague of Christian at MVP Fuel. She's also got quite an impressive resume'. Here's what it says on her profile: "her sports are IFBB Professional Figure Athlete, MMA Fighter and Swedish Gladiator". (I'll show you a sample picture later.)
Anna's comments after using the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor last week were:
- "Incredible piece of equipment."
- She emphasized the importance of being able to "see recovery".
- MOxy is "even better than heart rate". "Its the next step past heart rate...more detailed."
- "With MOxy you know when to pull back on your intensity, and when to push forward."
- Anna used the term "real-time" nearly a dozen times during the meeting.
What struck our team as we reviewed our notes from the meeting with Anna was that there are a lot of products out there that really don't have nearly the meaningful impact as MOxy. The thing the folks at MVP Fuel are getting at with many of their comments is that it's "Real" or "Accurate" because it really measures the oxygen content in their muscle during their workout.
That's it for this entry in Stu's Blog. Thanks for reading my blog! (And feel free to comment!)
Oops - almost forgot the picture of Anna. Enjoy!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
RECOVERY, RECOVERY, RECOVERY!
I was reading an article in Runner's World this week, and the focus was on (guess what?) RECOVERY.
We all know that there is a ton of data and experience behind the importance of understanding RECOVERY during workout intervals. But is there really a practical way to measure it?
The Runner's World article (June 2012) by Cindy Kuzma (page 29) talks about a variety of running drills that include RECOVERY periods - and the RECOVERY periods are all measured in TIME.
Just as an example, she refers to "Short Rest" intervals, between high intensity training intervals, you can teach the runner to "run through fatigue". She goes on to say that the rest period for this "short rest" is "30-90 Seconds". Really? That's a pretty big range. And ... it has to be. No two athletes are the same. No two RECOVERY periods are the same. So, if you really need a RECOVERY of 30 seconds, and you rest for 90 seconds, that's a 3X overshoot. And the opposite would also be true.
What Ms. Kuzma is merely doing is applying the current state-of-art technology for measuring recover periods - a watch. What she doesn't know (YET!) is that there is an emerging product technology, the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor, that DIRECTLY measures RECOVERY.
The MOxy team has been working with Christian Wilhelm (Head Performance Coach, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Ironman/Triathlete) at MVP Fuel in San Diego, CA (www.mvpfuel.com). Chris has been using two (2) MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensors on his clients for over a month, and has been able to assess MOxy's role in RECOVERY of athletes.
Chris stated recent, regarding his experience with using it on clients, "it's awesome to see recovery and depletion".
Chris also commented on something very important to the earlier discussion on using TIME for RECOVERY. He said that, "You can see the recovery, see when the clients are ready for more." And, "The differences between people range from 4 minutes down to 15 seconds."
I had one of the trainers at the local YMCA take the MOxy for a spin on the Spinner bike a few weeks ago, and here's an exerpt (below) from his MOxy Muscle Oxygen data. Note that he's pushing himself hard, and the MOxy Muscle Oxygen numbers to down into the 30% range. Then as the instructor gives him and the class a break, he hits a recovery of around 80%. These MOxy readings were taken on the Vastus Lateralis, the largest muscle in the Quadriceps muscle group.
The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority.
Thanks again for reading my Blog!
Stu
We all know that there is a ton of data and experience behind the importance of understanding RECOVERY during workout intervals. But is there really a practical way to measure it?
The Runner's World article (June 2012) by Cindy Kuzma (page 29) talks about a variety of running drills that include RECOVERY periods - and the RECOVERY periods are all measured in TIME.
Just as an example, she refers to "Short Rest" intervals, between high intensity training intervals, you can teach the runner to "run through fatigue". She goes on to say that the rest period for this "short rest" is "30-90 Seconds". Really? That's a pretty big range. And ... it has to be. No two athletes are the same. No two RECOVERY periods are the same. So, if you really need a RECOVERY of 30 seconds, and you rest for 90 seconds, that's a 3X overshoot. And the opposite would also be true.
What Ms. Kuzma is merely doing is applying the current state-of-art technology for measuring recover periods - a watch. What she doesn't know (YET!) is that there is an emerging product technology, the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor, that DIRECTLY measures RECOVERY.
The MOxy team has been working with Christian Wilhelm (Head Performance Coach, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Ironman/Triathlete) at MVP Fuel in San Diego, CA (www.mvpfuel.com). Chris has been using two (2) MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensors on his clients for over a month, and has been able to assess MOxy's role in RECOVERY of athletes.
Chris stated recent, regarding his experience with using it on clients, "it's awesome to see recovery and depletion".
Chris also commented on something very important to the earlier discussion on using TIME for RECOVERY. He said that, "You can see the recovery, see when the clients are ready for more." And, "The differences between people range from 4 minutes down to 15 seconds."
I had one of the trainers at the local YMCA take the MOxy for a spin on the Spinner bike a few weeks ago, and here's an exerpt (below) from his MOxy Muscle Oxygen data. Note that he's pushing himself hard, and the MOxy Muscle Oxygen numbers to down into the 30% range. Then as the instructor gives him and the class a break, he hits a recovery of around 80%. These MOxy readings were taken on the Vastus Lateralis, the largest muscle in the Quadriceps muscle group.
The team at Fortiori Design (www.fortiorides.com) is driving hard to get the product to market, and get this tool into the hands of athletes that would benefit from seeing directly and instantaneously what is happening in their muscles during workouts. Maximizing the efficiency of their workout, and maximizing the progress towards their performance goals, will always be our priority.
Thanks again for reading my Blog!
Stu
Monday, May 14, 2012
Hello Everyone
Thanks for reading my blog. And please feel free to comment - and ask questions as much as you want.
As I pondered the future of the product, it struck me this weekend that I have not taken enough time, even with friends, family, and a smattering of early users of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen device, to explain what a MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor is measuring. To achieve this, I have to take a little risk in pushing some of you beyond your technical understanding of the physics of how light propagates through tissue (travels through, gets absorbed, scatters). This is fundamental to how the device works. I have also mixed in a little physiology for those with an interest.
So, take yourself back to a time when you were on a camping trip, and, in the dark, you held a flashlight with your hand over the light. The characteristic I am talking about in this blog is the one you observed when you saw only "red" light coming through the other side of your hand.
The first big step is to understand that your blood is the carrier of many things for your body to use, and it carries away waste products as well. In the case of Oxygen supply, vital to your muscles and all tissue, the blood component that carries it through the body is called Hemoglobin.
The next big step is to understand that hemoglobin changes in "color" depending on just what it happens to be carrying. If it carries Oxygen, it is a different "color" than if it were carrying Carbon Dioxide, or simply carrying nothing at all.
That, finally, is where the MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor comes into the picture. By shining 4 different wavelengths of light, or "colors", into the muscle, and measuring the amount of each color of light that is returned, the MOxy sensor can accurately and instanteously determine how much Oxygen is in the muscle. The ratio of the absorption of these colors tells the on-board computer precisely the amount of Oxygen available in the muscle.
So that's how the technology works. It isn't quite as simple as that, but it's close enough to generate at least an appreciation for what the sensor is doing.
The next area of focus is what I will call the "so what" factor, or "Why would someone need to know this information?".
The answer can be quite varied. Medical applications have honed in on assessing patient status, even going as far as to predict when a patient is going to go into Shock.
The MOxy Muscle Oxygen device, however, is focused primary on health and fitness applications. The team at Fortiori Design (inventors of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor) are working with fitness trainers from around the country, testing the device under a variety of conditions. So far the response has been overwhelming.
The next step for the Fortiori team is to get their wireless prototype developed and in the hands of its early users for further testing. These systems will be available mid-Summer, with a planned "commercial" device by the Fall.
Here's a flyer that our U of MN team created this year. It's not our "official" marketing brochure, but it's still pretty cool stuff, and it gives you an idea of what the device (currently) looks like. They also have created a promotional video, as a part of their final presentation, that can be seen on our website at www.fortiorides.com . Check it out if you can.
Enjoy!
Stu
As I pondered the future of the product, it struck me this weekend that I have not taken enough time, even with friends, family, and a smattering of early users of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen device, to explain what a MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor is measuring. To achieve this, I have to take a little risk in pushing some of you beyond your technical understanding of the physics of how light propagates through tissue (travels through, gets absorbed, scatters). This is fundamental to how the device works. I have also mixed in a little physiology for those with an interest.
So, take yourself back to a time when you were on a camping trip, and, in the dark, you held a flashlight with your hand over the light. The characteristic I am talking about in this blog is the one you observed when you saw only "red" light coming through the other side of your hand.
The first big step is to understand that your blood is the carrier of many things for your body to use, and it carries away waste products as well. In the case of Oxygen supply, vital to your muscles and all tissue, the blood component that carries it through the body is called Hemoglobin.
The next big step is to understand that hemoglobin changes in "color" depending on just what it happens to be carrying. If it carries Oxygen, it is a different "color" than if it were carrying Carbon Dioxide, or simply carrying nothing at all.
That, finally, is where the MOxy Muscle Oxygen sensor comes into the picture. By shining 4 different wavelengths of light, or "colors", into the muscle, and measuring the amount of each color of light that is returned, the MOxy sensor can accurately and instanteously determine how much Oxygen is in the muscle. The ratio of the absorption of these colors tells the on-board computer precisely the amount of Oxygen available in the muscle.
So that's how the technology works. It isn't quite as simple as that, but it's close enough to generate at least an appreciation for what the sensor is doing.
The next area of focus is what I will call the "so what" factor, or "Why would someone need to know this information?".
The answer can be quite varied. Medical applications have honed in on assessing patient status, even going as far as to predict when a patient is going to go into Shock.
The MOxy Muscle Oxygen device, however, is focused primary on health and fitness applications. The team at Fortiori Design (inventors of the MOxy Muscle Oxygen Sensor) are working with fitness trainers from around the country, testing the device under a variety of conditions. So far the response has been overwhelming.
The next step for the Fortiori team is to get their wireless prototype developed and in the hands of its early users for further testing. These systems will be available mid-Summer, with a planned "commercial" device by the Fall.
Here's a flyer that our U of MN team created this year. It's not our "official" marketing brochure, but it's still pretty cool stuff, and it gives you an idea of what the device (currently) looks like. They also have created a promotional video, as a part of their final presentation, that can be seen on our website at www.fortiorides.com . Check it out if you can.
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Today I was finally able to take my new Motorola MOTOACTV out for a run. I did 3 miles at 5:30 this morning. It was great for a run - cool breeze, no rain - and Billions of Bugs! It was hard to breath at times.
Back to the MOTOACTV: great device. Looks and feels like the iPod Nano - clip-on, or wrist worn, or strap-on. Plays music - which I found out I really like - plus its a GPS with all the workout feedback and analysis I want. Only knock on this thing - it chews up battery a bit too fast. I think they've got some software upgrades that are helping. Wouldn't be good for a marathon - but for anything shorter it would be great. As I got close to home, a voice came through my headphones telling me to be sure to hydrate soon (cool!).
One more thing about MOTOACTV - it's using the new Bluetooth LE (low energy) for wireless communication - and our Muscle Oxygen device will be communicating with it by the end of Summer!
Back to the MOTOACTV: great device. Looks and feels like the iPod Nano - clip-on, or wrist worn, or strap-on. Plays music - which I found out I really like - plus its a GPS with all the workout feedback and analysis I want. Only knock on this thing - it chews up battery a bit too fast. I think they've got some software upgrades that are helping. Wouldn't be good for a marathon - but for anything shorter it would be great. As I got close to home, a voice came through my headphones telling me to be sure to hydrate soon (cool!).
One more thing about MOTOACTV - it's using the new Bluetooth LE (low energy) for wireless communication - and our Muscle Oxygen device will be communicating with it by the end of Summer!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Today is the first day of my Blog. I am excited about getting this going, something I have been wanting to do. As an entrepenuer in a new start up business, I am trying to help get a new product launched. This effort is placed mostly on the shoulders of my capable partner, Roger, and on a host of hired and volunteer associates that are all helping on some small way to help pull it all together. It's not been an easy path so far - but we are starting to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to all my terrific friends!
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