Sport is undergoing the procedure of conforming to our technologically-obsessed world. With video-assistant referees (VAR) and goal-line technology the latest installments to hit the headlines in football, it could be argued that the statistical sports bra has gone a little under the radar - given the volume of professional clubs using it day in, day out.

 

So what is it and, most importantly, why on Earth are men wearing bras? Well, it’s a revolutionary device in the training programme for a wide-range of sporting activities and allows coaches to see who’s pulling their weight in training and who’s been slacking. In other words, there’s a pretty valid reason manufacturing companies such as GPSports have over 150 clients across 10 different sports.

 

The system benefits of the bra is its ability to assess training volume and intensity of exercise. With indicators across distance covered, as well as intensity and work rate, it can enhance performance by accurately tracking and monitoring body conditions – such as acceleration and deceleration count, maximum speed and heart rate.

 

Additionally, the bra can actually minimalise your chances of getting injured, by managing your body-loading profile and identifying necessary break points to improve weaknesses and fatigue issues. Therefore, it can set recovery objectives for you to follow after you train. Impressive huh?

 

Well, there’s a bit of bad news… a statistical sports bra doesn’t come very cheap. In fact, according to Sports Wearables, the cost of a single vest can work out to be up to £1,000! They say it’s a price that assures the product’s usage is pretty much confined to professional athletes.  

 

Crystal Palace Under-23s football player Lewis Bryon has been reaping the benefits of a sports bra after being injured for almost half of last season. However, that didn’t stop the 18-year-old defender from bagging himself a professional contract earlier this year. He says it is thanks in part to the technology that has supported his game.

 

“By using the STATSports bra, we can match it up to how our body feels after training/matches to know if we have done too much and what our legs can take in terms of distance and intensity,” says Bryon. “It’s been showing me how hard I have worked and how much ground I’ve covered.”

 

Premier League outfit Crystal Palace are clients of STATSports, who cater for 11 other top-flight English clubs. “I find it very useful,” adds Bryon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sports Development Officer James Warnock, at Arsenal in the Community, says that if a player is too tired they are at risk of picking up an injury. Common sense you might think, but the statistical bras can actually monitor schedules and advise accordingly.

 

“If you go into a game, you might look at the team sheet and see that a certain player is surprisingly on the bench today,” says Warnock. “The club might have received some statistical information by the GPS units that says if this player plays today, he’ll be in the red zone and at a greater risk of getting injured… therefore the system helps to prevent injury,” he says.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With over 20 locations across the world, GPSports bra is the tracking system of European Football, along with STATSports and Catapult Sports, which have acquired many top clubs from around the globe. STATSports recently signed a deal with Brazil Football Confederation in time for this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

 

VAR, goal-line technology and bras that monitor heart rate. Fair to say the game is becoming just a tad technological, don’t you think?