(Newswire.net — November 9, 2015) — Running can either be addicting or intimidating. Whether you’re a first 5K, a seasoned marathoner or somewhere in between, all runners share two things in common: Fear of injury, and a will to improve performance.
Therefore, shoes become the most critical piece of equipment. We spare no expense to find the right comfort and construction — not to mention style. However, even the best running shoe cannot prevent injury if your running form is off balance or your body experiences too much force.
Runners know their bodies well. Every slight pain signals a possible need for adjustment. Unfortunately, by the time the pain is experienced, it could be too late.
If a runner could monitor every step while running, tracking how the force is being applied throughout the stride, the runner could prevent the pain by making a correction on the fly. Consequently, the runner can go further or faster.
According to Stephanie Guzzo, athletic trainer, the keys to avoiding injury from running is proper form and balance throughout the stride which can cause problems from improper heel and ball striking, pronation and supination.
“Most athletes don’t realize they’re running posture and idiosyncrasies while running can really put a lot of unnecessary force on the body and joints,” said Guzzo, who trains with youth, collegiate and professional athletes. “Using Mettis allows the individual to easily, unobtrusively, monitor every step and change how they are running to achieve maximum performance.”
According to Tony deGreef, a sports executive and entrepreneur who created the Mettis Trainer, the key to enjoying running is proper balance, “but there are no affordable and convenient ways to measure balance. Until now.”
“I designed the Mettis Trainer® to give the athlete the ability to make slight adjustments to your gait, form and balance during the activity.”
From Bend Tech, LLC this January, the Mettis Trainer is the first, and patent-pending, shoe insert with companion mobile app that tracks pressure points felt on the sole, enabling runners to self-correct balance and form to achieve optimal performance.
For beginning runners, or those building up to a marathon, deGreef says the Mettis Trainer is an ideal companion, particularly to help avoid being injured a long way away from home.
“Every runner, especially beginners, need to study their form and find a stride that they can sustain,” said deGreef, who developed the Mettis Trainer. “Using our tool, will give them a better chance of enjoying the sport, and become like a new best friend.”
The Mettis Trainer® includes two shoe inserts, each weighing less than 60 grams and embedded with three proprietary BendSensors®, and features comfortable yet durable sole estimated to last 300-500 miles. The system displays real-time data via Bluetooth™to a wireless device. This proprietary BendSensors measure force applied in each heel, and on the lateral and medial side of the foot.
The Mettis Trainer® tracks cadence, foot landing technique and percentage of weight distribution on both feet as you walk and run. The Mettis Trainer® dashboard also accurately counts steps, monitors speed and distance and progress toward running goals.
The designers added intuitive analytics and customizable graphs, and the ability to import data from other apps to integrate with the Mettis platform. This gives users much more data about their training history, run comparisons, improvements and overall experiences — and allowing them to share the information with a running buddy or trainer.
More information available at press.mettistrainer.com.