Myotest
What is it?
The Myotest is a wireless hand-held device weighing just a few ounces. It provides quantitative measures of an athlete's muscular performance in just five minutes (say their promo). The unit uses three-dimensional accelerometry to determine power, strength and speed information of athletic movements. There is also the Myotest PRO with the same hardware, just including software with more features.
What does it test?
The Myotest website lists the following parameters that it can measure, and using these several fitness tests can be performed such as 1RM (e.g. bench press and squat), vertical jump height, plus more.
- Power (watts)
- Contact Time (ms)
- Force / Strength (newton)
- Flight Time (ms)
- Velocity / Speed (cm/s)
- Muscle Stiffness
- Reactivity
- Power/speed & power/Strength training zones
How does it work?
The unit uses three-dimensional accelerometry. By measuring body movement in three dimensions (backwards and forwards, up and down, side to side), the body can be tracked in space. The speed (and change in speed) of movement can be used to calculate such things as flight time, number and speed of repetitions and power. Many physical parameters can then be calculated from these parameters.
For example, for the vertical jump test, the start of the jump and the peak can be determined from when the accelerometer determines the vertical displacement is zero, and the time of the jump then used to calculate the height of the jump (see vertical jump using flight time). The calculation for 1RM is more complex (and maybe less accurate?). The myotest unit is attached to the bar. With the increased load in each lifting series, there a reduction in speed. The unit extrapolates this regression and gives the load corresponding to a theoretical speed of 10 cm/second.
Examples
There is a demonstration of the Myotest as part of the Vertical Jump Videos.
Conclusion
The Myotest is a simple all-round fitness test device. However, if you wish to measure a range of fitness parameters, the traditional individual apparatus specific to each test and other techniques may provide you with more transparent and possibly more reliable results. If you wanted a simple all in one device, this would suit over the bulkier and more expensive individual testing products.
Related Pages
- More Testing Equipment
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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