If you thought using heart rate zones was adding science to your training, then InsideTracker just took things up a level.
The company, which combines quantified blood biometrics and DNA insights via an iOS app and web dashboard, will now augment your Garmin data to add a level of sophistication to your training plans.
InsideTracker involves sending off a blood sample, which is tested for a range of biomarkers. You need to update it every 3-6 months, which can be done using a mail order kit.
You can also use DNA services such as 23andme, which will offer insights into your genetic disposition for health markers and fitness goals.
But the company has piqued our interest because Garmin wearables users can now add a bunch of context to the results.
Connecting Garmin Connect to the InsideTracker dashboard will pull in data such as activity type, activity duration, activity heart rate, resting heart rate and sleep duration.
This will feel what InsideTracker calls Pro Tips, which will provide information on workout frequency, intensity, sleep quality and nutrition. Examples include “you didn’t sleep well last night, since you have a genetic predisposition to low magnesium, and your blood levels of magnesium were low last time you tested, take XXmg of magnesium now to improve sleep."
It will also keep track of workouts and workout intensity, and supposedly aid recovery using knowledge of your biometric profile.
And it will also fathom out “outliers” from “habitual” data, such as regular training sessions from perhaps a singular endurance event, which could have a much bigger impact on your recovery. You can check out more details on its website.
We’ve also seen metabolic analysing device Lumen also announce a Garmin integration. This will correlate Body Battery, heart rate, and workout data with its metabolism readings to estimate how the body shifts from carbs to fats as a fuel source.
This is, of course, crazy in depth stuff – InsideTracker is aimed at athletes primarily – but both developments show how wearable data can be used outside of traditional companion apps.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.