This Super Bowl, the buzz is about more than just the clash of titans on the field. It’s also about artificial intelligence or AI and how it’s being used for all aspects of the game.
While much of the talk about AI use in football focuses on creating better plays and helping coaches better review film, it also plays a big role in another aspect of player development. I’m referring to a player’s strength and conditioning programs, recovery and overall health.
In this article I show you how players are using AI to enable fitness equipment and performance trackers to get stronger and faster so they perform better and are less likely to get injured.
I’ve also included tips so you can make artificial intelligence based fitness trackers part of your workouts and train like the pros.
In the realm of AI-driven fitness, Perch stands out. Born from the minds of MIT student athletes Jacob Rothman and Jordan Lucifer, it represents a seismic shift in training technology. According to the company Perch is used by ½ the teams in the NFL along with elite and pro athletes in other sports.
What is Perch? It’s a camera that you put or ‘perch’ on top of a squat rack. It then records every exercise, adjusting automatically so nothing is missed. Workouts aren’t recorded for players to post on Instagram. The 3D cameras are measuring how fast you do each rep and several other variables.
Perch takes the data collected for every exercise and uses AI to analyze it to show a player’s progress and help plan better workouts. This can be adding more weight, doing more reps or sets, and even changing exercises.
Building on the theme of personalized training, the next section introduces another groundbreaking tool:
Proteus: AI Fitness Equipment That Trains Players In 3D
While Perch works with equipment you already have, Proteus is exercise equipment you can use for dozens of exercises. Like Perch it has AI built right into it.
Its unique selling point is its ability to offer consistent 3D resistance, mimicking real-life sports movements like throwing. Proteus claims that the resistance generated stays constant throughout an exercise unlike traditional exercises where this varies during a rep.
While you’re exercising Proteus’ software uses artificial intelligence to monitor your performance. Like Perch the data recorded can be used to track your performance over time and make adjustments to a workout. For example a coach may want to track a quarterback’s arm and shoulder strength doing throwing motion style exercises. Proteus does this for them so they can create a workout to help their player perform better.
Let’s next explore how wearable tech offers unprecedented insights to Super Bowl players and their coaches.
Catapult: Personal Performance Insights
Catapult is a wearable tracker used by all 32 NFL teams. It’s a thin vest that better resembles a sports bra with a small sensor that tracks players’ every move attached.
Like Perch and Proteus, Catapult tracks all sorts of workout and performance data. This includes: the player’s speed, running intensity, total distance covered, and specific routes run. For NFL players, this means personalized insights coaches can use to tweak their training.
Unlike Perch and Proteus which cost thousands of dollars and are typically sold to teams, gyms, and other businesses, Catapult is not exclusive to the pros. You can buy them online for $179 at the company’s store.
Using one can give you all the same data as the pros so you too can build a better body even faster. Another cool thing about them is they have a leaderboard that shows how your performance matches up to other users. Including the pros.
Catapult makes every gym session into a data-driven event, ensuring your time sweating yields the best results.
Introducing a tool that brings comprehensive health monitoring to your wrist, the following section details the wide-reaching benefits of Whoop:
Whoop Wristbands: AI Health And Fitness Tracking
Whoop bands are one of the most popular fitness and health wearable trackers available. You may already own one. Every NFL player does, including the guys in this year’s Super Bowl.
Why do NFL players wear this band? Whoop tracks all their health and recovery during and after workouts. Some of the things trackers do are: how hard they worked, their sleep quality, and how much they’ve recovered after a workout or game. Whoop uses AI to take all of this data to help players stay rested and ready on game days
Here’s what Kansas City Chiefs quarterback
Patrick Mahomes has to say about using a Whoop fitness tracker.
“I’ve had my WHOOP for months and I love it. It has helped me understand my own training and health in a new way.”
You don’t need to be an NFL player to reap the benefits of Whoop. These wristbands use AI to analyze your daily health data, offering insights that can revolutionize how you approach fitness. By understanding your body’s needs, you can adapt your training to maximize results and minimize risks.
Whether you’re training for a marathon or just trying to stay fit, Whoop offers a personalized health overview, making your fitness journey more informed and effective.
Next, we examine how AI’s predictive capabilities are making strides in preventing injuries, benefiting athletes at all levels:
Amazon Web Services (AWS): Creating The Digital Athlete
The collaboration between AWS and the NFL might sound like it’s all about big data and high stakes. But at its core, it’s about injury prevention – a concern shared by athletes at all levels.
AWS uses AI and billions of data points for every player in the league. This information is used by the computer to find if a player is susceptible to an injury. With this information the medical and coaching teams can then make adjustments to decrease the odds it happens.
Here’s a YouTube video with a brief demonstration.
Workout With AI Like The Pros
In conclusion, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the workouts of pro football players exemplifies a groundbreaking shift that takes performance, health, and recovery to a new level. By using the AI-driven technologies such as Perch, Proteus, Catapult, Whoop wristbands, and AWS’s predictive analytics players can reach their peak potential with personalized, data-driven insights.
These tools aren’t just for the pros. You can use the products mentioned here or other fitness equipment and apps that use AI for better results. If you’re just starting out, a chatbot, smart watch and phone will help you do 90% of what’s mentioned in this article, and lots of other stuff that isn’t.
I’ve been fascinated with human performance and striving to help myself and others perform our best since I was a skinny and weak 90 lb high school freshman. This led to studying exercise science and biochemistry in college and graduate school and working with countless men and women to get leaner, stronger, and fitter. I’ve also published more than 1,000 articles on physical fitness and performance for dozens of publications including: Stayfitcentral, Business Insider, Lifehack, and Breaking Muscle.
I’ve been fascinated with human performance and striving to help myself and others perform our best since I was a skinny and weak 90 lb high school freshman. This led to studying exercise science and biochemistry in college and graduate school and working with countless men and women to get leaner, stronger, and fitter. I’ve also published more than 1,000 articles on physical fitness and performance for dozens of publications including: Stayfitcentral, Business Insider, Lifehack, and Breaking Muscle.
