These waistcoats incorporate a GPS device inside that collects multiple data, through which it is intended to improve the performance of a player. Among the variables collected are: speed, distance covered, sprints, muscle fatigue indexes, all the impacts suffered by the player during a match, heart rate, accelerations and decelerations. In addition, it also shows the areas of the field of play that the player is running through thanks to the data collected by the heat map.
The GPS training waistcoats have a signal receiver that immediately collects all these data and parameters. Once collected on the pitch, this data is fed into a computer, which examines it through an integrated software so that the technical staff can value it and choose the best tactics based on it. Thanks to this utility, these data can even be analysed from perspectives other than sporting.
Football clubs that already use these waistcoats have collected useful data, which has helped them to improve the performance of players and reduce the risk of muscle injuries, in fact they have reduced them by up to fifty percent. For this reason, many football clubs are already opting to include these technological garments in their training sessions, obtaining very good results.
Why are they used at the professional level?
Top-level football teams are constantly looking for any technology that will help them to correct past mistakes and improve the situation of the players when they are on the pitch. This is why they have been using this type of performance apparel for the last five seasons or so.
At the moment they can only be used during training and friendly matches, and their use seems to be progressively increasing, as the data and parameters they provide are very useful. Major teams, such as FC Barcelona, have already incorporated them into their daily training routine.
Many coaches are guided by the data collected by the GPS waistcoats, resting those players whose parameters have indicated that they are at risk of injury, and the results obtained with these decisions support their effectiveness.
What kind of information do they provide?
In addition to the basic parameters mentioned above, such as speed, distance travelled or heart rate, GPS waistcoats provide other details such as a player’s fatigue level and the time during which his heart rate is above eighty-five percent of maximum, i.e. in what is called the red zone.
These garments also indicate the footballer’s energy expenditure and measure his metabolic threshold, as well as the physical wear and tear and the blows received in each training session. With all this data, the coaching staff can make the appropriate changes to the exercises of each player.