What is obseed.me? A first glimpse behind the scenes.
There are many sports platforms and apps out there these days. If a new demand emerges, it usually doesn't take long before a corresponding offer emerges. From this point of view, the legitimate question is whether there is a need for another platform that... offers what exactly?
What is obseed.me?
More specifically. More efficient Better We use these three terms to advertise on our website. We also stick to these claims, because they summarize what we have set ourselves the goal: instead of simply creating another and therefore perhaps very specific, but also not very comprehensive sports app, we want to create a hub that can ultimately collect all important data relating to sport, training and health. Not only that: we also want to enable users to actually analyze their data.
The blind spot on the Internet
“Actually analyzing” data sounds like we're doing something that doesn't exist yet. Can that really be the case?
The answer is a categorical, simple “yes”: these days, you can find a plethora of apps and platforms that make it possible, for example, to view recorded running training from different angles. However, what is still nowhere to be found are the effects that not only training but regular and targeted training can have on the body. And not just over a few weeks, but over several years. Let's take a look at some of the already applicable features that obseed.me has in store for users.
Disclaimer: Currently, only trainings and other data can be imported directly via Garmin. Other formats still need to be uploaded manually at the moment.
Long-term development at a glance — and from two perspectives
To maintain a common thread, let's stick to the “running” example. Anyone who regularly practices this wonderful sport knows that at times it often seems like you're going in circles. You invest hours and hours, always stay at the same speed and ask yourself at some point whether everything can be done right. In just such a case, it might be worthwhile to broaden your horizons and look at the big picture:
The graphic shown here needs an explanation as it can be confusing at first glance. On the X-axis, it represents various speed ranges, which are divided into steps of 0.5 km/h. The Y-axis shows possible heart rates. In the end, the colored lines are periods of 3 months, i.e. quarters in which recorded running workouts were analyzed for their average heart rate and which were then correlated with the pace run.
The picture shows quarter 3 of 2023 highlighted.
It is clearly visible that the ranges between 10.5 and 14.0 km/h do not show any major fluctuations, but there are clearly discernible differences below and above. What could be the reason for this?
The second perspective mentioned above helps us here: the weighting of the data.
In concrete terms, this means that we at obseed.me have created the opportunity for the first time not only to represent the response of the heart rate to a running speed over longer periods of time. We also offer the option to directly visualize how said reaction came about by showing at a glance how much time was trained at the respective tempos. To do this, the “Weighting” button can be selected using the filter function, which results in the following graphic:
If we now look at the same curve again in isolation, you can see at a glance that, for example, a total of 7:08:40 hours were run in the range of 12.0 to 12.5 km/h in this quarter. The areas below and above are much less common, especially at the higher, faster tempos, you can only find a few minutes over 3 months. Even without knowing the athlete's training history, conclusions can be drawn from this: there is a high probability that higher speeds were recorded at the same heart rate while running downhill, lower uphill runs and the really big outliers towards heart rates of 170 bpm probably even in very steep passages.
This function alone can help to understand training and the resulting cardiac response and to design training accordingly for the future. But that is far from all...
Running style analysis without running style analysis
The weighting of speed and heart rate data alone can give us initial ideas of how the body develops during training. However, it is not enough to understand the changes even more precisely. In return, we offer another function that not only shows us how fast was run, but also how it was run. Let's stick with the example of the 3rd quarter of 2023 and look at 3 values in turn, which every better sports watch records automatically: the cadence, the ground contact time and the vertical movement.
The step rate: Visualization of the physical work necessary for the pace
Even without weighting the data, it is immediately visible that the athlete in the image usually runs very evenly and consistently at a step rate of between 166 and 170 steps per minute (spm). Except at speeds above 15.0 km/h: here, the cadence accelerates immensely. While in the graph, which shows the ratio of heart rate to running pace, we can see here that the pulse rate was back in the range of the large-scale average, but was slightly higher shortly before that and only a few minutes of data are available from both tempos, we can conclude that these high speeds were not run downhill after all, but in two forms of intervals: short, high-intensity sprints with a very high step rate and, in the second instance, slightly longer but more regular splits.
The combination of the two graphics therefore allows us a much deeper analysis: we can now assume that the solid-looking basis in the range of 11.5 to 12.5 km/h was created by enriching the training with a few but very targeted intervals.
It's time for the next step.
The ground contact time: An indicator of emission, function and technology in one
The name says it all: this value shows us how long we spend on the ground with each step. However, it is often not clear that we can read many things from the history of these values.
To understand this, we need to delve a little bit into the subject matter.
As soon as we put our foot on at the end of a step while running, a process is set in motion that can be described as follows: First, our shoes absorb the initial impact, then our feet react immediately. The moving body must be prevented from falling due to the combination of speed and gravity. The tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints of our feet therefore react immediately: the pressure exerted by the body when sitting on the ground is converted into tension, which is then converted into pressure again as part of the renewed rejection.
Let's now look at the progression of the ground contact time over the same period as before:
Here you can see at a glance that the ground contact time tends to get shorter and shorter as the speed increases, until it even reaches the lowest values ever at the highest tempos. That adds another piece of the puzzle to our analysis:
Very short BKZ values indicate a very high speed in the area, as high speeds can be achieved very easily when running downhill, but for physical reasons you stay on the ground longer than if you run a sprint on a flat track, for example. The slight climb at 14.5 — 15.0 km/h could therefore be an indication of downhill running, but is barely significant.
Even when running uphill, the BKZ tends to be higher, which reinforces the assumption that the slower tempos actually represent climbs.
Our next conclusion is therefore that not only a good combination of majority, regular basic training and targeted intervals led to the existing form, but that this was also brought about by running off-road.
The conclusion: vertical movement as an indicator of endurance and resilience
While the ground contact time can show us how efficiently a foot is working, the vertical movement also shows us how the force and energy for speed can be applied and whether they can be applied sustainably.
Here too, as simply as possible: the vertical movement (vb) shows, on the one hand, whether the energy was used to move the body forward (low vb) or rather to move it upwards, i.e. against gravity (higher vb) and thus tire it out in the long term.
The more exhausted the body, the more unstable the shape and posture of the runner, which usually results in irregular and deeper vertical movements. Put simply, you can quickly see whether there is enough energy to move the body sustainably against gravity — or whether you are “sticking” more and more to the ground. The latter results almost exclusively in a significantly longer contact time with the ground. Together, the two values are therefore an excellent indicator of efficiency, fatigue and endurance.
The curve shown here shows that a vertical movement of 9.8 to 10.0 cm took place in the range of frequent tempos of 11.5 to 12.5 km/h. This small discrepancy indicates that not only is running regularly here, but also that endurance in this area is sufficiently developed to run longer distances.
Only in the sprints, which were identified in the top areas, does the vb fall significantly. Another clue that this actually involved working with highly intensive intervals, including fast muscle fibers.
Long-term analysis provides information about training quality
Exercising a lot is easy, but high-quality training is a big challenge.
With the basic functions of long-term analysis, the now available version of obseed.me offers the unique option of analyzing the efficiency of training over several years with just a few clicks and drawing conclusions from it.
Are you interested in trying it out yourself? Then this is your chance: simply sign up obseed.me Sign up, create an account and connect it to your Garmin account. After importing, you can then view your last years at a glance.
What do you see there? Sincerely,
Your team from obseed.me!