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Gwen is Into Virtual Reality Technology...

Wednesday, 15 March 2017 23:10

Virtual reality is shaping up to be the ultimate performance enhancer, no movement necessary.

By Brad Stulberg (triathlete.com)

En route to her gold medal during last year’s Rio Olympic Games, triathlete Gwen Jorgensen maneuvered around tight corners in a highly technical bike course as if she’d ridden them many times before. And in a way, she had. That’s because in addition to traditional mental training, like visualization and meditation, Jorgensen also used a custom-made virtual reality (VR) program, allowing her to repeatedly experience the Rio bike course from the comfort of her couch at her home.

“VR as a training tool has transformed the way athletes are preparing for competition,” says Danny Belch, a VR expert who works at STRIVR Labs, a VR performance science company founded by Stanford University researchers and based in Palo Alto, Calif. So much of the psychological stress—which zaps precious physical energy—associated with racing is related to the...

unpredictability of what lies ahead. VR helps to alleviate that stress by allowing athletes to simulate just about every race-day situation imaginable—from steep descents, to flat tires, to getting passed by a competitor late in the run.

While some VR products allow an athlete to simulate while on an indoor bike or treadmill (think: riding/running while the course is on a high-definition television screen), those offering the most intense 360-degree experiences—via a headset—are currently only for use while stationary, though this is likely to change quickly as the technology improves.