USING WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT CHANGES TO TRUNK POSITION AND POWER IN CYCLING

This pilot study aimed to quantify the change of CoM acceleration when the trunk position and the power output was varied during indoor cycling. Triathletes (n=4) performed a varied indoor cycling power protocol in their natural training environment whilst wearing a trunk (sacrum) mounted wearable device containing a triaxial accelerometer. Mediolateral acceleration increased 26% as athletes moved from the drops position, to the aerodynamic position and back to the drops position. Although longitudinal acceleration increased 8%, minimal differences in anteroposterior CoM magnitude were observed. Power output was found to have an effect on both the mediolateral and longitudinal acceleration alongside increases in RPE. The results indicate that accelerometers may be effective in monitoring changes to trunk position and power output.