Post by jessebruni on Nov 14, 2014 10:47:31 GMT -7
So I'm sure most people on this site have seen the Zlagboard. It seems to use some sort of wireless or wifi connection to your smartphone in order to start and stop a timer based on whether or not there is weight present on the hangboard. This is some pretty great and interesting technology! Having an exact number for your hang time on every rep of every set is invaluable. The issue is they way they have marketed themselves. They're focused on creating worldwide "how long can you hang" competitions, which is probably great for selling these things, but has little training value. But the technology is interesting and really is a step in the right direction.
If you think about how much everything else in your life is automated it seems silly that folks hangboarding still need to grab a pencil or pen, hands shaking after a set, and write down details about their hang. How much weight they used, how long they hung, whether or not they failed on a rep and which one it was. Every single one of those details could, quite easily, be automated. I think personally that the Zlagboard is only the beginning. We'll start to see fully automated hangboards that track all this stuff for you. So I'm going to list what I'd like to see, feel free to add details of what you guys would like.
* Hangboard designed with ergonomics and training improvement in mind (like the RPTC).
* Ability for the hangboard to measure how much weight is being applied to it (or to each half). This could be done using the same technology as a digital scale, all that needs to be measured is the total weight hanging on each board, regardless of where the weight is applied.
* Ability for the hangboard to detect which hold you are hanging on. This might be the most difficult to implement. I envision it as slightly deform-able texture (like a piece of sandpaper) as the surface for each hold. The underside would have an electrical contact which, when no force is applied, would not come into contact with the body of the board. When you hang the hold the surface would deform and make contact, thus indicating which of the holds you are hanging off. The issue would be making this deform-able surface strong enough so that it wouldn't rip off if you come off the board quickly.
* Ability for the hangboard to determine precisely how long you held on for. This could be done in exactly the same way as the zlagboard. When weight is applied to the board contact is made that starts the timer, when the board is unweighted the timer stops.
* Ability for the hangboard to store multiple workout types/formats (this could be offloaded onto an app like the zlagboard does or it could be embedded into the board). It would be simpler and cheaper for this to be offloaded onto a smartphone app.
* Ability for the hangboard to measure local humidity and temperature. Simple, cheap, sensors embedded into the board. The data could be gathered at the start of each workout and displayed on the smartphone as well as offloaded into Excel.
* Led strip lighting around the outline of the hangboard which would light up green when it's time to hang and red when it's time to rest (programmable so you can change the colors to what you want them to be). This would need to be connected to the workout so the board would have to have a small microprocessor to be able to determine based on the workout you are performing when to light the strips. This would eliminate the need for any kind of stopwatch and would allow you to let your mind wander as it's easy enough to jump on and off based on the color of the lights.
* Easy and simple way to export your workout details to Excel. Bear in mind that given a specific preprogrammed workout you've elected to perform, and the ability of the board to measure hang times, holds used, and weight applied, all details could be precisely gathered and stored in a manner which would make graphing your workout progress in excel a simple formality. Your smartphone could do this fairly easily.
I actually think every one of these details would be fairly simple to create and add into a hangboard, and frankly I'm surprised we haven't seen it yet. But perhaps some considerations for RPTC 2.0. What do you guys think?
#EDIT#
A few minutes after posting this I saw this. Seems like a pretty cool idea. I'm also curious about the use of wood vs plastic. Seems to be a trend these days but I'm not sure I've heard the Anderson opinion on it.
If you think about how much everything else in your life is automated it seems silly that folks hangboarding still need to grab a pencil or pen, hands shaking after a set, and write down details about their hang. How much weight they used, how long they hung, whether or not they failed on a rep and which one it was. Every single one of those details could, quite easily, be automated. I think personally that the Zlagboard is only the beginning. We'll start to see fully automated hangboards that track all this stuff for you. So I'm going to list what I'd like to see, feel free to add details of what you guys would like.
* Hangboard designed with ergonomics and training improvement in mind (like the RPTC).
* Ability for the hangboard to measure how much weight is being applied to it (or to each half). This could be done using the same technology as a digital scale, all that needs to be measured is the total weight hanging on each board, regardless of where the weight is applied.
* Ability for the hangboard to detect which hold you are hanging on. This might be the most difficult to implement. I envision it as slightly deform-able texture (like a piece of sandpaper) as the surface for each hold. The underside would have an electrical contact which, when no force is applied, would not come into contact with the body of the board. When you hang the hold the surface would deform and make contact, thus indicating which of the holds you are hanging off. The issue would be making this deform-able surface strong enough so that it wouldn't rip off if you come off the board quickly.
* Ability for the hangboard to determine precisely how long you held on for. This could be done in exactly the same way as the zlagboard. When weight is applied to the board contact is made that starts the timer, when the board is unweighted the timer stops.
* Ability for the hangboard to store multiple workout types/formats (this could be offloaded onto an app like the zlagboard does or it could be embedded into the board). It would be simpler and cheaper for this to be offloaded onto a smartphone app.
* Ability for the hangboard to measure local humidity and temperature. Simple, cheap, sensors embedded into the board. The data could be gathered at the start of each workout and displayed on the smartphone as well as offloaded into Excel.
* Led strip lighting around the outline of the hangboard which would light up green when it's time to hang and red when it's time to rest (programmable so you can change the colors to what you want them to be). This would need to be connected to the workout so the board would have to have a small microprocessor to be able to determine based on the workout you are performing when to light the strips. This would eliminate the need for any kind of stopwatch and would allow you to let your mind wander as it's easy enough to jump on and off based on the color of the lights.
* Easy and simple way to export your workout details to Excel. Bear in mind that given a specific preprogrammed workout you've elected to perform, and the ability of the board to measure hang times, holds used, and weight applied, all details could be precisely gathered and stored in a manner which would make graphing your workout progress in excel a simple formality. Your smartphone could do this fairly easily.
I actually think every one of these details would be fairly simple to create and add into a hangboard, and frankly I'm surprised we haven't seen it yet. But perhaps some considerations for RPTC 2.0. What do you guys think?
#EDIT#
A few minutes after posting this I saw this. Seems like a pretty cool idea. I'm also curious about the use of wood vs plastic. Seems to be a trend these days but I'm not sure I've heard the Anderson opinion on it.
