I love running, running gear, and new
technologies. If you are looking for a
newer product that would fit into all three of those categories, the Kinematix Tune might be that
product. Kinematix was founded in 2007 by Paulo Ferreira dos
Santos. Paulo has a Degree in Computer
Sciences applied to Management and a Master in Innovation and Technological
Entrepreneurship. He has started 5
different companies and is based out of both Porto , Portugal
and Austin, Texas.
Kinematix has spent the past eight years taking its expertise
in the movement of the human body and designed a product to help runners move
better. The Tune provides meaningful information about how your body
moves during your run. It breaks down
that information into several key areas and then provides exercises to help
improve your movement. This can help you
become a stronger, more injury-free runner.
Let’s start by taking a look at the Tune.
You get two boxes when your Tune arrives. There
is a long flat box that holds your two insoles with sensors in them. There is also a rectangular box that has the
sensors, instructions, charging port, and cables.
Before your run, you should download the
app, either on iTunes or Google Play.
You will also need to charge the sensors. Once you have done that, you put the insoles
in your shoes, under the shoe’s insole.
The thickness of the Tune's insoles
will not cause a problem, although I had issues when using a pair of orange
Superfeet insoles. This is due to the
fact that they have a hard plastic bottom with elevated ridges under the heel. The insoles didn’t provide contact at all
points on the Tune's insole. Once the insoles are in, you slide the clip
on and twist the sensor.
Now that you have your Tune in place, you need to connect it to your smartphone,
via the app. It is really easy to
setup. I did have an issue once or twice
where it only recognized one of the two sensors, but upgrades to the app in
late November fixed the problem. Once
the sensors are connected, you are ready to go on a run. Let’s look at the information that you get
after a run.
Gait
Cycle Time
The gait cycle is how long it takes for
you to complete a set of strides. So let’s
say your gait cycle starts with your right foot on the ground. The cycle would end again when your right
foot contacts the ground again. There
are two phases of the gait cycle. The “Stance”
is the period when your foot is in contact with the ground. The “Swing” is the period when your foot is
in the air. Flight time is when neither
foot is on the ground, which happens twice per gait cycle. The faster your run, the shorter your gait
cycle time.
Steps,
Cadence, and Step Length
The steps are simply the amount of steps
that you took during your run. The
cadence is your average steps per minute.
The step length is also known as your “stride length” which is the
distance you cover in a single stride.
Stance
Time
The stance time, or ground contact time,
indicates how long your foot is on the ground.
The reading also breaks it down into the percent of time that your heel
is in contact with the ground. The
shorter the heel percentage, the shorter the stance time.
This uses an index to measure the time in
propulsion during the stance phase. The
higher the stance dynamics, the better you are at using the ground to move
forward. Basically, Stance
Dynamics is the ratio between the time in propulsion (no heel contact) and the
ground contact time. A higher Stance
Dynamics number means, the less is the time you spend moving from the heel to
the forefoot (braking effect).
Heel
Strike
This shows the amount of times (in a
percentage) where you land on your heel first.
Heel
striking is not
necessarily a bad thing unless you are overstriding , which
could lead to injuries. I always land on
my heel, but my strides are short and it doesn’t slow me down or create
excessive impact like overstriding would
cause.
There is also a chart where you can
evaluate each of these characteristics at specific times during your run. You can change the parameters and see how you
are performing while running up a large hill versus flats or downhill.
My
Experience
I first got my Tune quite a while ago. I started to test it out and
unfortunately injured myself (and had to take some time off of running) from over training in pursuit of a marathon PR.
I had some issues with the Tune, mainly
connection issues and some things I didn’t like about the app. After I started running again, I updated the
app and it fixed all of the issues I had.
The app became more user friendly as well. I love the feedback and how it breaks down
the movements into something I can understand.
The voice feedback is great too. It will give you cues along the way to keep
you motivated and let you know if your form is off. Each of the readings has an “i” that provides
more information about that stat. I have
8 logged runs so far.
Once you get to 10 runs, the Tune app will suggest exercises that will help you improve
your form based on the readings it has taken.
While I haven’t seen these exercises yet, I have read quite a few
reviews from other people. They not only
like the exercises, but see improvements based on the recommendations. Kinematix has been
more than accommodating with my injury and delayed review so I want to get the
review up. I will update this post in
about a month with my experience of the exercises.
My only complaint at this time is that
the Tune clips onto the side of your shoe. If you run in no-show socks or no socks at
all, it can cause irritation below your ankle.
I have only experienced this one time though, but it is something to be
aware of. All in all, this is an awesome
product that can really help runners improve their form. It has been featured in numerous magazines like
Competitor as well as online write-ups.
It has also received high marks from professional athletes, coaches, and
every day runners.
The Tune costs $199.
You can choose between a blue, grey, or red sensor. You can also choose to purchase an additional
pair of insoles for $49.99 in case you don’t want to take one set out and
transfer them between shoes. I just
transfer them, but the option is there.
You can purchase yours at the Kinematix
website. The battery lasts for about 10
hours according to the website. I think
that number is a little high, but the battery life is decent. You can charge both sensors at the same time
with the charging port that is included and it doesn’t take too long.
Kinematix is also coming out with myTune, which is a desktop
version of their app. It will provide even
more information and will allow you to share that information with a
coach/trainer so they will be able to better assist you on reaching your goals
and overcoming imperfections in your gait.
This sounds like an amazing feature and I can’t wait until it comes out.
Pros:
Provides a great deal of information
Suggests exercises to help improve form
Data can help you reduce risk of injury
8-10 hours of battery life (30 days in
sleeping mode)
Decent price $199
Cons:
Can cause irritation if you don’t wear
socks
Kinematix’s
Social Media Links
I really wasn’t sure what to expect out
of the Kinematix Tune to be honest with
you. While I started out skeptical, I am
very pleased with the results and information that I can gather from the Tune. I can already see
this making me a stronger runner and I am anticipating the exercises will help
me become less injury prone. I will
provide an update in about a month. If
you get a Tune, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Note: I received this product
in exchange for a review. The review is my personal opinion of the
product and I was not required to give a particular opinion of it. I am not a doctor, so please use all of the
products that I review at your own risk.
