Science – CHASKi

Why Monitoring RPE—and Comparing It to Respiratory Frequency—Matters More Than You Think

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science June 13, 2025No Comments

In endurance training, Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) has long been a trusted compass—an intuitive guide to how hard an athlete feels they’re working. But how reliable is this perception in real-time, especially under fatigue, heat, or glycogen depletion? More importantly, can we measure how well athletes are controlling their RPE, and should we compare what they …

Race Pacing Starts with Physiology: Why Matching Distance to Your Thresholds Matters

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science June 11, 2025June 12, 2025No Comments

Success in endurance sports isn’t just about grit—it’s about precision. One of the most overlooked performance strategies is aligning your race pacing with your ventilatory thresholds. Whether you’re targeting a 10K or a 100-miler, understanding how each race maps to your body’s internal limits is critical. That’s exactly where CHASKi steps in. CHASKi is the first wearable designed specifically for …

The Science of Breathing: How RMT Enhances Aerobic Power and Delays Fatigue

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science May 23, 2025June 12, 2025No Comments

When endurance athletes hit a plateau, they often look to tweak training intensity, diet, or recovery. But one critical and often overlooked component might be holding them back: respiratory muscle function. The muscles that power our breathing—like the diaphragm and intercostals—are trainable, and targeted respiratory muscle training (RMT) can deliver measurable performance gains, even for already well-trained …

Why VO₂max Is the Health Metric Everyone Should Track—Not Just Athletes

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science May 7, 2025May 9, 2025No Comments

In the world of endurance sports, VO₂max—the maximal rate of oxygen consumption during intense exercise—has long been used to gauge aerobic performance. But what if we told you this number isn’t just about who wins the race? It’s also one of the strongest predictors of how long and how well you’ll live. For coaches, athletes and anyone …

CHASKi: A Wearable Game-Changer for Endurance Athletes

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science February 19, 2025February 20, 2025No Comments

Revolutionizing Performance Monitoring with CHASKi For endurance athletes, understanding ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2) is crucial for optimizing training and maximizing performance. Traditionally, these thresholds are measured using ergospirometry—an accurate but cumbersome lab-based method. Now, with CHASKi, you can access the same gold-standard data in the field. But how well does it stack up against …

Why Heart Rate Alone Isn’t Enough: Rethinking Performance Metrics

by Renee LeathermanEnglish, Science January 30, 2025No Comments

For decades, heart rate has been the go-to metric for athletes and coaches aiming to optimize performance. It’s convenient, widely accessible, and often seen as a universal marker of effort. However, heart rate is far from perfect. Recent research, including findings from the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (Tocco, 2015), highlights significant limitations of …

Ventilatory Thresholds vs. Lactate Thresholds: Are They Competitors or Complementary Metrics?

by Renee LeathermanEnglish, Science January 30, 2025No Comments

Ventilatory Threshold and Lactate: Complementary Metrics for Smarter Training In the world of endurance training, metrics reign supreme. From heart rate to power output, athletes rely on data to refine their training strategies and achieve peak performance. Among these metrics, ventilatory threshold (VT) and blood lactate levels stand out as two of the most insightful …

HIIT vs. Sprint Intervals: How to Optimize VO₂max for Endurance Athletes

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science November 19, 2024November 26, 2024No Comments

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) is the cornerstone of endurance performance, and two recent studies confirm that aerobic high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is superior to sprint interval training (SIT) in improving VO₂max for both men and women. For endurance coaches and self-educated athletes, these findings offer critical insights into structuring training programs for peak performance. Key Findings From …

Unlocking Performance Gains: The Power of Personalized Training Zones with CHASKi

by Consuelo SotoEnglish, Science October 28, 2024October 28, 2024No Comments

Understanding the science behind exercise testing and training intensity zones is key to optimizing performance for endurance athletes. At CHASKi, we emphasize the value of data-driven training based on ventilatory thresholds, and today we’ll explore why testing and threshold-based training are so impactful. We’ll also dive into a cyclist’s case study, showcasing how CHASKi helped …

Introduction to Breathwork for Endurance Athletes

by Renee LeathermanEnglish, Science October 26, 2024October 26, 2024No Comments

Research suggests that controlled, deliberate breathing patterns can dramatically affect sports outcomes. For instance, specific breathing techniques have been shown to enhance endurance performance by improving oxygen utilization and delaying the onset of fatigue[1]. Other studies have documented how different breathing techniques can either enhance or impair athletic performance, depending on their application, underscoring the …

Category: Science