Frequently
asked questions
Device
It is named after Chasquis, who were the messengers of the Inca empire, in charge of carrying messages or objects and who used to travel, in relays, up to 180 kilometers a day.
- Comfortable, lightweight (12g), and does not impede breathing
- Non-invasive and painless
- Affordable, reusable, and does not require any disposables
- Fast, no calibration or yearly servicing
CHASKi measures respiratory rate through two thermal sensors, one nasal and one oral. With the respiratory rate curve the ventilatory thresholds are determined and VO2max is estimated. Other insights, such as breathing patterns, are derived from the integration of respiratory rate and external data.
The device and sensor are patented and exclusively used by IC Innovations.
CHASKi is not one-to-one. Multiple athletes can use the same CHASKi device. CHASKi can be used by individuals, coaches, teams, researchers, and gyms. We recommend following the sanitization guidelines below.
Clean CHASKi gently with an alcohol wipe or other disinfectant. It should not be immersed in water or other liquids.
CHASKi is water resistant but not waterproof. Avoid fully immersing CHASKi into liquids however sweat, humidity, or light rain is okay.
Yes, CHASKi is meant to be worn wherever you train. CHASKi data is unaffected by environmental factors (wind, extreme temperature, altitude, humidity).
CHASKi connects to the mobile app via Bluetooth Low-Energy.
CHASKi is charged by through a magnetic charger USB charger that comes with the device, when charging it a red light goes on and once it is fully charged the light will be white.
The battery lasts for 24 hours of active contiguous use. For most users this results in charging every other week depending on frequency of use.
Use
CHASKi opens a new dimension in your training. With CHASKi you are able to monitor and track your performance, in particular the progression of your ventilatory thresholds (VTs), just as you would in a physiology lab. You use this data to delineate training zones specific to your physiology and track the intensity of a workout in real time using respiratory rate.
CHASKi also enables you to understand how your breathing impacts your performance by integrating and trending breath patterns, oral v nasal breathing, and other insights with performance data.
You can determine your VTs with a < 20-minute intensity graded test. You can do this on a treadmill (running protocol) or smart trainer (bike protocol).
This depends on several factors, such as your initial physical condition and training volume. Thresholds change more rapidly in untrained individuals and more slowly in high-performance athletes. We advise you to perform it according to your coach’s indications. However, the usual recommendation is to perform every 4-8 weeks.
We incorporate data from external devices, such as a smart trainer, smartwatch, or treadmill through .fit file format.
Currently, CHASKi data can be viewed in the CHASKi app or CHASKi web platform. Integration with other wearable devices and training platforms is in progress.
Science
Ventilatory thresholds are breakpoints in the physiological response to exercise of increasing intensity, where the metabolic pathway used to obtain energy changes. These breaks determine the training intensity zones, which ultimately serve to prescribe a personalized training plan for each athlete according to his or her objectives.
A randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy of a 12-week training program in 2 groups. The first determined zones based on standard heart rate percentages and the other determined zones based on personalized ventilatory thresholds. The results showed that only 40% of the athletes improved when using the heart rate derived zones, while 100% of the athletes improved when using VT derived zones and their increase was 2.4 times greater compared to the first group.
The heart rate is measured with a heart band and the power through the smart trainer, this data is exported to training peaks (or some similar platform) and from there a .fit file containing this information is downloaded.
This depends on several factors, such as your initial physical condition and training volume. Thresholds change more rapidly in untrained individuals and more slowly in high-performance athletes. We advise you to perform it according to your coach’s indications. However, the usual recommendation is to perform it every month.
Yes, the validation of our cycling protocol was done by comparing the thresholds determined by ergospirometry versus those of CHASKi, the correlation is very good and this study is soon to be published.
Your thresholds represent breakpoints in your response to exercise and you can associate them to a pace, power or heart rate and further delimit them through zones. In each zone, different physiological processes are activated and training at the correct intensity allows you to generate the desired adaptations in your body. This allows you to withstand greater effort at those breakpoints and thus, you can maintain higher loads for longer.
Yes, the body adapts to training, or lack of training, and this changes the thresholds. As thresholds change, so do training zones. With CHASKi you can periodically evaluate yourself to update your zones for more efficient and personalized training.
Yes, CHASKi’s measurement of respiratory rate and determination of ventilatory thresholds was validated against the gold-standard, erogspirometry. This study is published in a peer reviewed journal.
The device is charged by plugging in the magnetic charger that comes with it, when charging it a red light goes on and once it is fully charged the light will be white. During the charging process you cannot connect CHASKi to the app.
With the device in use, the battery lasts 24 hours.
Sales and shipping
Please reach out to our team to inquire about pricing.
We do offer international shipping. Please reach out to our team to inquire about pricing and shipping.