Controlling all the physiological parameters of the cyclist has become an essential aspect among professionals to adjust the intensities of training to the smallest detail and to be able to quantify if the body is correctly assimilating the loads, in addition to being able to anticipate illness situations that may affect the performance.
First there were activity bracelets, devices that have become popular among the general public, even among non-athletes. Later, more precise and advanced models emerged that soon, coaches began to incorporate to tell full information about the physical condition of their athletes, such as the Whoops bracelets that we can see on the wrists of many cyclists.
The next step in the evolution of these devices is to reduce their sizes, a path that Oura Ring has taken, offering all these characteristics in the size of a discreet ring that some cyclists such as Michael Woods or Iván García-Cortina are already beginning to use.
In essence, the Oura Ring is still an activity monitor, although condensed into the size of a ring with a design that can go unnoticed as a conventional ring, the brand has even taken the opportunity to establish a collaboration with the fashion firm Gucci to create a model of exquisite design, as well as exclusive is its price of €950 compared to €314 for the conventional version of the 3rd generation of this activity ring.
However, its small size does not prevent it from accumulating a good amount of technology. From the outset, it has a very light weight, between 4 and 6 grams thanks to its titanium structure, depending mainly on the size chosen among the 8 available.
Of course, it is waterproof. Inside, it houses several LEDs for measuring heart rate and oxygen saturation; gyroscope and accelerometer to constantly monitor the movements that are made; temperature sensor for continuous measurement of body temperature and, of course, Bluetooth LE transmitter with which it connects to the Oura mobile application in which the data provided by the ring is collected and displayed in a friendly way.
Like other devices on the market, the Oura Ring works by subscription to be able to use its application, in this case, €5.99 per month. In exchange, it provides us with a detailed analysis of our sleep patterns, personalized health recommendations, real-time monitoring of heart rate or temperature readings that are used by the application to predict situations of illness or, in the case of women , anticipate the different moments of the menstrual cycle.
The great precision that the Oura Ring has achieved in its sensors is remarkable, in the case of optical heart rate reading, practically comparable to traditional chest straps, until recently, the only way to accurately measure this parameter.
The Oura Ring battery lasts between 5 and 7 days, taking 80 minutes to fully charge. In addition, it has a large memory capacity, being able to store information without synchronizing for 6 weeks.
information to power
In any case, the Oura Ring is still a source of data, information that, despite the fact that the application presents it to us in a very intuitive way, in the case of professional cyclists, it is their coaches who can get the most out of it, checking the impact that training sessions have on data such as heart rate or sleep pattern.
This allows them to adjust the training loads much more precisely and, above all, check if they are being assimilated correctly or not. It can even serve to anticipate a period of illness and adjust training accordingly so as not to weaken the body and leave it at the mercy of it, which would mean a more intense condition than with our defenses at full capacity.
It is also useful for quantifying actual activity and fine-tuning the cyclist’s caloric expenditure, so that nutrition can be adjusted to calories, providing exactly what is needed to guarantee proper performance. Besides, it helps the professional to be more aware of what they do at the end of the day off the bike, helping to carry out that important part of the invisible training of a professional, such as resting as much as possible.