Put Your Muscle Into It: Introducing XEM2, a Novel Approach for Monitoring Exertion in Stationary Physical Exercises Leveraging Muscle Work
Abstract
We present a novel system for camera-based measurement and visualization of muscle work based on the Hill-Type-Muscle-Model: the exercise exertion muscle-work monitor (XEM2). Our aim is to complement and, thus, address issues of established measurement techniques that offer imprecise data for non-uniform movements (burned calories) or provide limited information on strain across different body parts (self-perception scales). We validate the reliability of XEM's measurements through a technical evaluation of ten participants and five exercises. Further, we assess the acceptance, usefulness, benefits, and opportunities of XEM2 in an empirical user study. Our results show that XEM2 provides reliable values of muscle work and supports participants in understanding their workout while also providing reliable information about perceived exertion per muscle group. With this paper, we introduce a novel system capable of measuring and visualizing exertion for single muscle groups, which has the potential to improve exercise monitoring to prevent unbalanced workouts.
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