Predicting Exercise Intensity With Muscle Oxygenation and It's Derivatives

Predicting exercise intensity zones using an unsupervised learning model with muscle oxygenation data and its derivatives as inputs.

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Muscle Oxygenation Reflects The Bodies Response To Exercise

Muscle oxygenation (SmO2) is the percentage of blood that is oxygenated in skeletal muscle. People often think of muscle oxygenation (SmO2) as a measure of exercise intensity, and while SmO2 levels are associated with exercise intensity, they are not the same.

A better way to think about muscle oxygenation is that it measures our body's response to exercise intensity. This delineation is critical and is why devices like the NNOXX wearable can be used to quantify the physiological effects of exercise.

To understand why SmO2 is not a measure of intensity itself, we must appreciate that muscle oxygenation reflects the balance of oxygen supply and demand in exercising muscles. Under most circumstances, increasing exercise int…