Adaptation and Training Effects from a Passive Wearable Resistance Device During Exercise

The integration of technology into exercise regimens has emerged as a strategy to enhance normal human capabilities and return human motor function after injury or illness by enhancing motor learning. Much research has focused on how active devices, whether confined to a lab or made into a wearable format, can apply forces at set times and conditions to optimize injury prevention and proper movement. As a result, these devices tend to be confined to single movements or simple interventions. A focus on active forces, however, ignores the potential of continuous passive interactions. In this paper, we investigate how passive device behaviors by themselves can contribute to the process of training proper movement. Using a wearable resistance (WR) device, which is outfitted with elastic bands, we apply a force field that passively changes in response to full-body movements. We first develop a method to measure the produced forces from the device without impeding the function and we characterize the device’s force generation. We then present a study assessing the impact of the WR device on overhead squat form compared to visual or no feedback. Our findings suggest that the force fields produced while training with the WR device could improve performance in full-body exercises more consistently compared to direct visual feedback, with effects seen on cross-body asymmetry. Our results provide insights into the application of passive wearable resistance technology in practical exercise settings.