Dedication, disciple, and determination – The wizarding world has its 3 Ds, and these are the human world Ds to keep you healthy and fit in life. Building muscles takes a lot of dedication, and attention to detail must be on point to prevent workout injury. Waist supporting belt (a.k.a. back support belt) is the Holy Grail for heavy weight lifters and even everyday fitness enthusiasts who hit the gymnasium as a part of their dedicated healthy lifestyle. For exercises that involve the movement of the upper back, lower back, and lumbar spine – protective back support is crucial. So isn’t it time that the good old back supporting belt gets a smart avatar?
Industrial designer SangWoon Kim has reimagined the traditional waist support belt as a smart wearable to protect the lumbar spine better. Basically, it functions like any standard belt to compress the waist and isolate our breathing patterns. The striking difference is the ability to tighten the belt automatically, depending on the intensity of the workout and the user’s breathing pattern. Kim calls it the BIND.CO belt and this workout accessory comes in handy for any exercise mode and intensity. The innovation will be godsent for beginners who are still learning about the exact tightening of the belt needed for their workout. Thanks to the embedded sensors, the smart belt tightens during exercise and loosens at the time of rest between activities.
BIND.CO can be easily attached or detached by pushing the side clip of the front module. The power button controls the start/rest of the exercise by detecting the user’s athletic position. The belt has a position recognition function that notifies about any body movement instability via subtle vibrations to ensure the pressure distribution during the workout is optimized. This feature is an excellent plus since most of the long-term injuries result from imbalanced posture while performing a particular exercise.
To top it all, the wearable’s bolt is much slimmer than traditional back support belts. Would a fitness enthusiast be enticed by this concept design? Yes, as it brings a whole new dimension to an optimized workout regime – especially for intense back, shoulder, and thighs workouts!
Designer: SangWoon Kim
