February 8, 2021

We’re about one month to the gun of the world’s oldest international race, and one team in particular is looking to make history. This is going to take athleticism like you’ve never seen it. Discover how Garmin is working with INEOS TEAM UK to take human performance up a notch.

This is a competition where the odds are famously stacked in favor of the defending champions. But INEOS TEAM UK isn’t going to let a little thing like that stand in their way, hoping to be the first British team in the race’s 170-year history to bring the America’s Cup home. And they’re going all out to make it happen, working with Garmin to train and prepare the crew and using technology to help unlock greater levels of human performance.

“We’ve spent years honing and testing our boat so it performs during the Cup, which would all be for nothing if the team can’t perform without it,” said Giles Scott, Olympic gold medalist and INEOS TEAM UK crew member. “The Cup’s legacy is that ‘there is no second,’ so there’s no margin for error in our performance. Garmin’s technology gives us confidence that our preparation will mean we’re the best we can be when we race.”

Pushing the very limits of human performance

Often described as the Formula 1 of sailing, the America’s Cup is not for the faint hearted. It’s fast. It’s demanding. It’s brutal. Of course, that all makes it pretty spectacular to watch.

It probably won’t come as a surprise that INEOS TEAM UK is taking their training rather seriously. They may have had years to prepare but with such fierce competition, not a moment of that could be wasted.

Forget what you know about fitness; this is something else altogether. To wrestle their hulking boat towards the finish line at such speed, the crew will need to push themselves to their very limits. They may already be among the greatest sailors and athletes in the world, but that’s simply not enough for this team. Together with Garmin, they’re dedicated to achieving much, much more.

Technology is just as critical to human performance as it is to mechanical performance

Just as the boat itself needs to be optimized to perfection, with every millimeter playing its part in the delicate balance between weight, aerodynamics and speed, so too must the crew. We’re trying to help each athlete unlock and unleash their maximum potential so they can perform better than ever.

Garmin was selected by the team to work together with them, using human performance technology to give the crew an edge in their training. Wearables, cycling tech, heart rate monitors and smart scales are all playing their part in collecting the data INEOS TEAM UK needs. From this they can see exactly how well their training programs are working for each athlete. They can then put that information to use, making more informed decisions on training, designing and tweaking programs to optimize performance, trying to find the best mix of training and rest.

Garmin technology helps them quickly see how much training they’ve done, how their bodies are reacting to the training and how much recovery they need to harvest that training stimulus.

• Training stress – Measuring HRV, training stress and actual stress helps the team understand when best to train. Pushing athletes too hard and over-stressing them could reduce their body’s immunity, leading to illness and impacting their availability to train.
• Energy and nutrition – The ability to accurately measure calories burned during training helps the team plan and adjust their nutrition, making sure every athlete has enough energy.
• Sleep hygiene – Sleep is the most important part of the recovery process. Being able to monitor an athlete’s Pulse Ox, breathing, sleep cycles and heart rate overnight in a non-invasive way allows the team to take action if that recovery isn’t happening optimally.
• Well-being and progress – BMI, body fat, water percentage, bone mass and skeletal muscle mass provide the team with a wider view of how an athlete is progressing and the physical effects training is having.

Discover the peak of physical fitness

Visit our INEOS TEAM UK partnership page to learn more about how Garmin is helping them be at the absolute top of their game for their America’s Cup campaign.