About Me

I’m a sports scientist from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. My main interests are exercise performance, strength training and new technologies. I have a PhD. and two MSc. on High Performance in Sports and i’ve authored several scientific papers on peer-reviewed journals. I’m also an iOS developer, creator of My Jump Lab, a suite of 9 scientifically validated apps to measure performance with hundreds of thousands of downloads all over the world.

I've worked as a consultant in elite sports with NBA teams and elite runners, among others. Finally, i give talks on the topic of exercise performance, strength training and new technologies. I have given several talks in International MSc., Symposiums, Congresses or private events in Spain, France, Italy, UK or the USA. Also, i’m the main author of “Strength Training: New Methodological Perspectives”, the first multi-touch sport-sciences iBook in Spanish.

Contact Details

Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández
Madrid, Spain
carlos@carlos-balsalobre.com
carlos.balsalobre@uam.es

Talks & Consultancy

I have given several talks and workshops on the topic of exercise performance and new technologies in different Symposiums, MSc., International Congresses or private events in Spain, France, Italy, UK or the USA. Also, i have worked as a consultant with NBA teams or elite runners, among others. If you want me to give a talk or workshop at your University, team or company, don't hesitate to contact me.


Apps

My Jump Lab is the most portable, validated and affordable sports performance lab in the world. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of elite coaches, athletes, physios and researchers worldwide.

With My Jump Lab you can measure more than 30 tests including jumping, lifting, running, sprinting, changing direction or even markerless motion capture with an accuracy comparable to expensive laboratory equipment.
See validation papers here.

Note: On iOS and Mac, My Jump Lab is an individual app which includes 9 apps: My Jump 2, My Lift, Runmatic, My ROM, My Mocap, Nordics, Readiness, COD Timer and ForceData. These apps will remain being available as separate apps and will not be deactivated for current users in any way; however, new updates and features will be made only on My Jump Lab. On Android, for the moment only My Jump 2 and My Lift are available, can still be found as individual apps and will be actively maintained.

Terms of use (EULA): My Jump Lab uses the standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA) that can be found in this link.



Privacy policy: This app does NOT collect, store or share any of your personal data. If you have more doubts about privacy, please write at carlos@carlos-balsalobre.com


Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What does My Jump Lab includes?

My Jump Lab includes all the content from My Jump 2, My Lift, Runmatic, My ROM, My Mocap, Nordics, Readiness, COD Timer and ForceData into a single app, making testing even more convenient, practical and affordable.

How much does My Jump Lab costs?

My Jump Lab can be downloaded for free on iOS and Mac. You can start using its whole features, get access to future tests and unlock all of its content for just 3.99€/month, 29.99€/year or 99.99€ forever. Includes a 7-day free trial.

On Android, only My Jump 2 and My Lift are available, and they are sold as individual apps for 14.99€ (no subscriptions).

I have one or more of the apps that are now part of My Jump Lab. What happen with them?

Old apps such as My Jump 2 or My Lift, among others, will still work perfectly as usual. They will not be deactivated in any way. However, keep in mind that new updates, features, tests and improvements will only be made to My Jump Lab.

Privacy policy

My Jump Lab does not collect, store or share any of your personal data. If you have more doubts about privacy, please write at carlos@carlos-balsalobre.com.


My Jump 2 for iOS & Android

My Jump 2 is the award-winning app for iOS & Mac that measures vertical jump performance in a simple, reliable and scientifically validated way. Available for iOS under My Jump Lab and Android as an individual app.


How to use

My Jump 2 takes advantage of the high-speed camera of your devices to record stunning slow-motion videos of your jumps. Then, you just need to select the take-off and contact frames and My Jump 2 will give you a reliable and valid jump height, just like the force or infrared platforms do. Moreover, My Jump 2 measures the force, velocity and power profile of your jumps, as well as other relevant variables such as contact time, vertical stiffness or the reactive strength index in a simple and accurate way. It works with any iOS 9+ and Android 6.0+, although the best results are obtained with slow-motion devices

See the video-tutorials to learn how to use My Jump 2.

The science behind My Jump 2

My Jump was scientifically validated with a 10.000€, high-tech force platform and the results were published on the prestigious Journal of Sports Sciences. We measured 100 different jumps both with My Jump and the force platforms and then we compared the jump height of each system. My Jump values were highly valid and as reliable as the those obtained with the platform, so it is a great tool to measure vertical jump performance for both scientific and training purposes.

See the full-text validation paper of My Jump


My Jump allows me to measure my jump height easily and with accuracy. Something indispensable to evaluate my physical performance.

Luis Alberto Marco, 2009 European indoor 800-m Subchampion

My Jump is the cutting edge, scientifically validated and most practical application to measure athletes vertical jumping performance, and the only one to include the complete "Optimal Force-Velocity Profile" analysis we recently validated.

Pr. Jean-Benoit Morin, PhD., expert in biomechanics


Featured by Apple under "Best New Apps" on more than 100 countries

Runmatic for iOS & Mac

We know you love running, but do you know how do you run? Runmatic is the first scientifically validated app that measures your running mechanics. Available for iOS9+ devices on the Appstore.


What is Runmatic?

Designed by sport scientists & coaches of elite runners, Runmatic is the first scientifically designed app that analyzes your running technique to help you to improve your performance and prevent injuries.

Runmatic takes advance of the slowmotion recording capabilities of the latest iOS devices (iPhone5s/6/6s, iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2) to accurately analyze your steps while running. Using scientifically validation equations, Runmatic calculates the contact-flight times, force, efficiency, frequency and even the asymmetry of your legs in a simple, accurate way.

How does it work? You just need to record 9 steps of your run with Runmatic and select the contact and take-off of each step. Runmatic will magically provide you with valuable information about your running biomechanics and will even notify you if something seems wrong.

See a simple step-by-step video-tutorial to learn how to use Runmatic.

The science behind Runmatic

Runmatic was scientifically validated using an infrared platform mounted on treadmill capable of measuring contact and flight times with high accuracy. We measured more than 100 steps running at low, medium and high speeds simultaneously with Runmatic and the instrumented treadmill, and the results were great: Runmatic is highly valid & reliable for measuring your running mechanics with scientific accuracy. Now, with Runmatic you can check your leg asymmetry, running contact times, vertical oscillation and more just using your iPhone or iPad!

Runmatic uses the equations validated in Morin et al. (2005) for its calculations.You can read the validation paper of Runmatic here


Runmatic is very helpful for my training. It let me better understand how do I run, which is critical to improve my running economy and, therefore, my performance.

Arturo Casado, 2010 European 1500 Champion

The tools often used to perform this kind of analyses are much more expensive and generally less practical for the general population. Runmatic solves this problem and allows runners to analyze and monitor their running mechanics in an easy way.

Jean-Benoit Morin, PhD., expert in running biomechanics

My Lift for iOS & Android

What is your maximal strength? Which weight should you use in your next training session to optimize results? My Lift is the first scientifically designed app to measure your 1-Repetition Maximum (1-RM) in the most accurate way possible. Available for iOS under My Jump Lab and Android as an individual app.


Simple, accurate, powerful

Knowing your 1-RM in every single training session is essential to adjust your training intensity and get the best adaptations. However, performing an actual 1-RM test could be dangerous and fatiguing and, if performed every day, it will most likely lead to overtraining or injuries. To solve this problem, My Lift uses scientifically validated algorithms that can estimate your 1-RM with high precision by simply recording your exercise. To do this, My Lift uses the high-speed video recording available on most smartphones devices to measure the velocity at which you are performing the exercise, which is highly correlated with your maximal strength capabilities. This novel approach is used by sport scientists and top-level coaches thanks to advanced instrumental like linear transducers or force platforms, but now you can measure your 1-RM like a pro just with your smartphone or tablet!

My Lift is very intuitive and easy to use: you just need to record one repetition of the desired exercise with 1 to 4 different submaximal loads and select its start and beginning in the app with its accurate frame-by-frame navigation. After that, My Lift will show you your 1-RM!

See the tutorials to watch My Lift in action.

The science behind My Lift

Research has shown that there is an almost perfect correlation between the external load on resistance exercises and the velocity at which the subjects can perform the movement. That is what is called the load-velocity relationship: the higher the load, the lower the movement velocity.Moreover, recent studies have shown that the velocity at which the subjects can move the 1-Repetition maximum and each submaximal percentage is very stable, meaning that the 1-RM can be estimated in a very accurate way just by measuring the velocity at which the subject performs the exercise. Also, the load-velocity relationship allows to know what %1-RM corresponds to a certain load according to the velocity at which it can be moved, something specially important to monitor the intensity of the training to optimize the adaptations. My Lift allows you to calculate your 1-RM or estimate what %1-RM corresponds to a specific load just by measuring your individual load-velocity profile by recording a video of your lifts. Now you can measure your maximal strength capabilities every single day to adjust your intensity and optimize the results!

My Lift uses the load-velocity relationship to estimate the 1-RM. You can read the validation paper of My Lift here


Nordics for iOS & Mac

Nordics is the first app specifically designed to monitor your performance in the nordic hamstring exercise (NHE). The app measures with high accuracy the breakpoint angle achieved on the NHE, based on recent research that shows that this angle is highly related to hamstring eccentric strength. For this, and taking into account the well-known benefits of the NHE for the prevention of hamstring injuries, Nordics can help you monitor your athletes to improve your prevention protocols and get the most out of your athletes! Available for iOS9+ devices on the Appstore.

See the video tutorial to learn how to use Nordics.


MyROM for iOS & Mac

MyROM can measure your dorsiflexion angle and the ROM of many more body joints using the advanced gyroscope on your iPhone or iPad. You just need to put your iPhone or iPad on body and MyROM will calculate your ROM angle at a glance. Variables such as dorsiflexion or hip internal rotation angles are important variables related to lower body injuries that doctors and physical therapists have been measuring for years. Now, you can test your ROM scores in a very accurate and simple way with your iPhone or iPad! Available for iOS10+ devices on the Appstore.

See the video tutorial to learn how to use MyROM.


ForceData for iOS & Mac

ForceData is a very simple app that uses the sensors of the iPhone and iPad to measure acceleration and force. Also, it exports RAW data to a CSV file as well as low-pass filtered data and Kalman filtered data. This CSV file is already prepared to plot force-time and acceleration-time curves easily. Very useful for simple sport biomechanics analyses in exercises like the countermovement jump or the squat! Available for iOS10+ devices on the Appstore.


Ace Workout for iPhone

Bored with your gym routine? With Ace Workout you will never repeat the same workout again! Ace Workout creates daily random workouts from a database of million routines using advanced algorithms. It combines more than 90 pulling and pushing exercises to work your muscles in a balanced way, and randomly selects the number of repetitions per set of the session. That way you will never repeat the same workout twice!

With Ace Workout you will work every day different muscle regions and at different intensities, boosting variation, motivation and maximizing gains. It also has great features to help you train like never before:

-Create outstanding upper-body, lower-body or full-body workouts at a glance
-More than 90 videos to teach you the technique of each exercise
-Save your workouts into a calendar to keep track of your training
-Calculate training volume in tons and see your progress over time

Ace Workout, advanced routines to variate your training and maximize your gains! Available for iOS10+ devices on the Appstore.


Readiness for iOS

Are you ready to perform at your best?

Readiness can assess how prepared are you to train and compete with a very short, evidence-based wellness questionnaire right from your iPhone or iPad! Readiness can help coaches and athletes in their decision making process by monitoring daily readiness in a simple way. It creates a Readiness score in a scale of 1 to 9 based on perceived sleep quality, muscle soreness, fatigue and stress. Then, it compares daily scores with the average of the previous two months using a very intuitive traffic light system: green is ok, orange is moderate fatigue and red is high fatigue.

Also, Readiness has great features that can help coaches and athletes to improve their training:
-Create as many teams as athletes as you want with no restrictions
-Register as many tests per athletes as you want
-Export the whole data in a CSV file to Excel or other popular apps
-Check your evolution with intuitive graphs

Available for iOS devices on the Appstore.


COD Timer for iOS



COD Timer is the first scientifically validated app to measure change of direction performance. Designed by the creator of widely used apps in pro sports like My Jump 2 or My Lift, COD Timer allows you to measure meaningful parameters of some of the most popular COD tests, like velocity, contact time, leg asymmetry or COD deficit. Just record your athlete with your iPhone or iPad doing the test and analyze the video, without the need of additional equipment. Simple and accurate!

COD Timer has great features that will help you to monitor change of direction performance like:
*Includes some of the most used and validated COD tests, like the 5-0-5, Illinois Agility Test, V-Cut and 5+5.
*Measure important variables as time, contact phases, COD deficit or leg asymmetry. Scientifically validated!
*Create as many teams as you want, and as many athletes in each team as you want!
*Save the results into the user’s profile and register the evolution over time. You can even get alerts depending on how the scores compares to the athlete’s baseline. Very useful to detect readiness to train and compete!
*Export your whole data to a CSV file that can be opened with Excel and similar spreadsheets apps

COD Timer, monitor change of direction performance just with your iPhone or iPad!

Available for iOS devices on the Appstore.


My Mocap for iOS



My Mocap allows you to measure dynamic knee valgus, squat depth and many more in real time with your iPhone or iPad, no markers needed!

It uses cutting-edge Augmented Reality and Machine Learning algorithms to measure your body joints in real time. You just need to point to your athlete with your camera to conduct different tests. My Mocap has 3 incredible modes that will allow you to test your athletes like never before:

*Valgus mode: measures dynamic knee valgus angle during a drop jump, a relevant parameter related with lower body injuries.
*Squat mode: select a desired squat depth (45º,90º, parallel, deep squat, etc.) and it will provide a live feedback when the athlete reaches it.
*Free mode: it tracks 15 relevant landmarks of the human body and allows you to export the full dataset for a complete analysis.

My Mocap, markerless motion capture system in your pocket!

Available for iPhone XR or newer on the Appstore.
Try the Lite version for free!


Strength Training: New Methodological Perspectives

Strength Training: New Methodological Perspectives is the first multi-touch interactive iBook in Spanish in the field of Sports Sciences. Available for iPad and Mac for free, this book aims to bring undergraduate and graduate sport sciences students the latest research on the topic of strength training in a simple, visual, interactive way. It was edited with iBooks Author, an innovative tool by Apple that allows writers to create and publish stunning books with multi-touch, multimedia widgets.


Summary

Strength Training: New Methodological Perspectives has 8 chapters full of multimedia, interactive widgets and learning tools that will introduce you to some of the most exciting research on the field of strength training to increase performance. Also, it has some exclusive photos and videos of Spanish elite athletes like Lydia Valentin, European Weightlifting Champion 2014 and Spain's best weightlifter ever. Here is the list of chapters:

  1. Chapter 1: Introduction
  2. Chapter 2: Movement velocity to control training
  3. Chapter 3: Tests and technologies to control training
  4. Chapter 4: Main exercises for the development of strength
  5. Chapter 5: Lowering training loads: No Pain, More Gain
  6. Chapter 6: Monitoring fatigue
  7. Chapter 7: Strength Training: From childhood to elderly
  8. Chapter 8: Statistical analysis applied to sport science

Great downloads

Strength Training: New Methodological Perspectives has been downloaded almost 10.000 times in its iBooks and PDF versions and it was Spain's #1 downloaded free multi-touch iBook for several weeks.


Strength Training: New Methodological Perspectives is available on the iBookstore in Spanish in more than 52 countries for free. Also, you can download a PDF version below.

Download PDF version

Get In Touch.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you need assistance with my apps, have questions about my research or want to invite me to give a speak at your event. .

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