Put Your Muscle Into It: Introducing XEM2, a Novel Approach for Monitoring Exertion in Stationary Physical Exercises Leveraging Muscle Work

We present a novel system for camera-based measurement and visualization of muscle work based on the Hill-Type-Muscle-Model: the exercise exertion muscle-work monitor ($\mathit{\text{XEM}}$${}^2$). Our aim is to complement and, thus, address issues of established measurement techniques that offer imprecise data for non-uniform movements (burned calories) or provide limited information on strain across different body parts (self-perception scales). We validate the reliability of XEM’s measurements through a technical evaluation of ten participants and five exercises. Further, we assess the acceptance, usefulness, benefits, and opportunities of $\mathit{\text{XEM}}$${}^2$ in an empirical user study. Our results show that $\mathit{\text{XEM}}$${}^2$ provides reliable values of muscle work and supports participants in understanding their workout while also providing reliable information about perceived exertion per muscle group. With this paper, we introduce a novel system capable of measuring and visualizing exertion for single muscle groups, which has the potential to improve exercise monitoring to prevent unbalanced workouts.