Blumaka Konnect insoles get their independent test results. (SPOILER) They're real good.
And Blumaka goes the dynamite
Stuart Jenkins chatted with us about his Blumaka Konnect insoles on the podcast back during Episode 18:
Part of the discussion was about how Stuart was waiting for the independent lab results of their product to be finalized. Well, the lab has finished its studies and it looks like Blumaka has indeed hit a homerun. Stuart sent us the results and wrote, “We no longer have to ask athletes “what they think” of our insole, we can tell them what our insole DOES”. This is incredibly exciting for the brand as they can say, without question, what their product does.
“It couldn’t be better news for us! Now we KNOW it works! The only question will be; Who is smart enough to use it? :)” - Stuart Jenkins of Blumaka
What do they do?
“Blumaka Konnect insoles help you produce more force, move faster and maintain stability in your athletic performance, all through the world’s best sustainable recycled foam insoles.” - From Blumaka
The insole was created to stop feet from slipping inside the shoe. This slipping inside our shoes can negatively affect performance. An easy example to imagine is running a technical downhill and your foot slipping inside your shoe as it plants, which results in your entire foot slipping forward before you are able to take your next step. It’s a fairly simple and common occurrence and one that most of us are able to run right through because we are used to it. It’s also a lot of wasted movement, energy, and potential for injury. The Blumaka insole can reduce these occurrences and add stability. If your feet aren’t slipping, you feel safer and with no wasted movement, each step is stronger. Stronger and safer sounds good to me!
There are countless other examples of where not slipping would be preferable to slipping, obviously. Less obvious though, is how much energy we can save if we aren’t wasting movement through our feet. 50km (or more) is a lot of steps. The thought of an insole ensuring those steps are more efficient than they were in the past could certainly be an advantage. Having more stability at the end of those long runs could help prevent injury as well, which would also be an advantage. All of these little advantages have the potential to add up. Even if that is as simple as injury prevention, that’s a pretty big deal.
Lab Results
The lab results specifically found that players had more force production, more linear body velocity, a longer stride, the ability to accelerate and decelerate faster, and a more stable front knee. Most players that used the insoles in the study continued to use them in games. These are Major League Baseball players, the best of the best, so they are not going to use equipment without cause. The insoles are making a difference on the highest level.
The tests were not done on trail runners, they were baseball players. They were done in a lab and they used turf to ensure the test was as clean as possible. Even so, it’s hard not to look at the results and think about the benefits when it comes to trail running. It would seem that using the insoles is an advantage over not using the insoles. How much so? That’s a lot more difficult to nail down for us trail runners. For MLB players, it’s already in the numbers.
Anecdotally
I’ve run with these insoles quite a few times now. Stuart told me that a great thing to test is running over an angled rock and noticing how your feet don’t slip down the slope like usual. I can confirm this worked, and as a result, changed the mental side of running out there as well. I didn’t realize how much my brain and body planned for the little slips that my feet did before. Suddenly being conscious of this fact, I noticed how much more every muscle in my foot works, and when I didn’t need my feet to “grab”, because they already were, it actually took some adjusting. I also found they increased my confidence while descending.
I don’t know that these are going to radically change performance times or anything like that. I do believe though, that if you lined up 2 of the exact same athletes in a race and the only difference was one had insoles, the one with the insoles is going to win.
The entire report is included below for reference.
Full Report for transparency:
Independent Biomechanics Study
Changes in Mechanics Utilizing Blumaka Konnect Insoles
Terms of Use
The enclosed research study was completed by a professional performance biomechanics lab. The purpose was to understand the positive effects on the body’s movement with Blumaka’s Konnect insoles as the only independent variable. Konnect insoles demonstrated the ability to improve the overall performance of the body in core athletic movements, spanning across all sports. Blumaka has the right to use and distribute the data from this report. Blumaka does not have the right to share or endorse the name of the lab or participating athletes without prior consent.
Date Prepared
September 30, 2022
Purpose
The purpose of this research was to understand potential changes in kinematics and kinetics due to using Blumaka insoles within the player’s turf shoes.
Methodology
190 trials were used for the purpose of this research, with 90 trials in the dataset being those recorded using the insoles. The collections were conducted as the first set being without insoles, and the second set with insoles. Intent was monitored throughout to attempt to preserve reliability. Full body movement and force data were collected using 3D marker-based motion capture with integrated force plates. Kinematics and kinetics were calculated for each trial using the Visual3D Pipeline. Research statistics were used to understand the effect of the insoles potential impact on mechanics. The metrics identified for comparisons are those thought to be potentially influenced by the insoles, and are often related to performance.
Results
Force Production:
Back Leg Overall Force Production
Measured as the resultant, or total force, the drive leg produced
7 out of 10 players saw an increase
Back Leg Drive Force Production
Measured as linear directional force, generally the most valuable
7 out of 10 players saw an increase
Lead Leg Overall Force Production
Measured as the resultant, or total force, the lead leg produced
8 out of 10 players saw an increase
Speed:
Linear Body Velocity
Measured as how quickly the player moves in a linear direction
9 out of 10 players saw an increase
Stride Length Percentage
Measured as a percentage of the player’s height
9 out of 10 players saw an increase
Acceleration/Deceleration:
Linear Body Acceleration
Measured as how quickly the player accelerates in a linear direction
8 out of 10 players saw an increase
Lead Leg Braking Force Production
Measured as linear directional force, generally the most valuable
8 out of 10 players saw an increase
Linear Body Deceleration
Measured as how quickly the player decelerates in a linear direction
6 out of 10 players saw an increase
Stability/Efficiency:
Front Knee Extension Velocity
Measured as how quickly the front knee extends after landing
7 out of 10 players saw an increase
Front Knee Instability
Measured as how much the front knee collapses after landing
8 out of 10 players saw an increase
This potentially suggests that there was a decrease in loss of energy (Ideally this energy is then continually distributed somewhere up the chain rather than simply being lost)
Conclusions
It was expected that a majority of the metrics selected would see an improvement due to the Blumaka Insoles. Throughout all selected metrics, it was observed that a vast majority saw improvements potentially as a result of using the insoles. Furthermore, it was observed that settling time into the front side occurred earlier potentially as a result of the insoles, helping the foot not continue sliding forward into the end range of the shoe. On the subjective side of things, it was visually observed that less slippage was occurring inside of the shoe. Additionally, the player’s feedback was very positive throughout, and felt they were sticking and braking better. The majority of players that were tested continued to use the Blumaka Insoles while playing in games.
Additional Notes
Generally, it was observed that the insoles may need to be half sizes larger than that of the shoe size. The reasoning being, if the sole is even slightly smaller than the shoe, the sole actually slips inside of the shoe, so while the foot isn’t slipping on the sole, the sole itself could be slipping inside of the shoe. Additionally, the sole must be the only thing inside of the shoe, there cannot be orthotics or another sole in the shoe at the same time or could potentially limit return, and generally makes the foot too tall or too tight inside of the shoe. With a majority seeing improvements in overall back leg force production, the remainder of the metrics could have been influenced by this change, and is harder to prove it was solely a result of the insoles. There is no evidence suggesting that the insoles potentially limit or decrease player performance. It is important to note, that statistically only linear body velocity and stride length percentage were found to be significant improvements as a result.
Potential Limiting Factors
This test was performed on turf as opposed to dirt. Naturally, there is going to be more potential slippage on turf from the shoe than spikes on dirt and there could be some variability making finding general trends more difficult. In an attempt to combat this issue, turf shoes were required for this test.
Potential Follow up Testing
Monitoring in game changes in kinematics potentially as a result of the Blumaka Insoles by utilizing KinaTrax and observing any potential similar trends. Potentially creating customizable insoles for the player to ensure proper fitting within their shoe / cleat.
