YOSHIKUNI TAKAMOTO
Senior Researcher in the Human Characteristics Research Team at the ASICS Institute of Sport Science.

Could you briefly describe your work?
"At the Human Characteristics Research Team, we analyze human movements and muscle activity and develop functional apparel and innovations to support the human body when exercising, in order to improve performance."

What was the starting point for developing Inner Muscle sportswear?
"Well, the original idea was to develop first layer items specifically for women. During extensive laboratory experiments, we analyzed how inner muscles work in daily movement and sport-specific movements. Based on the results, we designed the Inner Muscle products with an apparel developer. We created test samples, which we validated many times, and then we asked a large number of people to perform wear tests."

What makes this technology so unique?
"The unique point is the focus on inner muscles. When both outer muscles and inner muscles work together, it is possible to have strong, smooth movement. We can strengthen the outer muscles by weight training. However, it is well known that the inner muscles are very diffi cult to train because they are located deep inside the body and so we need to continuously train them with small loads. Inner Muscle tights with the innovative supporting H-shape and shirts with the Diamond shaped back have the unique function that we can train the inner muscles just by wearing them.

How can runners benefit from Inner Muscle tights and tops? What are the most important effects?
"The benefit of Inner Muscle tights is to create a longer stride by minimizing loss in kicking motion. The benefit of Inner Muscle shirts is to stabilize the running form by making it easier to swing the arms. Moreover, you can enjoy easier running through higher oxygen intake ability."