16 performance-boosting gadgets and gear that will change how you train
From an AI-powered exoskeleton to a body temperature sensor used by pro cycling teams, this is the kit that actually makes a measurable difference to what your body can do.
Training harder doesn’t cut it anymore. Training smarter does. Whether you’re running marathons, logging miles on the bike, or just trying to recover faster between sessions, the gear in this list has been designed with a single brief: improve what your body is capable of. Wearable tech, science-backed nutrition, recovery tools, and clothing engineered to race are all here. Some of it is genuinely jaw-dropping. All of it earns its place.
Your body is data: the kit that tells you what’s actually happening
CORE 2 Body Temperature Sensor
Most athletes don’t know their core temperature is climbing until performance has already dropped. The CORE 2 changes that. Worn on a heart rate strap or bra strap, this compact 40mm sensor uses thermal energy transfer technology and an AI algorithm to deliver continuous, medical-grade core body temperature data in real time, streamed to compatible Garmin, Wahoo, COROS, and Suunto devices. When your core temperature rises during a race, your body diverts blood from muscles to skin to cool down, and power drops. CORE tells you exactly when that’s happening, so you can make strategic cooling and pacing decisions before you hit the wall. Used by national cycling teams and endorsed in over 10 clinical studies. The new CORE 2 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, with an improved modular clip. One of those rare gadgets that pro athletes know about and civilians don’t.
From £209, corebodytemp.com
RunStar 8E SmartScan Pro Body Fat Scale
Body weight is the least useful number on any scale. The RunStar 8E gives you 28 metrics instead, including body fat percentage, muscle mass, visceral fat level, hydration, metabolic age, and a 5-segment body composition analysis that breaks your upper body, lower body, and trunk down independently. Eight electrodes and dual-frequency BIA technology produce results validated at over 98.5% correlation with DEXA scanning. The 7-in-1 TFT LCD display shows seven key stats at a glance without needing the app open, and a single USB-C charge lasts an extraordinary 2,160 hours. The Starfit app syncs to Apple Health, Fitbit, and other platforms and generates clinic-ready reports. Multiple user profiles mean the whole household gets proper tracking, not just one person.
$169.99, runstar.com
MELT Method Fascia Hydrator
Recovery tools usually hit muscle. This one goes deeper. Developed by fascia expert Sue Hitzmann and integrated into the MELT Method framework, the Fascia Hydrator uses calibrated therapeutic vibration across six treatment surfaces and four frequency settings (up to 90Hz) to stimulate lymphatic flow, fascial hydration, and circulatory balance. The premise is grounded in fascia science: connective tissue that becomes dehydrated loses elasticity and restricts movement, and standard foam rollers don’t reach it effectively. The Fascia Hydrator does. Use it for 10 minutes before a session and the difference in joint mobility is immediate. Use it consistently and range of motion improves over weeks, not months. It’s lightweight enough to travel and subtle enough to use while watching TV. A companion library of 500-plus streaming videos guides you through the MELT protocols.
Available at meltmethod.com
Roll Recovery R8 Plus Deep Tissue Massage Tool
The problem with foam rolling is that it requires the floor, your full body weight, and a level of coordination that is hard to maintain when your legs are trashed after a long run. The R8 Plus removes all of that. A spring-loaded scissor mechanism clamps around the muscle so you can sit upright and roll quads, hamstrings, IT bands, calves, shins, and glutes in minutes. A dial on the patented hidden mechanism adjusts compression from 50% lighter than the standard R8 up to 15% more, so it works whether you’re fresh or demolished. FDA-registered as a medical device and recommended by physiotherapists for myofascial release, it’s compact enough to pack in a training bag. The kind of thing that makes you wonder how you ever managed the floor-rolling charade.
$169 / approx £135, rollrecovery.com
Move faster, hurt less: the performance gear that earns its price
Hypershell X Pro AI-Powered Exoskeleton
Yes, it’s an exoskeleton. No, it’s not sci-fi anymore. Weighing just 1.8kg and strapping around the hips in under a minute, the Hypershell X Pro delivers up to 800W of peak motor output via an AI MotionEngine that reads your gait through 12 sensors including IMUs, gyroscopes, and a barometer, adapting to 10 movement modes (uphill, downhill, running, cycling, stairs, and more) with a 2ms response time. Independent testing confirmed a 39% reduction in physical exertion and a 42% lower heart rate on the same effort. Battery range is 17.5km per charge with 65W fast charging hitting 50% in 35 minutes. Winner of the CES 2025 Best Innovation Award in Robotics. Hikers, runners, and older adults with reduced mobility are the core audience, but any endurance athlete who trains for three-plus hours will feel the difference.
From £1,099 (Pro X), uk.hypershell.tech
Skullcandy Push 540 Open Earbuds
Open-ear buds for outdoor training have historically been terrible. Either the sound was thin, the fit was insecure, or both. Skullcandy has spent years building sport-specific audio and the Push 540 Open lands closer to the mark than most. The over-ear hooks lock the 60g unit in place during tempo runs and rides, the IP44 rating handles sweat and light rain, and the open design means you hear traffic and trail ahead of you without switching anything off. Battery life is 10 hours per charge with 32 hours in the case, a 10-minute rapid charge delivers two hours of playback, and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio and multipoint pairing keeps two devices connected simultaneously. The detachable magnetic neckband adds extra stability for particularly aggressive efforts and stores neatly in the case. Sensible pricing for what’s a well-made sport-first option.
£79.99, skullcandy.co.uk
Puresport Energy Gels
Developed with performance nutritionist Dr Sam Impey and validated with ExoAnalytics testing on runners from novice to elite, Puresport’s gel range cuts through the usual category noise with a clear, one-line protocol: one gel every 30 minutes. Each 30g sachet delivers a DualCarb blend of maltodextrin and fructose in a 1:0.8 glucose-to-fructose ratio, using two different gut absorption pathways simultaneously to maximise uptake and reduce the digestive distress that plagues conventional gels. Available in Berry, Orange, and a new Unflavoured version designed specifically for the flavour fatigue that hits after 90 minutes of racing. Informed Sport certified. In tests with 500 runners, 95% reported zero gut issues. Vegan, no artificial colours or flavours.
From £5 (2-pack), £14 (6-pack), £24 (12-pack), puresport.co
DIRTEA Pure Essentials Creatine
The supplement category is full of overengineered formulas with jargon where ingredients should be. DIRTEA’s response is a single tub containing one ingredient: 100% micronised creatine monohydrate, the most extensively studied supplement in sports science. Every batch is independently tested by Eurofins and Light Labs for purity and safety. Unflavoured and completely filler-free, it dissolves cleanly into coffee, matcha, water, or a smoothie. For anyone not already supplementing creatine consistently, the evidence is comprehensive: improved ATP regeneration supports strength, muscular endurance, and, increasingly, cognitive performance, particularly relevant for endurance athletes managing training load across a week. Creatine stores decline faster in women over 30, making this especially useful for a demographic that the category has historically ignored.
£24, dirteaworld.com
Paria CC Core Black Race Short Sleeve Jersey
Sheffield-based Paria makes cycling jerseys that look like they were designed by someone who actually rides, not a marketing committee. The Core Black Race jersey is an aggressively cut race-fit in premium Italian tech fabric with COOLMAX panels at the neck and side-venting zones, wind-resistant fibrous material to the front, and silicone gripper at the hem to prevent the classic mid-climb ride-up. Laser-cut sleeves, flat-lock stitching throughout, and rear pockets deep enough to fit a phone without thinking about it. The all-black colourway earns subtle reflective detailing on shoulders and rear pocket zip. Ships direct from the UK warehouse with next-day delivery available. The kind of kit that performs like it costs three times the price it does.
From approx £75, paria.cc
The smartwatch, the shoes, and the long-game gear
Garmin Forerunner 965
The standard against which every other running watch is measured. A 1.4-inch AMOLED display delivers far more screen real estate than previous Forerunner generations, the battery hits 31 hours in GPS mode (up to 110 hours in UltraTrac), and the running dynamics suite covers ground contact time balance, stride length, vertical oscillation, and running power all from the wrist. Real-time coaching cues adapt to your pace and form live in session, and the multi-band GPS locks faster and more accurately in urban canyons than single-band alternatives. Body Battery, sleep tracking, HRV status, and training readiness scores build a complete picture of how recovered you actually are before each session. Connects to CORE sensors for combined core temperature and training data in one device. For anyone serious about data-led training, this remains the reference.
£599.99, garmin.com
On Cloudmonster 2 Running Shoes
Maximum cushioning has arrived at a place where it can actually be trusted. The CloudMonster 2 builds on On’s CloudTec Phase technology with a more propulsive foam stack (25mm in the heel, 19mm at the forefoot) and a redesigned outsole that delivers a remarkably propulsive toe-off for a shoe this padded. The engineered mesh upper is breathable without the structural wobble that mars cheaper maximalist options, and the heel-to-toe drop sits at 6mm, which positions it squarely between motion-control and racing territory. Long runs, recovery days, and anything over 15 miles feel genuinely different in these. The kind of shoe you stop thinking about by mile three, which is exactly the goal.
£159.99, on-running.com
Therabody Theragun Pro Plus
Percussion therapy has matured. The Theragun Pro Plus adds vibration, heat, and cold capabilities to the percussive head of the original, making it the most comprehensive single recovery device available for home use. The 60-pound stall force pushes through knots that lighter devices bounce off, the rotating arm reaches the full back without contortion, and the QuietForce Technology keeps noise to 55-65dB, making it usable in shared spaces without incident. Five attachments cover everything from large muscle groups to precise trigger-point work, battery life hits 150 minutes, and the Smart app integration syncs sessions with Garmin, Apple Health, and Strava to recommend routines based on what you’ve just done. The premium benchmark for serious home recovery.
£449, therabody.com
Wahoo TICKR X Heart Rate Monitor
The most underrated training tool most runners own but haven’t fully used. The TICKR X does heart rate over Bluetooth and ANT+ simultaneously, meaning it streams to your watch, your Wahoo bike computer, and a third-party app all at once without signal degradation. What separates it from simpler chest straps is the internal memory for 16 hours of workout data (useful when you’re in a tunnel or out of phone range), built-in accelerometer for running dynamics including cadence, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation, and compatibility with the CORE body temperature sensor for combined thermal and cardiac monitoring. Dual-side LED indicator makes setup error-proof, and the adjustable strap fits 56-100cm chest circumferences. Far more capable than its price suggests.
£59.99, wahoofitness.com
Pillar Performance Triple Magnesium
Sleep quality is the most underrated performance variable most athletes ignore. Pillar’s Triple Magnesium uses three forms of magnesium simultaneously (glycinate, malate, and citrate) to address bioavailability across different absorption pathways, with glycinate specifically chosen for its sleep-supporting properties via GABA receptor activation. Each dose delivers 300mg of elemental magnesium from those three sources, without the laxative effect that typically accompanies cheaper oxide-based products. Certified under the Informed Sport anti-doping programme, this is the kind of supplement that doesn’t produce dramatic short-term results but, over six to eight weeks of consistent use, makes a clearly measurable difference to sleep quality, muscle recovery, and cramping frequency. Ask any elite endurance coach what they’d add to most athletes’ stacks first.
From £35, pillarperformance.com
Whoop 5.0 Wearable Band
The philosophy is different here: no screen, no distractions, just continuous biometric data delivered through an app. Strain, recovery score, HRV, sleep staging, respiratory rate, blood oxygen, and skin temperature are all tracked 24/7 via the wrist. The fifth-generation hardware is 14% smaller than its predecessor, runs for four days between charges, and introduces hormonal cycle coaching for female athletes alongside the established performance pillars. The membership model (from £29/month or discounted annually) includes free hardware upgrades as new generations launch. The insight the app provides, particularly around recovery and how lifestyle choices like alcohol and late meals affect HRV the following morning, is the kind of real-world feedback that changes training behaviour faster than any coach’s advice.
From £29/month, whoop.com
The best training kit doesn’t just add data, it changes what you do with your body. Start with what solves your biggest limiting factor: recovery, nutrition, monitoring, or simply moving better. The rest follows from there.
