ABSTRACT
Superheroes have long been a fixture in pop culture and are currently experiencing new heights of popularity in film and on television. One of the most common backstories among these characters is the one of the average person who, through the use of advanced technology and cutting edge science, has been transformed into a powerful super soldier. In a sense, the current drive to quantify every aspect of human performance through wearable devices and constant monitoring tells a similar tale. Amateur and professional athletes alike are using technology to maximize their personal training and plot their daily routines. In this chapter, the benefits and drawbacks of athlete monitoring are discussed in terms of the effects of constant observation on injury risk and recovery. It addresses issues such as self-reporting bias and Hawthorne effects, which can affect the quality of collected data, and the influences of motivation and cognitive heuristics on monitoring practices.
