Lauren Fridman is a biomechanist by profession and an elite track cyclist from Vancouver, Canada. Drawing on her background as a dual-sport varsity athlete and biomedical engineering graduate, Lauren works as a biomechanist at Plantiga, where she uses wearable sensor technology to advance our understanding of human movement, helping people move better, recover from injuries, and live life to the fullest.
From Volleyball to Velodromes
Growing up, Lauren tried her hand at “all the sports”—from basketball to cross-country running to track and field. Ultimately, volleyball became her primary focus, earning her a spot on Simon Fraser University’s varsity volleyball team while pursuing her biomedical engineering degree.
When her university volleyball career came to a close, she wasn’t quite ready to step away from athletics. “I had the rest of the year of eligibility left, so I joined the varsity track and field team and threw javelin for six months just because the opportunity was there,” she says, a move that culminated in a qualification for nationals.
After graduating, Lauren took a brief hiatus to recover from the physical demands of training. “I started to go a little bit crazy because I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and not training or doing anything just doesn’t work for me,” she notes.
That’s when Lauren discovered the RBC Training Ground program, designed to identify and support athletes with Olympic potential. “I signed up for the [RBC Training Ground] qualifier the week before it happened,” Lauren recalls. “I didn't train at all—it was literally my only opportunity since the age bracket is 14 to 25, and it was one month before my 26th birthday.” Despite pulling both quads during testing, Lauren caught the attention of Cycling Canada, who encouraged her to try track cycling.
From there, Lauren’s journey shifted into high gear. She attended development camps, trained alongside other RBC athletes, and eventually became one of the top 30 participants to receive funding through the program. “I really went from zero to 100. I had no cycling experience, and now I train 15 to 20 hours per week as a competitive track cyclist.” she says.
Merging Science and Sport: Lauren’s Biomechanical Expertise
Lauren’s career as a biomechanist began with her passion for understanding human movement. At Plantiga, she’s part of a team pioneering wearable technology that collects real-world data through insoles equipped with sensors. “We measure things like ground contact time, stride length, asymmetries, and movement patterns,” Lauren explains. “What makes it powerful is that we’re capturing this information where it actually matters—on the field, not just in a lab or clinic.”
This data has wide-ranging applications, from improving athletic performance for elite athletes to helping people with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and muscular dystrophy. “Our goal is simple: to help people move better,” Lauren says. “Whether it’s an athlete chasing a personal best or someone recovering from surgery, movement quality impacts everything.”
Lauren’s perspective as both an elite athlete and a scientist gives her a unique edge. “A lot of sports scientists are focused on the data and they forget about the person,” she explains. “I try to take a holistic approach by putting the person first and using data to support their goals.”
She also applies these insights to her own training. “I didn’t really understand the value of warm-ups or think I needed them until I was looking at my movement patterns and thought ‘wow there's a huge difference,’ so that's been really interesting for me to dive into,” she shares.
Supporting Athletic Performance with Blonyx: A Shared Mission
Lauren’s commitment to optimizing human movement aligns perfectly with Blonyx’s mission to help as many people as possible achieve their athletic ambition. She supplements her training and recovery with Blonyx Beta Alanine, Blonyx HMB+ Creatine, and Beet It Sport Nitrate 400—sports nutrition products she values for their scientifically proven ability to enhance endurance performance. “These supplements feel like a no-brainer to me. Your body already produces creatine, for example, so you’re just helping it along and augmenting what you already have,” she explains.
“I'm really interested in optimization and I think supplementation is a major part of finding your potential and helping you actually reach it,” Lauren shares, “I think Blonyx helps with the internal side of reaching your potential and then you can measure that and optimize the external side of your potential with wearables. By marrying those two things you can hopefully take all those things and optimize your whole self holistically.”
This shared focus on science-backed performance makes Lauren’s partnership with Blonyx a natural fit. Both Lauren and Blonyx are committed to empowering athletes with the tools they need to reach their athletic ambition, through technology, training, and sports nutrition.
Looking Ahead
Lauren envisions a future where wearable technology plays a larger role in personalized movement health. “I hope it opens the door to better movement health for everyone,” she says. “It would be nice to have everybody able to monitor their own movement patterns and do things that are individualized that help them.”
In her career, Lauren aims to continue learning and making an impact in sports science. “I’m fortunate to work with some incredible scientists, and I’d love to reach that level myself one day,” she shares.
For Lauren, sport is a lifelong pursuit grounded in both short-term progress and long-term vision. While her immediate goals in cycling depend on her national team status, she remains committed to improvement. “It’s important to have stretch goals. If I don’t meet them, I’ll keep training and trying,” she says.
Looking further ahead, Lauren’s ultimate ambition reflects her dedication to longevity in sport. “My life goal is to set a world record as a masters athlete—and when I say masters athlete, I mean as a 90-year-old,” she laughs. “It might sound a little bit silly, but I want to make sport sustainable and keep doing it for as long as I possibly can. The goal isn’t really about holding a world record—it’s about never stopping the push to be better.”
When asked what advice she would give to others, Lauren emphasizes patience. “Especially if you’re starting something new, there’s going to be a huge learning curve,” she says. “Whether it’s a new skill or a new type of training, everything takes time. It’s easy to think, ‘I’m not good enough yet’ or ‘This isn’t working,’ and just throw it out the window. But sometimes you just have to give things a chance.”
You can follow Lauren Fridman on Instagram @lolofrizzman and find more about her work and the future of smart footwear at @plantiga.
That’s all for this week! If you enjoyed reading Lauren's story, head over to the Blonyx Blog for more stories of athletic ambition.
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