Metric - Strength Training

I really wanted to give this app five stars because I loved everything about it, except for the apps inability to recognize reps. Time after time, no matter where I put the camera, it didn’t record reps and thus didn’t give me any output for them. Because of that I won’t be going on to use the pro version, but otherwise this app was pretty useful.

I love this app! I don’t usually write reviews, but this one deserves it. I I have the paid version of this app. I’m not compensated for this review. I use this app on an iPhone 15. I’m 60 years old and I’ve been lifting since I was 16. Being older, it’s definitely more difficult to gauge the quality of workouts. Both strenuous workout is while you’re doing it, and how much time you need to recover afterward. This app helps with both. it helps during a workout because I can see how fast I’m moving the bar, so whether it’s a strength/power workout or a speed workout, I can tell when I’m getting tired or the weight is too heavy and adjust from there. Similarly, if I do the opposite work out the next day (if yesterday was a power workout, then today is a speed workout with lighter weight, but moving the bar much faster) I can see how much weight I should use today. You can set auditory prompts to let you know if you are hitting your velocity goal, and then you can see all your data immediately after each set. It also keeps track of your personal records and it is very motivating to see during each workout that you move the bar faster on a certain weight for this workout than you did for the last workout. Even though it is the same weight,you may have moved it faster. In that just helps keep your motivation up because otherwise you can feel like you’re not making any progress. Jacob and his team are very responsive questions and suggestions. Awesome app, awesome developer.

It works pretty well, but it would be nice if they could integrate the Apple Watch and LiDAR that are part of the iPhone Pro line. The Apple Watch is a point of contact with a built-in accelerometer, which is closer to the bar and the LiDAR to get actual distance and more accurate reading of velocity with the camera. The app does an okay job, but the measurements are a bit off. The integration of allowing coaches to see their athletes' data is incredible, but with other devices, it is Standard practice. I can put a device that attaches to the barbell for 500 dollars, comes with a companion app, and it’s way more accurate. The downside of those devices is that they require an iPad and a mat for the laser to reflect on. I also can’t have the athlete use it at their will. They need to either own the device or have it on hand, But if you think about it, an iPhone Pro 12 can be found for less than that and an Apple Watch. There are over devices that run a couple of grand that, again, if you think about it, between your newest watch and iPhone, you're already in about that price point. It’s a great concept I hope they can expand on the accuracy and use available hardware instead of focusing on stop gap measures like giving me a notification that “I’m improving”.