Smart Trainer Kicks Your Ass At The Gym

By Joelle Renstrom | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

MoovRight now I’m glad to be a writer. The only part of me that doesn’t hurt to move is my fingers. Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I attended a boot camp class at the gym this morning. The instructor is probably the most intense person I’ve ever met in my life. He rarely smiles, though he seems to enjoy yelling quite a bit, and his exercise philosophy is that if you don’t push yourself to failure, you’re doing it all wrong. Classes like this force me to do all kinds of physical activity I would never make myself do, and they’re far more affordable than a personal trainer, which these days tend to cost more than $50 an hour, which is about $45 more than I’m willing to pay someone to kick my butt. You know where this is going—I just described a market, a void for exercisers, which means someone’s already thought to fill it with a smart device.

Moov is like a personal trainer and fitness tracker rolled into one. If you’ve ever used a pedometer or heart rate monitor, you’ll be particularly impressed at the number of functions this device offers. If you’re a runner, you can clip Moov on and it’ll track not just your speed, mileage, and calorie burn, but also your form. Via headphones, in a voice that makes it sound like Siri’s cousin, it gives you advice on your stride, foot position, and general technique. It also sends that information to your iPhone or iPad (Android compatibility is on the way later this year), so you can track your work and share your achievements with others, if you’re so inclined.

moovYogis can use Moov, too. If they wear the device, they can actually see their movements on their phone, like they’re looking into a mirror capable of analyzing their position. It also provides advice about posture during a pose or even tips for better breathing. Moov also work for boxers: just clip the device to your wrist, and it analyzes the speed of your punches, your hand position, etc (although two Moovs are suggested for something like this—one for each hand). It does the same for golf swings, and is waterproof, so you can use it to improve swimming performance as well. Eventually, the developers intend to make Moov customizable, so users can perform commands with gestures, such as turning on lights, or sounding an alarm when they’ve collapsed from exhaustion.

The designers, including a former Apple engineer, launched a crowdfunding campaign on Friday, and met their goal of $40K in about an hour and a half. People who want to pre-order Moov can get it for the reduced price of $59.95 (at least for now, it’s a limited offer). Moov will eventually retail for twice that price, but it’s a lot cheaper than a trainer, and as far as I can tell, Moov won’t yell at you for slacking. Or if it does, at least it won’t look at you with disappointment.

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