The iPhone ecosystem needs strength training accessories - especially from Apple
For people into running and other cardio activities, there's a plethora of apps and accessories available in the iPhone ecosystem. So why are major accessory makers -- including Apple -- largely ignoring strength training?
There are plenty of third-party strength apps available, to be clear. Options like StrongLifts 5x5 and Strong Workout Tracker are practically standard, it's just that they demand entering things manually. There's also a constellation of supporting apps, such as MyFitnessPal for managing calories and macros.
Whenever you look into hardware however, strength training seems to be an afterthought. Devices -- and their companion apps -- almost always assume that you're running, walking, or cycling, and that your main goal is to lose fat. In fact the companion app for a smartscale we reviewed, the Polar Balance, automatically assumes weight gain is a problem.
Trackers like Garmin and Fitbit's do let you record strength training, but often with the barest of details, such as time elapsed and heart rate/zones. On the Apple Watch, there aren't even any default strength-related options in the Workout app -- you have to create one yourself using the "Other" button.
Creating a strength routine in watchOS 3's Workout app.
Sometimes, Apple and other device makers seem to be supporting everything but strength. The Apple Watch Series 2 handles swimming and wheelchair activities, and Garmin's products even manage things like golfing and boating.
The main issue seems to be the ease of tracking. It's relatively simple to record actions like running -- by default, an iPhone will even use its own accelerometer and gyroscope to track steps, albeit poorly. Motions like squatlifts and deadlifts are inherently more complex, especially since form varies from person to person and rep to rep, and people need to rest between sets.
Attempts have been made in the strength field, most notably by the the Atlas Wristband, which can log sets, reps, and weights. Its implementation is still pretty rough though, and it's annoying that a company with deeper pockets isn't giving it a shot.
The Atlas Wristband 2.
With its gigantic research budget and elaborate health testing facilities, it's almost mysterious that Apple hasn't built complex strength tracking into watchOS. It could be that it feels the market is too small, but that's unlikely -- the dumbbells at chains like Planet Fitness and Gold's Gym aren't just for show.
The greater probability is that Apple has higher priorities, and/or has done testing, but it hasn't met the standards for a shipping product. While early adopters might be willing to put up with quirks, many Apple shoppers have been conditioned to expect a product that "just works," whether or not that's realistic in every circumstance.
Serious strength training probably won't appear on the Apple Watch Series 3 or in watchOS 4, though it remains a possibility. Many more workout types, including strength training, are coming to watchOS -- it's just that most of them are liable to be barebones options.
That may leave it to third parties to pick up the slack, and there doesn't seem much hope there either, based on a lack of rumors.
One day, hopefully, companies will overcome technical hurdles and cater to a long-neglected fitness segment. Until then, logbooks -- paper or app-based -- may remain a staple at gyms.
There are plenty of third-party strength apps available, to be clear. Options like StrongLifts 5x5 and Strong Workout Tracker are practically standard, it's just that they demand entering things manually. There's also a constellation of supporting apps, such as MyFitnessPal for managing calories and macros.
Whenever you look into hardware however, strength training seems to be an afterthought. Devices -- and their companion apps -- almost always assume that you're running, walking, or cycling, and that your main goal is to lose fat. In fact the companion app for a smartscale we reviewed, the Polar Balance, automatically assumes weight gain is a problem.
Trackers like Garmin and Fitbit's do let you record strength training, but often with the barest of details, such as time elapsed and heart rate/zones. On the Apple Watch, there aren't even any default strength-related options in the Workout app -- you have to create one yourself using the "Other" button.
Creating a strength routine in watchOS 3's Workout app.
Sometimes, Apple and other device makers seem to be supporting everything but strength. The Apple Watch Series 2 handles swimming and wheelchair activities, and Garmin's products even manage things like golfing and boating.
The main issue seems to be the ease of tracking. It's relatively simple to record actions like running -- by default, an iPhone will even use its own accelerometer and gyroscope to track steps, albeit poorly. Motions like squatlifts and deadlifts are inherently more complex, especially since form varies from person to person and rep to rep, and people need to rest between sets.
Attempts have been made in the strength field, most notably by the the Atlas Wristband, which can log sets, reps, and weights. Its implementation is still pretty rough though, and it's annoying that a company with deeper pockets isn't giving it a shot.
The Atlas Wristband 2.
With its gigantic research budget and elaborate health testing facilities, it's almost mysterious that Apple hasn't built complex strength tracking into watchOS. It could be that it feels the market is too small, but that's unlikely -- the dumbbells at chains like Planet Fitness and Gold's Gym aren't just for show.
The greater probability is that Apple has higher priorities, and/or has done testing, but it hasn't met the standards for a shipping product. While early adopters might be willing to put up with quirks, many Apple shoppers have been conditioned to expect a product that "just works," whether or not that's realistic in every circumstance.
Serious strength training probably won't appear on the Apple Watch Series 3 or in watchOS 4, though it remains a possibility. Many more workout types, including strength training, are coming to watchOS -- it's just that most of them are liable to be barebones options.
That may leave it to third parties to pick up the slack, and there doesn't seem much hope there either, based on a lack of rumors.
One day, hopefully, companies will overcome technical hurdles and cater to a long-neglected fitness segment. Until then, logbooks -- paper or app-based -- may remain a staple at gyms.
Comments
Equinox and Lifetime have in house solutions but mostly even Trainers prefer paper it's just quicker.
i moved to iPad as soon as it came out and my friend went in develop the Pump One app that lived in the last iPod and then evolved into Fitness Builder - but again that's manual.
The UnderArmor 39 was a good stab but illicited more respiration data, the Atlas watch is garbage ...
the problem is basic... the best laid plans stray and the recording needs to somehow know the weight, force and number of reps and sets and without SOME setup I can't see how that happens...
but its not a small problem. Rebook Crossfit is struggling with this as welll... they pass the WOD in email blasts and on cork boards and they cost 250 a month.
Equinox and Lifetime track on thier apps but again its major manual entry and in a serious workout typing s correction is not wanted...
it's just silly. More people lift weight more than 3x per week in America than all the swimmers - swimming and all the triathletes that the Fenix or Polar are made for.
I could get get into this even further but this step counting garbage is stupid nonsense. You have to lift and sweat to lose weight, get lean or get big... that's the recipe... no one step counting and checking thier heart rate is likely healthy.
thier needs to be apps for people who aren't obese, blah blah blah
and perhaps America should stop shoving every gross thing into thier face and go to the gym app or not...
but its it's a huge problem and I suggest FitnessBuilder or Gym Fit Pro and Nike running (thier train app is garbage) to those like minded folks
For example, NordicTrack has iFit which gives you the fitness tracker but you have to pay for both the equipment that works with the tracker and a monthly subscription fee. That's not a model that I ever see working out (ignore unintended pun).
Maybe this will never be great until we get small, sub-dermal implants in limbs (or satellite devices you attach, not unlike ye ol' Nike+) so that that Watch can get information about the position of our body at all times, because otherwise how will it know to give you credit for doing a curl with a barbell v dumbbell or any strength exercises with your legs without you specifically telling the Watch about each specific exercise. AirPods+Siri could make this easier if you could just tell it what exercise you're about to do, but even that's not ideal. As @bradford_kirby states, it's easier just to jot it down manually.
Perhaps Apple will come out with a universal solution that will allow all fitness trackers to work with all fitness equipment with ease so that, say, smart dumbbells can be quickly linked and unlinked to a user's Watch via NFC+BT with a quick tap. Universal would allow adoption to take hold faster, and since this is for health reasons it may be something Apple is willing to not control, kind of like how HealthKit was made open sourced (or how WebKit was open sourced because it helped further Apple's bottom line by selling products).
Still, long before I expect to see anything that can effectively work with strength training they should at least have an option for a triathlon on the Watch. They have all activities in there, but you have to stop to set each one manually. This seems like a pretty easy add, to me, unless I'm missing something.
PS: I'd love for both Health and Activity apps to be available on the Mac, or at least in iCloud. It would be nice to look at the data on something other than my iPhone to see an overview. Plus, if I had that kind of control, perhaps it would be more effective to set up complex Workout routines where I simply tell it which routine I'm doing so it knows that I plan to do x-reps and y-sets of various exercises in succession.
Moreover, and more mundane, I was never that keen on hundreds of pounds worth of Apple gear so close to all that heavy metal! It'd be paper records around the gym itself, slavishly transferred to an app later in the day.
Could just be be a non-starter right now.
You'd need some devices for your shoes too.
That way you'd get how long the power has been applied and how much.
You could get something a bit similar if you put your weights in every time you change them. This and accelerometers would give you the power.
You don't get as much precision in how the power was applied with the accelerometers but it still good.
You could maybe put RFID tags on the weights and just scan them in; that would be easier.
You can also off course set up a profile if your always lifting the save thing.
All the third parties making money hand over fist off people trying to transform themselves into something they’re not have all the opportunity in the world to offer high quality technology accessories.
So if doing a bench press, for example, you put the sensor in your wristband, put your phone on the bench, the floor, or your chest. Start the Beast app on the phone, choose your exercise (bench press), and the poundage, then commence with lifting. The sensor and app then use the speed of your lifts, the distance that you lift (the range of motion), and the poundage, to measure your effort.
Or something like that
If Apple wanted to make strength training accessories, they can simply license/ buy Beast.
As for apps, anyone hoping for an automatic way to track your lifts is going to be disappointed because that's a pipe dream, without RFID tags implemented in everything everywhere. It's far easier to just log it with a good lifting app. StrongLifts, Strong, and Stacked are good examples (Strong and Stacked are general trackers for your custom lifting programming, StrongLifts is for the 5x5 linear progression program alone). Basically a digital notebook that makes it easier with taps and rest timers. This is actually very good as it's accurate -- you inputted the data so you know it's good.
I've been tracking for a couple years and it's a workable solution. HR can't be tracked accurately, but the calories can be estimated -- 4-500 for an intense lifting workout of an hour or so. But calories tracking matters less as it's mostly about the gains -- and this is what the trackers apps track and can trend for you. It's pretty nifty. Lifters already should know how many calories they should eating based on their activity level, body fat, and consumption mode (surplus, deficit, maintenance). Good calculators help you plan that and your target macros:
https://www.muscleforlife.com/macronutrient-calculator/
In many ways lifting is a much more personal activity, which varies widely on the individual. There will be no silver bullet. You just have to do the work.
How to lift weights. Lift heavy. Lift heavier. Repeat.
ONLY use your phone to post your mad gainz on instagram and follow Arnold.
Seriously tho some things don't need accessories and there's a wealth of information online.
Need more help than that? Sign up for crossfit and get your own coach every day.
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I'm currently using the strength training setting on the Apple Watch workout app. I doubt that the values are correct but at least it registers the event.
Tracking weights etc will probably need to be manually entered for a while especially in gyms where there is legacy equipment.
I can see some adjustable weight devices having a bluetooth signal that report to an app what weights are attached and potentially measure movement as well. Works for the home but in a gym that would be hard to implement.
Aw, you started off so well. Then you delved into baseless conjecture.
- Please prove that the AW started as a fashion accessory. Because my clear memories of the original rumors were Apple working on a fitness tracker to rival Fitbit.
- You evidently also do not remember the professional runners who trained with a prototype Watch and worked with Apple. Please cite your claim that there were none and only healthcare workers.
- Nike was not tasked with developing the software. Apple does its own software. Please cite otherwise.
Would I prefer to program everything out in advance to help me stay focused? Probably. But I've made it this far without having more than a mental record of what I need to do, so it's not paramount.
But yes, I agree that it feels like exercise to Apple is strictly cardio, and that's annoying.
Muscle oxygenation & hemoglobin (measured via NIRS) have had applications in medicine for decades, but the training avenue has only been under closer examination since the equipment has become less expensive & smaller. so the actual take-home message of the professionals for fitness enthusiasts is still quite muddled.
Serious question how old are you Sandor ?
are they two disparate comments in regards to jameskatt2 & myself?