New Apple Watch App Can Track Your Reps at the Gym

A Vancouver-based software firm says its new app for the Apple Watch can track specific workout exercises in anaerobic exercises such as weightlifting.

Called Train Fitness, the company’s eponymous app is aimed at simplifying the workout tracking experience for end users. It is, of course, AI-driven, and focuses on the user’s wrist movements.

Train Fitness says the app is now capable of automatically detecting 82 of the most common exercises, including free weight exercises such as pushups, and weight-based training such as bench presses.

The Apple Watch is already capable of some pretty impressive fitness tracking, thanks to a number of biometric and other sensors. But they tend to focus on aerobic activities such as running and swimming – activities that generate data patterns that can be used to calculate things like steps taken and calories burned. Apple hasn’t focused specifically on fine-grained wrist movements, though its wearable devices are clearly capable of tracking the relevant data.

Train Fitness co-founders Antoine Neidecker and Andrew Just saw an opportunity to collect and use this data to meet a market need, especially if they could offer a solution that would enable the collection of the data without a paired smartphone.

“Every gym-goer we know is tired of bringing their phone with them to their workout, so we knew a hands-free workout tracker would be a hit,” Just explained in a statement. “Once you begin your workout on your watch with Train, there’s really nothing to do but focus on your session. In an age when everything is getting more complicated, Train is giving time and energy back to our users when they need it most.”

The app’s launch speaks to the growing excitement about wearable devices and their capability of detecting useful data through sophisticated sensors. The WHOOP wristband, for example, has been generating a lot of excitement in the professional sports sector thanks to its biometric and health-tracking capabilities, and health researchers have been conducting clinical studies to see how biometric wearables can detect signs of the flu and even COVID-19.

The Train Fitness app is currently available through Apple’s App Store, and is free to download.