Real time coaching is coming to fitness wearables and Ollinfit's Kickstarter campaign wants to help weight lifting gym goers improve their workouts.
The campaign, which went live this week, is looking to raise CAD$60,000 to build a set of three wearable sensors which are attached to the body with velcro bands. These are placed in strategic areas to track your motion as you lift. The small sensors can be worn on the wrist, chest, leg or shoe which Ollinfit says allows the system to capture the full body's motion for analysis.
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Then via vibration and voice - presumably via Bluetooth earbuds - Ollinfit will let you know when you're not doing the exercise correctly and how to improve. The sensors are shockproof, sweatproof and last up to 14 days per charge. Each set costs CAD$131 for early birds and CAD$199 thereafter over on Kickstarter.
Ollinfit's virtual PT aims to prevent injuries, correct bad form before they become habits and help you to target the right muscles to reach your fitness goals - the companion Ollinfit Training app will be available for iOS and Android. It also promises personalised coaching for users as well as customisable programs to follow.
The team behind Ollinfit, which is based in Toronto, posted this explanation as part of the Kickstarter campaign: "The primary driver of our new product is our belief that access to professional fitness training advice shouldn't be a luxury for a select few. With the rising costs of personal training sessions, beginners often turn to their friends or do their own research and often get conflicting or bad advice. Worst, they start developing bad exercise habits that often lead to injuries."
In Ollinfit's video, it shows audio guidance such as "stand straight", "don't swing" and "keep your elbows stationary" as well as in-app graphics for counting reps, estimates of calories burned and the rating of how heavy the weights are.
After each set you can review the trainer comments and get a recommendation for the weight of your next set. There is also a library of personal trainer routines to choose from in the app which can be filtered by body type and fitness goals.
Shipping for Ollinfit is worldwide and is set for May 2016.
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