When Algonquin Fitness Zone members climbed the stairs for their morning workout on May 4, they could see that something was up.
All of a sudden, the machines had grown flashing lights.
“Overnight the whole gym knew that Gymtrack was now installed,” said Jeff Ralphs, marketing and sales manager for the Ottawa fitness start-up.
Gymtrack is a system that records a user’s workout. A bracelet links the machine’s flashing sensors to the user’s phone, where an app automatically tracks weight, reps and range of motion for each exercise.
These are metrics gym members would otherwise write down in a notebook.
The first full-scale installation of Gymtrack in the Fitness Zone was intended to test and improve the system.
“Once we actually got people using it, we received a ton of feedback, everything from our apps to our hardware,” said Ralphs.
Users wanted more free-weight exercises, so Gymtrack is adding two to three new exercises a week, from bicep curls to squats. The pilot also helped the company simplify the app’s user interface.
“We actually got rid of a lot of features, but it works so much better,” said Ralphs.
Algonquin fitness and wellness co-ordinator Wayne Boucher said that being the testing ground for the new technology was a great fit for the Fitness Zone.
“Our mandate is to stay really current, to be awe-inspiring when people walk up those stairs,” he said.
It was Boucher who originally introduced Gymtrack’s founders Pablo Srugo and Lee Silverstone to Algonquin’s Applied Research program in 2014. The Office of Applied Research and Innovation connected the pair with students who helped develop their mobile app and corporate image.
Gymtrack also has possibilities for virtual personal training, where a trainer can monitor a client’s progress remotely at a much lower cost.
As a personal trainer, Boucher sees the advantage of seeing exactly how many reps and sets his clients are doing.
“Not that clients lie, but they do,” Boucher admits.
Head coaches of the women’s and men’s soccer teams Dominic Oliveri and Michael Gagliano say their teams plan to use Gymtrack for virtual personal training once their season is over.
Now that the product is finalized, Gymtrack is making commercial units for their pipeline of customers.
“It’s insane, we’ve had an enormous amount of interest,” said Ralphs. “Algonquin really set the foundation for us for what’s going to be a very exciting next few years.”