Assuming it works, the Fort would be the most attractive and easy-to-use velocity tracker on the market by far. “We use the IMU sensors to detect which exercise the user is performing and identify the period engaging in concentric, eccentric, or isometric hold,” says Nover, demonstrating as best she can within the confines of a Zoom screen. (These are the three main types of lifting exercises; you might know them as contracting, lengthening, or static exercises.)
The Fort uses the wrist as a proxy for bar velocity. Common sense would suggest this might not produce accurate results—after all, your wrists move at different speeds and angles than the barbell does—but Nover assured me that the company is will be pursuing large, third-party studies from independent labs.
You can also detach the Fort from its strap and put it in its included magnetic case, which has its own IMU sensor. You then stick that sensor on the barbell or other equipment to use as a more traditional velocity tracker.
It’s for Everyone
Courtesy of Fort
When it ships, the Fort will evaluate a wide range of strength-training metrics that include not only auto-tracking reps and exercises and velocity, but also per-volume muscle breakdowns, proximity to failure, and time under tension. It will also check heart rate zones, your VO2 max, sleep stages, recovery scoring, overnight heart rate variability (HRV), and real-time stress detection.
In the meantime, the Fort has beta testers manually inputting activities. Nover told me that the company aims to create the largest clean data set on the market. It will ship with around 50 popular weight-lifting exercises auto-recognized, like barbell squats and pull-ups, and also include a number of variations.
After you purchase the hardware, the subscription costs $80 per year. This is much more in line with the yearly subscription costs for other fitness trackers and much more reasonable than a Whoop subscription, which starts at $199 a year and includes the price of the hardware.
As a woman who lifts, it’s hard not to see the Fort’s appeal. It’s so easy to get in 10,000 steps just by getting on a walking pad or walking around the block—it would be so motivating for a lot of people to be able to see that 15 pushups or glute bridges before bed are adding measurably to their fitness.
Also, the Fort is just pretty. “You don’t have to be this gym bro archetype,” to lift, says Nover, who is also not a bro. Strength training benefits almost everyone, especially women. It lowers your blood sugar; it can keep you mobile as you age. But also, if you are a bro and just want a very wearable tracker that will go with your duffel bag and protein powder, this one looks like it will work for you too.
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