I went into testing this portable, AI-powered personal trainer with a skeptical mindset — but came out seriously impressed at its movement mapping technology | Daily Reports Online
I agreed to test the BodyPark Atom, which aims to offer the best bits of personal trainer technique feedback, without any of the drawbacks. A small smart speaker-like unit with an AI-powered, body-mapping camera on top, it offers real-time feedback on your movements, plus guided sessions to be completed as part of a larger workout plan. It’s magnetized too, so you can take it to the gym and stick it to a squat rack should you need form-correction outside of the home. Workouts and plans can be constructed for you, or you can edit them yourself in the app.
It might look like Star Wars’ BB8, but the idea here is to help you dodge the costs of a trainer — and the location and time constraints — by putting some of the best bits into a digital assistant, which uses AI to provide feedback on technique as well as structure workout plans. That means a device that can watch your technique, count reps, and offer feedback to help you improve.
That all sounds great, but I went into testing with a skeptical mindset, having seen how AI can miss the mark entirely when it comes to designing workouts. While the promise of AI is exciting, the reality often isn’t so impressive. That was what I came away feeling about the BodyPark Atom, which is helpful and certainly can push newcomers things in the right direction, but is also still a pretty new and developing technology with its own teething issues.
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All that said, I would still recommend one of these for anyone looking to improve exercise, avoid injury or progress training plateaus in a novel, fun and affordable way.
Fully equipped
My usual training involves a gym session twice a week, some boxing, and cardio in the form of either a long run or maybe a long gravel bike ride. I incorporate a dash of swimming, paddle boarding or surfing when possible.
Being able to do a HIIT class, in my kitchen, was a real treat It meant I saved time on doing it at home, I was able to control my environment for comfort, and I could use my own kit like mats and dumbbells as needed. While you can get a thousand different HIIT classes from the likes of YouTube, the BodyPark offers guidance and coaching that static videos don’t.
Your form is watched with the 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor toting and 720p video capturing camera. This maps 34 body key points for over 1,000 exercises recognised (a little like this 3DAT AI fitness coach we tested a couple of years ago), and the AI assistant’s live voice coach offers feedback during the movements, ensuring your execution of the move is correct.
The field of view is also massive, 160 degrees horizontal and vertical, meaning even with limited space it’s possible to be seen clearly and still get tracked accurately. This is nice in the gym, where you might want to use the device’s onboard magnet to attach this to the squat rack as you lift, without getting in anyone’s way.
The screen shows the workout you’re going to do, although that was often an image and not always a video. This isn’t ideal if you’re new to a movement and then have to pause the workout to go look up on your phone what to do. Although watching yourself is pretty clear and reading your rep count is too on that 326ppi 1.43-inch AMOLED screen.
You can always watch back your videos and guidance given, from within the app using your phone. This collates all your metrics so you can monitor progress, plan future sessions and generally check-in on how you’re doing at any point. Prices start at $219 / £199 / AU$330.
What I loved
Not having to count your reps really is a fantastic feeling. As someone who generally trains solo, in the gym at least, that mental counting clock has always been on for me. Using a smartwatch always ends up fiddling with buttons or editing incorrect rep counts. Turning that mental load off left me with a bit more bandwidth to focus on my movements and pay attention to the Atom’s guidance tips, in a way I hadn’t realised was being restricted by the counting focus.
The movement tracking and feedback is also one of the most impressive parts of this setup. Thanks to the 32 points of tracking – all shown on screen – I was able to trust that the device was mapping me accurately and therefore, the advice given was actually helpful.
Even in the few cases it wasn’t exact – like telling me to squat lower when I could see I was at 90-degrees – this still forced me to focus on my movement, so during future lifts I was posture-aware. Even if the advice isn’t perfect every time, it gets you thinking internally in a way that will help train you to self-correct in the long run.
For squat and deadlift correction, where technique can really make all the difference to progress, this worked fantastically. As mentioned, you can magnetically attach it to the rack at the gym. Even with movements from others in the gym, or lighting troubles, this performs really well so you just attach and start without worry.
The battery life is also pretty great at 72 hours recording time. That meant I could use this all week, and beyond, without needing to even think about charging it back up. The charger is USB-C.
The company claims the Atom offers a 96% body tracking accuracy rate and, in my experience, that feels about right. Rep counting was 100% accurate, which left me with a fair amount of confidence in the device. In reality it was the infancy of the software that proved more challenging,
What I didn’t love
At this price, it’s tough to complain about what is essentially a personal trainer and selection of workout classes rolled into one. You’re probably getting thousands of dollars or pounds of value.
That said, there is room for improvement. Hardware is superb and I struggle to find fault, but on the software side, I’d like a bit more reassurance. This is a device that you are essentially entrusting a lot of your bodily health with. If it tells you to modify a movement and you do, then if it’s wrong you could be putting yourself at risk. But that’s the same with any gym trainer or workout app – you’ll still need to listen to your body alongside this guidance.
At this testing phase, the app felt unfinished. Some guidance was from different voices – one sounding very low quality and with a different accent, which was confusing.
Some feedback also left me a bit baffled. On one plank workout I was told to not hang my head too low, but also to not lift my head too high. Whilst a mid-way hold makes sense, I think I was likely only looking around a bit – something that promotes movement which can be helpful.
The repetition of recommended movements during the AI-constructed workouts was another sticking point. On a general guided workout, I repeated moves a lot. This is likely where future updates could equip a microphone to allow a back-and-forth with the onboard LLM, and allow you to verbally adjust workouts to suit your needs. This could be a real game changer for future use.
Verdict
The BodyPark Atom is an affordable way to get some of the best features of a personal trainer, and a fitness guidance app, without the outlay up front. It offers feedback which is largely accurate and certainly far better than any of the competition, thanks to its hardware.
While the software still needs some evolution, at time of publishing this is a fantastic idea that’s been well-developed to offer a smart guidance and feedback system that uses AI to map your body.
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