Industrial - Bachelors
Barbell aims to create a device to measure the movement of a barbell while working to secure weights on the bar. With these measurements, statistics like acceleration, force, velocity, and power can be determined. With these statistics, the user knows about their lifts in more detail than ever before. The device will track this data over time to show the user’s progression.
When lifting weights at the gym, you only know two variables. The number of times you move the weight and how heavy that weight is. That’s it.
X-Grip is a revolutionary device that can tell you more about your lifts. After sliding the X-Grip onto a barbell, it simultaneously locks onto the bar to secure your weights. Through the utilisation of precise motion sensors in the device, it can output statistics to the user about their lifts. The user can receive real-time feedback about the Acceleration, Force, Velocity and Power they produce during each repetition. Until now, this data is only accessible through expensive professional equipment made for elite athletes. The X-Grip aims to bring this data to anyone who is a keen gym goer and desires to bring their workout to the next level.
Using principles from velocity-based training, the X-Grip knows when you don’t train hard. By analysing the velocity decrease throughout your set, it can understand if you’re putting your muscles under enough load to improve.
This is just the beginning of what’s possible with the X-Grip. This device has extreme potential and will change the way people train at the gym.
Research for this project focused on the benefits of resistance training and optimising resistance training through velocity-based training. After researching the literature on velocity-based training, it quickly became obvious that it is the best type of resistance training. However, it is impossible to do velocity-based training without the correct equipment and devices to measure your velocity accurately. This makes velocity-based training only accessible to only elite athletes and professional sporting teams with access to this high-end equipment.
After this realisation, it became apparent that there is a need for a device to measure exercise movement velocity that is also accessible to the general population.
With surveys being conducted, it was found that the biggest issue that people faced when going to the gym was finding the motivation to go workout and the inability to track and see progress. With the X-Grip, users accurately track their performance over time to see improvement and progress, ultimately increasing motivation.
Max is an Industrial Designer who aims to create elegant, sustainable, and high-quality products that better people’s lives. Creating a solution through mechanisms and processes with moving parts is interesting for Max.