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Fresh studies, training methods and fitness tech — distilled for athletes who want to know what actually works.
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Smartphone spots form errors – and beginners stick with it
Training on your own comes with a familiar problem: you can't see yourself. Is your back rounding on the deadlift? Are your knees caving in on the squat? Without a mirror, a training partner or a coach, you're flying blind – and in the worst case you grind in mistakes you only notice once they start to hurt. A South Korean research team has […]
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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188 studies, one verdict: Good data – but no AI coach
A Spanish research team has reviewed the current state of wearable biosensors and machine learning systems in sports training in a comprehensive overview – 188 studies from 16 years of research. The conclusion is sober: the technology delivers usable data and ML models can support training adjustments – but autonomous coaching? We are a long way from that. TL;DR A new review study (188 studies, […]
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Fort Wearable: Automatic Strength Training Tracking Incl. VBT Data – What's Behind It?
A new wearable aims to track strength training as precisely as Garmin tracks running. Fort, developed by three former Tesla engineers and part of the Y Combinator W26 batch, automatically recognises more than 50 exercises, counts reps, tracks rest times and delivers muscle-specific breakdowns – without manual logging. Sounds like the wearable lifters have been waiting for. But between marketing promises and reality there's often a whole set of reps.
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Study tests AI marathon training plans — but how good was the test itself?
A new study in the British Medical Bulletin looked at whether current AI models can generate usable marathon training plans. The researchers had Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek each build a six-month plan for three performance levels. The result: broadly solid plans with familiar weaknesses. Things get interesting when you look at what the abstract reveals about the methodology — and […]
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Steering deadlift intensity without a 1RM test – new study shows how accurate it gets
A load-velocity profile built from a few submaximal sets can estimate high training intensities in the deadlift with an error of roughly 4 %. That is what a recent study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (Li et al., 2026) shows. For intensities around 80–90 % of 1RM the accuracy is acceptable – without you ever having to push a maximum rep.
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Spotting back pain type from video – what specialists used to do, AI now does in seconds
Classifying movement patterns in back pain – that's what specialist physiotherapists have done for years. Through observation, testing, assessment. It takes time, costs money, and two specialists don't always reach the same conclusion. The BackTracker study (Liu et al., 2026) now shows: a neural network, trained on one expert's classifications, does the same job from a simple video […]
April 20, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Velocity-Based Training beats tempo training — but not the way you think
Velocity-based training (VBT) — steering your sets by barbell velocity instead of fixed tempo cues — delivers more training volume on the bench press than tempo training. And without cutting time under tension. That is what a recent study in Sports Health (Fitas et al., 2026) shows, co-authored by Brad Schoenfeld — […]
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Study confirms: detailed prompts make ChatGPT training plans better – but not perfect
If you want to coax a training plan out of ChatGPT, you face a basic question: how much information do you need to put in to get something usable out? A new study from sports science now delivers hard numbers – and in doing so confirms a problem many users underestimate.
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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FDA eases wearable rules: Oura lobbies, sensors err — stay sceptical
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its "General Wellness Policy for Low Risk Devices" on 6 January 2026. Wearables like the Oura Ring, Apple Watch, or devices from Garmin and Polar are now allowed to do more without being classified as medical devices. Oura is celebrating it as a breakthrough. The uncomfortable truth: the easing has less to do with consumer protection than […]
April 20, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Apple scales back its AI health coach — and that is instructive
Apple has scaled back its internal project "Mulberry" for an AI-based health coach over recent weeks. The service — internally nicknamed "Health+" by some Apple employees — will not ship as a standalone product. Instead, individual features are set to roll into the existing Health app step by step. That is according to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman. The news sounds like a footnote in Apple's product strategy. […]
April 20, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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Sweat patch measures inflammation marker – what it could mean for recovery
A patch that detects inflammation in sweat. Current fitness wearables measure heart rate, HRV and blood oxygen. What they do not measure: whether your body is currently running an inflammatory response. Researchers at Shenzhen University have now presented a patch that can do exactly that – at least in the lab. The so-called WSSP (Wearable Sweat Sensing Patch) measures C-reactive protein (CRP) directly in […]
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk
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ChatGPT fitness app fails usability test in weight-loss pilot study
A pilot study, a chatbot and 51 out of 100 points. Norwegian researchers developed FysBot – a mobile app with a GPT-4-based chatbot designed to motivate adults with obesity to become more active. The pilot ran for six weeks at a rehabilitation clinic in Tromsø with 36 participants. The result is both sobering and instructive. The System Usability Scale […]
April 21, 2026 · by Christopher Klenk