There is no need for a gym membership or a personal trainer these days with the constant emergence of at-home digital gym equipment.
There are so many of these connected gym’s on the market right now and it’s difficult to tell which one is really worth it.
We’ll be giving you the full low down on the connected gyms from Tempo and Forme Life, the good, the not so good, and all the differences between them to help you find out which one is worth parting with your cash for.
Tempo
Specifications
- Height: 72”
- Width: 26”
- Depth: 16”
- Weight: 100lbs
- Display: 42” HD touchscreen
- Motion sensor: 3D time of flight
- 10th gen i5 processor
- 60w stereo speakers with Bluetooth connection
- Internet: 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz Wifi Ethernet port
What’s included in the price?
- 4 x 10lb plates
- 4 x 5lb plates
- 4 x 2.5lb plates
- 4 x 1.25lb plates
- 1 x 25lb barbell
- 2 x 7.5lb dumbbells
- Heart rate monitor
- 6 x collars
- 1 Workout mat
- 1 Recovery roller
Tempo Review
How much does it cost?
The Tempo is priced at $2,400 or you can finance it and pay only $69 a month with $0 down payment beforehand. The price excludes the delivery, tax, and monthly membership fee.
The monthly membership fee is $39 a month, which comes up about average when you consider a membership to a decent gym nowadays. Yes, it is a lot to spend on what is considered at-home gym equipment and a trainer but if you’ll get the use out of it, it will be totally justified.
The gym equipment and weights included with the Tempo would be nearly alone $1000 if you were to buy them separately.
The Tempo Studio acts as a personal trainer as it monitors your progress, gives you form advice, and also allows you to follow programs based on your goals.
If you were to hire a PT every day for your workouts, you could be paying $250 a week which would add up to $1000 a month. You’ll get your money’s worth out of the Studio within only two months of having it.
Delivery & Installation
Delivery for the Tempo costs $250 and covers delivery and handling all by the Tempo team and also the complimentary White Glove Service of unboxing, studio placement and installation and also the removal of all the packaging and rubbish.
The service is optional but we took full advantage of it as we didn’t trust ourselves to arrange and set it up without doing something wrong. The team were very efficient and had it set up in my back room in less than 25 minutes.
Appearance
The Temp Studio comes in either black or white and will look pretty inoffensive in your home as the equipment is hidden away in the cabinet, the screen just looks like a big mirror on a stand and doesn’t instantly look like a giant piece of tech.
There’s no ability to mount this to a wall, so it will be an added addition to your floor space.
Space requirement
The machine itself doesn’t take up that much room, but you need to make sure to leave about 5 feet in front of the 3D sensor to allow it to recognize your movement.
You’ll also need enough space around you to execute your workout sessions properly and to make sure you don’t hit anything.
When your cabinet is full of weights and the barbells and dumbbells are attached, the whole thing is pretty heavy and will be extremely difficult to move around.
You’ll want to make sure that where you position the Tempo Studio is where you’ll always want to work out and won’t be a big obstacle in your house.
WiFi Connection
The tempo does require a high-speed internet connection but won’t need anything beyond what the average internet provider can give you.
If you want to put your Studio in the garage or someone far away from your internet router, you’ll want to make sure that it still gets a good connection otherwise you will have buffering issues with video play.
Tempo’s home workouts
Tempo offers a variety of workouts from high-intensity, weight training to even more low-impact stretching and recovery sessions, so there’ll always be something that’ll suit you if you need something to challenge yourself or even to stretch out your aching muscles on a rest day.
You even have the option to commit to a workout program, where you’ll engage in different daily workouts in the hope to achieve an end goal.
Some days you’ll do full-body, other days you’ll focus on one area. Tempo changes it up so you won’t overwork a muscle group and to keep you on track to reach your targets.
There is also the leaderboard on the side of the screen to show you how you’re doing compared to others who have done the same workout, that’ll help motivate you to push through your session when you’re starting to struggle and want to give up.
You can even add your friends who also have a Tempo Studio and you can all challenge each other.
There’s no point doing a super-challenging workout unless your form is correct as you won’t work the targeted muscle properly and you may end up injuring yourself.
During your workouts, Tempo will come up with a notification on the screen to say that your form is incorrect, they’ll also give you a suggestion of how you can fix the form. Once you correct your form, Tempo will put a notification up on the screen again.
Personal trainers can be so expensive, especially if they charge by the hour but Tempo does the job of a PT but within the comfort of your own home and all within a monthly cost.
You won’t have the pressure of someone watching you and correcting you whilst you work out but you’ll still get in a great session but with the correct form.
If you’re new to working out then Tempo will be able to guide you from start to finish, which makes a change from wandering aimlessly around a gym.
There will also be a summary after every workout which will offer feedback on anything you might not have got grasped during your session.
It’s so useful to lack back on and work on your form and improve for your next session. The heart rate monitor which links to the AI will be able to tell you how hard you’re working and also how many calories you’re burning every session.
One of our favorite things about Tempo is that it remembers how much weight you’ve been lifting in your workout and knows when you’re ready to increase the weight.
It’s easy in the gym to get too comfortable with the weight you are doing but you should always be trying to challenge yourself and push your body, that’s when you’ll see results.
Tempo has helped push back this barrier and we are lifting weights we would have never even attempted before in the gym.
Accessories
Tempo comes with barbells, weight plates, dumbbells, a workout mat, a heart rate monitor, and a recovery roller all-inclusive with the screen and programming.
It has got everything you need all in one, so you won’t have to go out and buy extra gym equipment as everything you need to get in a great workout is already there.
All the weight plates are stored in the built-in cabinet below the screen and are perfect for keeping all in one place to grab when you’re working out.
The barbells and dumbbells are stored securely behind the screen out of the way. The storage solution for all your equipment is pretty genius considering how much there is but how well it’s stored away, so it tries to make the machine look as seamless as possible in your home.
Privacy
The motion sensor built-in to the front of your screen doesn’t record images or videos of you or your home whilst you’re working out.
To the computer, you are just a 3D skeleton made up of dots and tracks the movements of your body parts to know which exercises you are doing and if you are doing them right.
Music
Unfortunately, the Tempo is not yet programmed to let you be able to connect your own music or playlists to the system to play out loud when you’re working out.
It does however, have a selection of popular chart music in each workout which you have the option to turn off and just be able to listen to the trainer’s voice.
You can always listen to your own music in your headphones and just follow the trainer visually.
PROS:
- Shows your position in the leaderboards for motivation
- Huge selection of on-demand and live workouts
- Instructors are great
- Gives you feedback on your form
- Counts your reps for you
- Accessories all included in the price
- Heart rate monitor connects to track calories burnt
- Large screen is easy to see
- Touchscreen
CONS:
- Only designed for individual workouts
- You have to pay extra for class membership
- Can’t customize your music
Obviously, it’s a pretty amazing device. Visit their site now to see it yourself.
Forme Life
Specifications:
- Height: 70”
- Width: 26”
- Depth: 2”
- Touchscreen
- Display: 43″ UHD 4K
- Major-label music
- Stereoscopic cameras for live 1:1 training
- Installation: wall mount or floor stand
What’s included in the price?
- 30-day no-risk trial
- 2 Premium yoga mats
- 2 free forme handles
- 1 premium rope grip
- 1 short bar
- 2 ankle straps
- Storage cabinet
- Heart rate monitor
- Microfiber towel
- Screen camera covers
- Screen wall mount & hardware
Forme Life: The Review
Price
With the brand Forme Life, you have two connected gyms to choose from The Forme Life The Studio or The Studio Lift. The Studio is priced at $2,495 a month or you can use finance and pay as little as $69 a month.
The Studio Lift is the premium version and is priced at $4,495 and you could pay $125 a month on finance if you don’t want to pay in full in one go.
You’ll also have to pay an extra $39 a month to have a subscription to use your mirror. We’ll be focusing on The Studio Lift today, which features some gym accessories to help you with your workouts.
Delivery & Installation
The Forme Life Studio Lift is incredibly in demand right now and you can only order one by reserving one. Shipping can take 3-4 months when you order from the website.
Communication is great, you’ll get a date for when your Studio Lift is to be delivered and you’ll also get an SMS from the team 30 minutes before to say they are on their way.
They’ll put your new system wherever you like but they’ll also offer advice of where they think is best to put it based on your house size and space available.
They’ll set it all up, going through the Wi-Fi connection, logging you into your account, and making sure everything is running smoothly for you. They’ll also take care of disposing of the packaging.
Appearance
When the screen is turned off, it serves as a large mirror that can either be mounted on your wall or just a standing mirror.
The arms can be retracted and hidden behind the mirror, so if you want to keep this in your living room you can as everything will be completely out of view and it will get mistaken as a regular mirror.
Space
The screen is 6 foot tall so will take up a lot of wall space but when freestanding on the floor it will only take up about one square foot of floor space.
WiFi Connection
Forme Life does require a decent internet connection to allow the proper rendering of videos without stopping and starting.
Workouts
The Studio Lift is voice-controlled but also touchscreen so you can browse and select your workouts however you want. You have expert instructors who will enthusiastically lead you in on-demand and live workouts.
There is a large selection of workouts you can do and all based on various levels and needs.
There’s kickboxing, HIIT, weight resistance, and also yoga. You’ve even got the additional option of being able to do guided meditation which we love as Forme tries to encapsulate general well-being instead of just strict fitness.
The built-in AI will curate workouts based on your fitness level, your overall goals, and also what you’re in the mood for that day.
Once you’ve picked a session, the machine will use the cameras and 3D motion sensors to give you corrections on your form to make sure you are having an effective workout without injuring yourself in the process.
Through this, the AI will be able to suggest when you should be increasing your weights based on how your form and ability is progressing in your workouts.
You even have the option of doing one-to-one sessions with a fitness instructor where they will give you human feedback on your form and progress. There is also an option to enable two-way interaction with the trainer on the screen.
The heart rate monitor included will be able to help track your progress, informing you on how many calories burned throughout your workouts and showing how hard you are finding them.
You’ll be able to track what workouts you’ve done previously that week, to keep you in the loop of what you need to focus on next.
There are no physical weights included with this system but the weighted workouts are done by increasing and decreasing the tension from the arms so it functions more like resistance training.
You can scroll through the weight options on the screen and select which one you want to use. This is great as you don’t have to swap and change your weights all the time like you would have to in a traditional gym.
If your mirror is freestanding then you’ll only be able to have a total resistance weight of 50lb in each arm.
So if you love heavy weights, you’ll want to secure your mirror to a wall to achieve the maximum resistance weights of 75lb in each arm.
Accessories
The mirror comes with free FORME Handles, a premium rope handle, the short Bar, and two ankle straps, all of which can be attached to the arms for various full-body workouts.
They are all stored in a sliding cupboard behind the mirror when you’re not using them.
You’ll also get two yoga mats included in the price which you can use for your slower workouts, ab routines, or if you prefer to workout on the flooring of your home you can do so as well.
There is a microfiber towel included which you should use to clean your screen if it gets any smudges. You should not use any household cleaning products or water on the screen to clean it.
Music
The mirror has some good speakers to play some of the most popular label music around which are individually suited for each specific workout.
If you’d rather listen to your own songs then you can connect your Apple Music or Spotify to the mirror and take charge of your vibe.
If you’re trying to keep the noise down then you can connect some Bluetooth headphones to the mirror and listen to your instructor or the songs through them.
However, Apple AirPods are not compatible with the Forme Life mirrors.
Privacy
You can disable the cameras, workout history, and your sensors if you want a bit more privacy during your workouts.
We’re not sure how secure our privacy is when we do keep our cameras on and we can’t find anywhere online that assures that our identity is protected.
The fact that there are screen camera covers included with the mirror makes us question whether everything is kept private.
Warranty
The Forme Life Studio offers a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty which covers mechanical and electrical issues.
There is an option to pay to extend your warranty for another 1-3 years.
PROS:
- Sleek mirror design
- Gives guidance on form and technique
- Tracks your progress
- Good accessories for full-body workouts
- Touchscreen and voice-activated
- Can connect your own music
- Discreet storage
- Live classes available
- Good variety of classes
CONS:
- Design is large
- Initial payment is expensive
- You have to pay extra for your membership
Are there any alternatives?
These aren’t the only connected health brands on the market now. Of course, there is Peloton, the market leader in smart spin bikes. But other major players include Mirror and Tonal, with Mirror offering a lower price point, but no real resistance equipment, and Tonal, which has built in resistance – but also a higher price.
Tempo vs FORME Life: Which one is worth it?
Both of these connected gyms are so convenient for people who lead busy lifestyles. The ability to have a thorough workout with gym equipment in your own home is so useful and saves so much time.
You won’t have to drive or walk to and from your gym anymore and you can jump in the shower straight away and get on with what you need to do.
We prefer the design of the FORME Life Studio Lift, it seamlessly blends into our home and just looks like your everyday mirror whereas the Tempo Studio does look more out of place as it is stood on legs and also features the cabinet below for the equipment so will be less discreet in your own.
That being said, both of these connected gyms do pretty much the same thing and serve their purpose well, the only catch being, you’ll pay $2000 more for that privilege with the FORME Life Studio.
You’re paying the extra money for the design and appearance of the mirror rather than its functioning as the Tempo does the same job but at nearly half the price.
The Tempo also comes with more gym equipment that can be used both with the mirror and also without, whereas the attachments for the FORME Life mirror can only be used when the mirror is on and you’ve picked a session.
Overall, we would recommend the Tempo because it’s functionally brilliant but also at such a lower price point than the FORME Life.
If you can overlook the less sleek design then you’ll absolutely love it and you’ll never think about going back to a regular gym again.
We also think the accessories included with the Tempo offer you a better workout and they feel much higher quality than those of the FORME Life brand.
So if you are on the look for a connected gym, you should opt with the Tempo Studio.
