OVR Velocity

Love being able to see the data immediately, my initial reaction was total shock when I completed a 4 rep set thinking I had barely two reps left in the tank. Once reviewing the data I realized that I barely lost any speed over the 4 reps proving there was plenty more strength than I thought. Really looking forward to working with it more and really using it to its full potential.

Pretty affordable for velocity tracking device, and the app/ecosystem OVR has built is pretty easy to use, although a little clunky with trying to add different exercises. Set up is very easy, and integrates with app well. I appreciate the display on the unit, as I've found the biggest barrier to me using it is having to use the app on my phone between every set. App fatigue is real, and I usually try and keep off my phone during lifting, so being able to see the unit being tracked on the device without having to be on my phone is helpful.

This is great if you want a subjective measure of how fast weights are moving for you during a workout. Once you have enough total sets (I think 3 or so different sets and different weights for each lift), it should give you an estimated 1 rep max. That's great as a starting point (especially if you have a good idea of what your true 1 rep max is), but I think it falls a little short in the long run. I say that because the estimated 1 rep max appears to only be an average to date, or over set periods like a month, 3 months, or a year, that the app offers. So, for example, it wouldn't give you an estimated 1 rep max for that exact training day. That may be a bit much to ask, but that's what I was really hoping for, so I could back into my approx RPE 8 weight that makes sense for that day (or better yet, have the app tell me the recommended weight based on the desired RPE and how the weight is moving in my warm-up sets). You can still use the app and the velocity measurements to help you manage the stress based on how the weight is moving, but it requires you to do more manual calcs or logging. And even that works best if you often do the exact same warm-up wights for each lift. So if the app shows my career best velocity is 0.6 meters per second on my last warmup set at 225, and I'm moving it at 0.5 meters per second today, I should probably take some weight off the bar from my planned sets that day. I think why that falls short is it lists your career best in the app. I go through periods where I'm near that range, but life happens, you detrain, and you're nowhere near your max. So you end up having to take a lot of notes on your average speeds "lately" at certain weights, or go digging through the app, and it takes too much time for me. That's a very long-winded way of saying I think the app could use some work. The unit itself is great though, and it's a fun way to compete with friends in sandbox mode.

Bottom-line up front: The device is very solid but usage is dependent on the associated app's functionality or lack there-of. Two stars off for the app needing work. The good: The device is a joy to use by itself and is cleary well-built. USB-C charging and bluetooth for pairing for app use. Easy to set up in-rack or on platform. No issues with bluetooth between sessions, no fuss with the phyiscal device. The device's app is provided free-of-charge; there is no up-front or recurring subscription fee at the time of writing. You can export your velocity data to Excel (only format at time of writing). The bad: The app is not perfect (surprise!). Using the app can be a chore; app bugs when multitasking and using bluetooth audio have been noted. I've had an app crash or two on my iphone which are frustrating with any app. I find little to no issue if the app is on a device doing nothing else but running the app. While the app can export your velocity data this is presented as an account-level function so you can't really specify a time frame or exercise or any other critera for the export. Exporting and filtering all data every time you want to update your training log is a little tedious. The ugly: N/A

Ive used this a handful of times now since owning it. The app is cool but can be a bit glitchy. Ive had it crash numerous times now. If you're listening to music in your gym through your phone, using the app's recording feature can stop the music from playing which is annoying. I also wish (unless im unaware) that you can create your own exercises besides the ones they just offer, and be able to go back and look at them