Tempo Move: the low-priced home gym that tracks your every move

The Tempo Move wants to be your fully connected home gym for little money.

A more accessible product than Tempo's 42-inch mirror-like fitness machine, the Move consists of a table-sized cabinet filled with everything you need to get in shape.

The dumbbells are convertible and include weight plates, that cabinet is also topped with a removable iPhone stand.

And that's the nifty part.

The $ 395 Tempo Move brings the hardware, while your iPhone does the heavy lifting for a personalized training experience.

And yes, that iPhone has to be a compatible model.

One caveat is that the monthly subscription costs USD $ 35.95 and you will need to download the iOS app, a requirement to use Move, at least for the first year.

We spent some quality time training with the Tempo Move, and this is what you need to know.

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The who, what and how

Who's this for:

 The Tempo Move is for those in tighter spaces looking to get more serious about exercising at home.

The weight group is stored in a stylish cabinet that can easily blend in with any décor.

What you need to know:

The Tempo Move costs $ 395. But you'll need to spend an additional $ 39.95 per month to get real-time guidance that includes weight customization, personal training plans, and personal on-screen feedback on your individual workouts.

Oh, and you need an iPhone XS or later so you can track your movements using 3D Tempo Vision.

Android users are left out.

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How this compares:

For anyone who doesn't want to break the bank on the $ 2,405 Tempo Studio Home Gym or the $ 1,495 Mirror, the Tempo Move is a real bargain.

And while you don't get the touchscreen that comes with more expensive systems, the idea is for your TV to take the place of that expensive technology, using a combination of hardware and artificial intelligence.

We were impressed with how accurate the depth sensing technology was during workouts and how much more personal it feels compared to other services.

Being told how much weight to use and having the ability to see our pace and reps in real time was an upgrade from other digital platforms, and we can attest to the difference from training by how sore we felt the next day.

Sleek and compact design

When we were introduced to this fully packed fitness system in the form of a cabinet that could double as an attractive piece of furniture, we were thrilled.

The storage unit comes in black or white and looks like an Ikea table or cabinet.

Open the gray felt flap on the front and you'll find the variety of weight plates, ranging from 1.25 pounds to 5 pounds and can be layered and attached to the 8.5 pound dumbbells, which live in the back of the cabinet.

The top is made of wood and this is where you will find the base for the iPhone, which Tempo calls the "Core".

The Move itself connects to your TV via HDMI and a USB-A socket powers it.

In a clever design move, you can also remove the Core if you don't have room for setup near your TV.

In fact, we decided to leave the Move hardware in our office and bring the Core into the living room where we have more space to exercise.

And, to make sure there isn't a gaping hole in the top of the cabinet, the Move comes with a matching wooden circle that we simply attach.

How does it work

The first step is to download the Tempo Move app and sign up for the $ 39 per month membership, which can be shared with up to six people.

Each member then customizes their profile based on height, weight, gender, experience level, and fitness goals.

Hardware-wise, once you've figured out where your Move cabinet will live, simply plug the included HDMI connector into the TV, either through the cabinet or on its own, and connect your phone to the Core.

Everything else, including AI scanning, happens automatically.

Once you choose your workout, it will let you know which custom weights to follow and you can build your dumbbells accordingly.

This part is easy and the four included collars attach directly with a flick of your fingers and prevent the weights from slipping.

The on-demand library is vast and includes HIIT, strength training, yoga, and cardio classes.

Although live classes are available with the more expensive Tempo Studio, the Move does not support them yet, with plans to incorporate them in the first quarter of 2022. Like other fitness services, you can choose your own classes, follow the suggestions sent to you in the app or do a bit of both.

Once you start exercising, the Core communicates with your iPhone's sensors and rejects feedback in real time on the TV screen.

Since you are using the iPhone's true depth sensor for tracking, you will need an iPhone XS or newer.

But how are the workouts?

Tempo's personal training philosophy is no joke.

We haven't been back to our local YMCA gym since the pandemic started because we hate working out with a mask on.

So after spending a year sweating at home with the Peloton service, we were amazed at the level of fitness the Tempo offered in terms of lifting weights.

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The first thing we noticed when we chose our first class was that, unlike the Peloton classes that rely heavily on curated playlists, there were no specific music tracks.

When you choose a Tempo class in the app, it will give you the opportunity to choose the type of music you want to play in the background.

We chose Throwback Hip Hop, but other genres include Top Hits, Pop, EDM, Ambient, and Pride among others. You can also use the slider to manage the tune-to-coach ratio when it comes to volume control, although no matter how loud we turn it up, I never felt like tunes were a serious part of the class.

Not having music as an integral part of the workout certainly highlighted Tempo's seriousness, rather than the more upbeat classes we used to take at the gym or go along with Peloton. You can also stream music from any app on your phone, like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music, and then just plug it into the dock after returning to the Tempo app. We tested this with our Spotify account, but we had a hard time controlling the volume so we could better hear the instructor.

In our first class we worked the upper body for 30 minutes in three circuits, including a push-up session.

The sensors worked exactly as promised, counting our reps and pace as we went and telling us when our form was not perfect, such as not lifting our arms past our shoulder blades during the lateral raise.

The result was a more serious and focused workout and a lot more pain the next morning.

Do we miss the quality of the production and the friendly banter from Peloton?

A bit.

But this felt more like getting a personal trainer and less like joining a group fitness class.

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Our next class was Lower Body Build: Squat and Hinge Foundations, and we were especially pleased with the time the trainer spent talking about form.

Using 20-pound dumbbells for cup squats and deadlifts was new, so getting live updates on whether we were running properly gave us peace of mind.

In the end, the shift from choosing our own weights and playing through Squad classes to being guided, propelled, and ultimately judged on our form and fitness makes the Tempo Move worth the price.

In conclusion

The Tempo Move ticks many boxes for anyone looking to improve their fitness game at home.

Not only do you get a full set of weights in an attractive storage unit, but the on-demand classes are plentiful and serious enough to help you get in shape with a more personal workout.

We especially appreciated the weight training classes, but we missed Peloton's windier and more fascinating cardio and core classes.

Plus, the $ 39.95 membership price is comparable to other premium add-on apps from Echelon, Peloton, and SoulCycle, but it's hard to stack multiple monthly memberships for different types of workouts.

However, if you're looking for an easy way to incorporate a home gym into any room and use personal technology to drive a specific, heavy-duty workout program, we think the price is right for the cleverly designed Tempo Move.

Just make sure you have an iPhone.

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