Smart Home Can Help With Your 2023 Exercise Resolution
January 24, 2023
Debbie and I have never been the New Years’ resolution types, especially when it comes to exercise. We are pretty regular gym rats and we have a treadmill at home. But we do realize the new year brings renewed commitments regarding a lot things for a lot of folks — especially exercise.
One of the ways people tend to make exercise commitments is to invest in home exercise equipment or sign up for exercise classes run by a trainer to help motivate them. Now there are smart home solutions that combine both.
Smart fitness mirrors are one of the options out there for fitness at home. They generally imply a serious commitment to fitness as they’re not like having an old exercise bike sitting in the corner of the basement. Even calling them a mirror feels off. They all technically still reflect your image but these mirrors are better than your regular mirrors.
Fitness mirrors tend to feature touchscreen displays that offer real-time feedback on fitness goals, house an array of aerobic classes and strength training, and some even have real-time instructor driven exercise content. And the best thing is they take away the excuses and distractions that stop you from leaving the house and going the gym.
Tonal is a sophisticated device in the smart mirror world, acting as half mirror, half weight lifting machine. It features two built-in resistance arms that can be applied to over 200 exercises and gives you access to instructor-led virtual studio classes. This mirror with arms also has multiple sensors to ensure you’re doing the movements correctly and provides tracking and feedback just like a personal trainer.
I’d only suggest the Tonal mirror if you’re serious about your home workouts as this one will set you back $3,500.
The Echelon Reflect offers real-time, personalized stats on your heart rate and calories burned and lets you compete with friends while doing so. I really like this feature as I’m a hard core Fitbit user for my workouts. There’s even a celebrity section where you can take classes led by celebrities like Mario Lopez. Personally, I’d prefer Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone but to each his own.
From a price perspective, the Echelon Reflect is a more mid-range option at $900 or $1,250 depending on the size display you prefer — 40” or 50” respectively.
Mirror (which is owned by Lululemon), is a better option if resistance training isn’t really your thing. It’s more oriented to aerobic classes instead of strength training and gives you access to kickboxing, pilates, ballet, barre, and all sorts of other classes that are really more in line with what Debbie would be interested in. While it doesn’t have sensors, you can get training from a real person using Mirror’s two-way camera, which shuts off to protect privacy when the session is over.
The Mirror is a little more on the lower end cost-wise as the models range in price from $800 to $1,700, depending on the accessories you choose.
Technically, you might be able to replicate all the above features by using a regular full-length mirror and fitness apps and trackers on your smartphone along with some home gym equipment. But then you might as well just go to a gym and save all that space at home.
What are your thoughts on smart exercise mirrors? I’d be interested in feedback on your experience if you own one. If you don’t, are you considering getting one? Is the cost a barrier? I find the idea interesting as it’s a really more personal aspect of smart home. And it solves a very different type of smart home challenge.
Let Debbie and I know in the comments, DMs and emails what you think about smart mirrors. Thanks again to all those following Debbie and I through our home building journey. It’s great to hear your success stories and suggestions as we move through the process. And if you like the content I’m posting each week, don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Follow.’
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