The Tempo Studio and its main competitor, Tonal, revolutionized strength training by using artificial intelligence to help you make gains. However, at $2,495 and $2,995 respectively, both are priced out of reach for many people. Tempo’s latest piece of smart home gym equipment, the Move, is much more affordable at $495 (plus $39 per month for a class membership). It offers a similar smart strength training experience as the Studio, and requires far less space in your home by working with your television and iPhone. That said, the Move only supports dumbbell and bodyweight classes at this time, comes with just 50 pounds of weights, and doesn’t work with Android phones. Still, given its affordable price and top-notch classes, the Tempo Move leaves you feeling the burn and eager to work out day after day, making it a worthwhile alternative to much pricier machines.
Tempo Move vs. Tempo Studio
The Tempo Move is a screenless cabinet that houses a smart home gym; it’s about the height and size of a side table. The machine costs $495 but is currently available for $395, and while that’s a temporary discount, a spokesperson says the company has no plans to increase the price any time soon.
To make the cost more manageable, Tempo offers financing options through Affirm starting at $16 per month for 24 months for the Move, or $52 per month for 48 months for the Studio. The Move comes with a 30-day trial, free shipping and returns, and a three-year limited warranty.
Like the Studio and most other smart fitness machines, the Move requires a $39 monthly membership that gives you access to Tempo’s on-demand workout class library. Tempo says the Move will support live classes soon, a feature that is already available on the Studio. You can create up to six accounts under one membership, so everyone’s stats are separate.
The Move measures 22 by 13.5 by 13.5 inches (HWD) and requires about a 6-by-6 foot area of floor space in front of your TV for workouts. If you’re short on space, it’s a much better option than the Studio, which measures 72 by 26 by 16 inches (HWD) and requires at least 6-by-8 feet of space. That machine uses an easel-like design and features a built-in 42-inch touch screen on which you stream classes.
Like the Studio, the Move comes in either a light or dark color. It features real wood on the top and a fabric door that opens from either the left or right side. For this review, the company sent the light-colored model, which matches my TV stand perfectly. When I move my coffee table out of the way, I have just enough floor space in my living room to work out with the Move.
Inside the cabinet, you get two 7.5-pound dumbbells, 35 pounds of weight plates (four 1.25-pound red weight plates, four 2.5-pound yellow plates, and four 5-pound gray plates), and four clips to secure the plates onto your dumbbells. The cabinet also has room for four 10-pound blue plates that work with the system, but Tempo charges $145 extra for them.
Tempo’s colorful weight plates make me happy, but they have a purpose beyond aesthetics. The system scans and recognizes the weight plates based on their color to accurately track how much you’re lifting. The weight plates also have a rubber coating so they feel nice and are less likely to damage your floor.
The flagship Tempo Studio comes with all the accessories you get with the Move, plus a set of four 10-pound weight plates, and a workout mat. The Studio also supports Tempo’s barbell, kettlebell, folding squat rack, and folding bench, but the company charges extra for these accessories. At the time of this writing, the Move supports only Tempo’s dumbbells and weight plates, but the company says it will work with its barbell and kettlebell soon. Just keep in mind that the Move’s cabinet is too small to store the barbell; the Studio has a hook on the back to hang the barbell that allows you to safely (and discreetly) store it.
On top, the Move features a puck-shaped docking station for your iPhone that connects to your TV or monitor via an HDMI cable. That connection enables you to stream classes from the company’s mobile app on your big screen. Tempo calls this component the Core; it communicates with your iPhone and TV to power the Move’s virtual personal training features and functions as the brain of the system.
At launch, the Move works only with iPhone X, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 models. It doesn’t work with the 2020 iPhone SE. The Move uses your iPhone’s TrueDepth camera to generate a 3D map of you and your environment so it can assess your movements. In the future, the system will instead leverage the LiDAR scanner in the iPhone 12 Pro and later.
Like the Studio, the Move tracks 25 of your joints, comparing where they are in relation with each other to determine which exercise you’re doing and whether you’re performing it correctly. Both offer weight recommendations, count your reps, and provide form corrections in real time. Tempo’s technology is designed to adapt your training as you progress. If you’re meeting or exceeding your rep targets for a certain move, it might tell you to increase your weight, for instance.
Just keep in mind that, when working out with the Move, you can’t easily text, check social media, or take selfies in the middle of sets, because the experience occupies your phone. Tempo says it may add support for the iPad as well as LiDAR-equipped Android phones in the future.
“We’re at an inflection point now that iPhone models are able to run sophisticated AI locally and have precise depth-sensing technology,” Tempo CTO and cofounder Josh Augustin explained. “Experiences that used to require expensive hardware can now be built on devices many of us already own.”
Instead of your phone, the Studio uses built-in 3D sensors to assess your movements. A spokesperson tells me that the Studio’s 3D sensor is slightly more powerful than the one in the iPhone, “so it might pick up more nuances in the motion than the Move.”
Setting Up and Working Out With the Tempo Move
The Tempo Move and all its included accessories arrive neatly in one box, with a quick start guide sitting on top.
The first step of the setup process is to identify your workout space. As mentioned, you need at least a 6-by-6 foot area in front of your TV for the Move to track your movements. You can place the accessories cabinet beside your media console, as I did, or anywhere else within reach of your workout space. The Core measures just 3.75 inches in diameter, and is moveable, meaning you can either nestle it in the Move accessories cabinet or place it atop your media console. Tempo says to avoid placing the Core in direct sunlight while you work out, because lighting can interfere with your phone’s camera and cause feedback errors. I haven’t experienced this problem, as I usually use the Move at the crack of dawn with the blinds closed.
From there, use the provided cable to connect the Core to your TV. It requires an HDMI port and a USB port on your TV or monitor. Next, download the Tempo app on your iPhone and set up your subscription if you don’t already have one. Finally, place your phone in the Core dock, and you should get a “Trust This Computer?” pop-up; press Trust, then follow the on-screen instructions to finish the setup process. Note that if you have a case on your phone, you’ll probably need to take it off before docking it into the Core. I found this step sort of annoying at first, but my phone case is easy to get on and off, and I’m used to it by now.
The app then takes you through the steps of creating an account. It asks for your name, birthdate, weight, height, gender (female, male, or other), and primary goal (get stronger, improve definition, lose weight, or get healthier). It also asks about your experience with strength training, HIIT and cardio training, and mobility training, as well as a few more questions to help you set up a recommended training schedule.
During the initial setup process, it gives you the option to add up to five people to your account. To use the Move, they also need a compatible iPhone. If you skip this step, you can always do it later via the app’s Setting menu. It also gives you the option to sync your workouts with Apple Health so they can count toward your daily Activity Rings. Finally, the app plays a tutorial video to help familiarize you with the system.
The Tempo app is well organized, with the following tabs on the bottom: Home, Classes, Live, Programs, and Profile.
In Home, it recommends a class each day, followed by some alternate options. When setting up my account, I said my primary goal was to improve definition and work out three times per week for 30 to 45 minutes each time. Tempo recommended a full-body build class on Wednesday, a full-body endurance class on Saturday, and an upper-body build class on Sunday.
In the Classes tab, you can browse and filter the workout library. Here, you can find carousels of classes, including recently added, cardio, beginner, lower-body strength, upper-body strength, meditation, boxing, and more. You can filter the library by favorites (workouts you have marked with a heart), workout type (HIIT, strength, and mobility), difficulty (suitable for beginners, intermediate, and expert), duration (up to 75 minutes), trainer, and muscle group.
Tempo says the app includes more than 1,000 workouts. It has less content and variety than some other platforms including iFit, MYX + Openfit, Peloton, and Tonal, all of which offer thousands of classes, but it’s growing quickly, and its workouts are fun and effective.
In the Live tab, you can’t see the schedule at the moment, but it says “Live classes are coming soon to the Move!”
In the Programs tab, the app recommends a workout series and you can browse more options, organized by goal. Tempo recommend a program called Get Healthy Jumpstart, which it says is good for intermediate athletes who want to improve definition. The program includes four challenges, each about 10 minutes long; you repeat just one move each time—either bicep curls, burpees, lunges, or push-ups—and it tracks your reps. Tempo encourages you to come back to the classes as often as you want to check your progress.
At the end of 2021, Tempo launched a mini yoga program called Get Healthy: Thrive the Holiday that I really enjoyed. It consisted of four 20- to 25-minute classes, including “a pre-holiday metabolic booster, a gratitude flow, a restorative practice to digest the festivities, and a juicy tension release after the dust has settled.” Since it was a bodyweight yoga class, I was able to follow along on my phone while traveling.
The Tempo Move Experience
Tempo is primarily geared toward strength training. If cardio and endurance are your primary focuses, you’re probably better off with a rowing machine, a stationary bike, or a treadmill.
During Tempo classes, you see the trainer set against a black background. There are no flashy sets like on Peloton and MYX + Openfit, nor exotic destinations like on iFit and Hydrow. Tempo’s trainers give off a hip vibe, in a good way. They seem like the popular crowd at the gym, the people who wear leggings under shorts and Converse or Vans while lifting. Aesthetics and vibe aside, the trainers are also knowledgeable and motivational.
Most of Tempo’s workouts are fairly quick, around 30 to 45 minutes. The classes are simple, relying heavily on basic but effective moves like lunges, squats, push-ups, chest presses (which you perform on the ground), and bicep curls. Its lower-, upper-, and full-body build classes are my favorite. They often include supersets or trisets (two or three moves performed back to back, respectively) followed by 30 seconds to a minute of rest.
I love that Tempo strength classes offer ample rest between sets. Head Coach Melissa Boyd often talks about the importance of taking time to rest when strength training, so you can give each set your all. Tempo’s trainers always demonstrate the movements beforehand and use the breaks to stress proper alignment.
The strength classes usually start with a brief warm-up (which you can skip if you’re short on time or stacking workouts) and end with a quick cooldown. They also often incorporate abdominal work, and a “burner” like a plank hold at the end.
Tempo’s HIIT and mobility sessions nicely complement the strength workouts. During the HIIT classes, pay close attention to your heart rate and try to keep it elevated within zone four or five to challenge your physical endurance. The HIIT workouts incorporate moves like burpees, jumping jacks, jump squats, and more.
The mobility and yoga selection is fairly limited and the sessions are brief. At the time of this writing, I could only find four yoga classes that are longer than 30 minutes. The classes combine bodyweight strength moves like planks and warriors with stretches such as triangle pose and seated forward fold. They often include sun salutations along with a mixture of standing, seated, and reclined moves.
When you click an on-demand class in the Tempo app, it brings up a preview screen with a written description of the workout. It also shows the skill level, equipment needed, workout plan, and latest leaderboard rankings.
Once you find a suitable class, just dock your phone in the Tempo Core and press Start Class. Next, you can optionally connect a heart rate monitor, adjust your leaderboard settings, and pick a music station.
The Move works with Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitors, including the Apple Watch. In testing, I had no problem connecting an Apple Watch Series 7, Myzone Mz-Switch, Peloton Heart Rate Band, and Polar OH1 with the Tempo app. To connect an Apple Watch, just make sure it’s on the same Wi-Fi network as your phone, then open the Tempo app on your wearable.
By default, the leaderboard is turned on, but you can hide it if you prefer. Tempo awards you leaderboard points for each pound you lift, and each rep you complete. By default, it shows the volume leaderboard, which ranks participants based on the total weight (in pounds) they have lifted throughout the class. You can instead toggle on the rep leaderboard, which ranks participants based on their rep count throughout the class.
Tempo’s music station options include Ambient, EDM, Groove and Flow, Jock Jams, Modern Downtempo, Pop, Pride, Today’s Top Hits, Throwback Hip-Hop, and Top Hits. A slider in the app lets you adjust the music and trainer audio balance.
On the class settings screen, Tempo tells you how to set up your equipment. It may tell you to add the gray and yellow weight plates to your dumbbells, for example. When you’re ready, press Continue, and the class starts streaming on your TV.
At the bottom of the Tempo class screen is a green rectangle with a dot inside. The rectangle is your virtual mat, and the dot represents you. You need to stand within the virtual mat area for Tempo to track your reps. If you move out of frame, the virtual mat turns yellow, then eventually red when you get far enough away. When you’re out of frame, Tempo can’t count your reps, so it’s important to stay within the tracking zone. As a rule of thumb, if the virtual mat is green, you’re standing in the right place.
Getting the hang of where to stand takes some trial and error, and I’m still not sure how to best position myself for certain moves, like lunges and chest press. When doing lunges, I usually stand facing toward the TV, instead of turning to the side. For chest presses, I find that it most accurately counts my reps when I’m laying down with my head closer to the TV and my feet further away, instead of the other way around. It would be helpful if Tempo’s trainers told you how to orient yourself if you’re not supposed to face forward.
Atop the Move class interface, it shows the name of the move you’re doing, a countdown timer to the next set, and a countdown timer to the end of the workout.
Below that, it shows which colored plates are loaded onto your dumbbells and how much weight you’re lifting. At the start of each set, the Move checks that you loaded the recommended weight plates onto your dumbbells. In testing, I found that the Move’s weight recommendations are often too low, and I can lift more than it says to put on, a problem I rarely experienced with the Studio. For instance, the Move told me to use unloaded dumbbells (which only weigh 7.5 pounds apiece) for deadlifts, which was comically easy.
If you load a different amount than recommended onto your dumbbells, the screen is supposed to automatically adjust, so you get credit for what you’re actually lifting. Most of the time, Tempo’s verification system works, but occasionally, it didn’t detect the change.
At the bottom of the class interface, it shows your rep target, real-time rep count, and pace (seconds per rep). The Move’s rep-counting feature isn’t perfect, but as long as you’re standing within the tracking area, it works most of the time.
On the right side of the screen is the class leaderboard. You see your rank change in real time, based on your dumbbell weight and rep count. You earn one point per pound, for each rep. So if you have 10 pounds loaded onto your dumbbells, you earn 10 points per rep. Obviously, if the Move incorrectly verifies your dumbbell weight or fails to count a rep, as it sometimes does, your leaderboard points won’t be accurate. But because you can’t participate in Live classes on the Move at this time, the leaderboard isn’t a huge deal.
On the bottom right side of the screen, the interface shows your heart rate and heart rate zone (as long as you have a heart rate monitor connected). The Move doesn’t track your range of motion, a feature that is available on the more expensive Studio. In testing, I also found that the Move offers far less form feedback than the Studio. On the Move, I have received form feedback only for lateral raises. On the Studio, I also got form feedback for bicep curls and squats.
During Move workouts, you can pause the class or adjust your settings at any time via the app. At the end of the class, you get a workout summary that how many calories you burned, how much volume you lifted, your leaderboard rank, and a graph of your heart rate in the app once you remove your phone from the Core.
Occasionally, the audio and video fell out of sync when I was streaming Move classes, a problem I don’t remember encountering with the Studio. Both products occasionally miss or miscount reps, especially if you’re not in the correct position, though I experienced this issue more frequently with the Move. I also find that the Move’s weight suggestions are often too light and that it offers less form feedback than the Studio. In terms of overall performance, the Studio is the superior product, hands down. That’s not a surprise, given that it costs more than five times as much.
Smart Strength Training on a Budget
The Tempo Move is part of a new generation of more affordable smart strength training machines including the for the $429 Alexa-controlled NordicTrack iSelect Adjustable Dumbbells, which we haven’t yet tested, and the $495 Peloton Guide, which isn’t yet available. The $495 Tempo Move brings the cost of smart strength training way down by utilizing technology you may already own. The compact and attractive cabinet pairs with your iPhone and TV to power the experience, and offers storage for the included weights. Its required $39 monthly class membership is a bit steep, especially because the Move doesn’t offer live classes yet and its on-demand library is smaller than that of the company’s flagship Studio machine. In addition, the Move’s rep-counting, weight verification, and form feedback abilities aren’t quite on par with the Studio, but they’re still very good—especially for a fifth of the price. That makes the Move a truly viable alternative to the Tempo Studio, especially if you’re just getting started with strength training or shopping on a budget.
