A phone is enough to track a bar. What decides the result is how the clip is filmed.
Filming setup
- Film from the side, at right angles to the lift.
- Prop the phone still at about hip height. Do not hold it.
- Stand far enough back to see the whole body, the bar and the plates.
- Use the highest frame rate your phone offers.
- Light the lifter from the front, not from behind.
Show the plate
To turn pixels into centimetres, a tracker needs something of known size. A standard plate works. Keep the whole plate in view for the whole lift.
What the numbers tell a coach
- Bar path: the line the bar travels. A big drift forward or back can point to a balance or setup problem.
- Bar speed: how fast each rep moves. A slower rep at the same load can point to fatigue.
- Range of motion: how far the bar travels on each rep.
Compare the same lift over time
Use the same angle, distance and lift each time. Compare the same load across weeks. One clip says little. A trend says more.
Tools and what they cost
Prices read on 19 October 2026. Check the pages before you buy.
- Metric: tracks bar speed, power and bar path on video. Coach plans start at $199 a year for 5 athletes, which is $16.58 a month.
- BarSpeed: its listing says it uses a LiDAR iPhone Pro 12 or later. It is free, with in-app purchases at $12.99 and $129.99 for a year.
Limits
Camera angle, frame rate and lighting all change the reading. Treat the numbers as trends, not exact measurements.
The filming guide and the technique review guide cover the rest.
Where Trainersight fits
Trainersight traces the bar from a client video. It shows deviation, acceleration and displacement for each rep.
Open the sample dashboard to see the coach screen.
Register your interest
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