Recording a set in Metric Lift — Docs

Stand your phone side on to the bar, wait for two green indicators, then tap Record. Metric Lift finds the round plate on the camera side and tracks it through every rep. When you tap Stop, the set review opens with your bar speed, range of motion and rep data.

Record a quick set

A quick set records one set without a workout.

On the home screen, tap Quick set.
Enter the exercise and the weight.
Open the camera.
Aim the camera at the bar from the side.
Wait for the stability indicator to turn green. Green means the phone is upright and still.
Wait for the plate indicator to turn green. If it stays red, change the zoom or move the phone until it turns green.
Tap Record, do your set, then tap Stop.

Metric Lift processes the video and opens the set review. When you leave the set review, Metric Lift asks what to do with the set. Tap Save set data or Discard set data. After a save, you can start a workout from that set and keep training. On Free, Metric Lift keeps the set video for 24 hours.

Record inside a workout

To record several sets in a row, record them inside a workout.

Start a workout. Add your exercise, then add your sets with their weights.
Tap the camera icon on a set row to record that set.
Tap Stop at the end of the set. The set review opens, and Metric Lift saves the set into the workout.
Tap Next at the bottom of the set review to move to the next set. The button shows the weight of that set.

To import a video or mark a set complete without video, swipe left on the set row and tap ⋯. Then tap Import a video or Mark complete. See Importing video.

Place the camera

Metric Lift tracks the plate, not the bar. Everything below keeps that plate in clear view for the whole set.

Round plates. Metric Lift tracks round plates, so load the camera side with round bumper or iron plates. For an exercise with no plate, use a tracking disc and set its size. See Custom plate sizes.
Plate in frame. Metric Lift can drop all or part of a rep when the plate leaves the frame.
A still phone. Metric Lift reads any movement of the phone as bar movement. Use a tripod, a phone clamp or a stable shelf.
Even light. Most gyms and garage gyms have enough light. Keep bright windows and lights out of the frame near the bar. Dark plates in a dark room are hard to detect.

Then place the phone:

Angle. Film from the side, within 0–30° of the end of the bar.
Height. Put the phone at bar height at the middle of the lift. The floor works for deadlifts. For a bench press or a squat, raise it to between knee and chest height. For a snatch, raise it to between chest and shoulder height.
Distance. Stand the phone back far enough to keep the bar and the plates in frame for the whole set. Use zoom to fine-tune.
Orientation. Film in portrait.

Metric Lift corrects for the distance to the bar, the tilt of the phone, the recording angle and the zoom. You do not need to measure any of them.

Framing causes more bad sets than anything else. Fit the whole bar in the frame with room to spare. Then the plates cannot drift out of shot at the top or the bottom of a rep. The next most common mistake is filming hand-held, where the phone wobbles through the set.

Check the plate preview

Before you record, the preview rings the plate that Metric Lift expects to track. The ring can jump between plates on the bar while you frame the shot. Once the bar moves, Metric Lift tracks the largest moving plate.

When it goes wrong

After a set, the set review shows a warning when Metric Lift detects a problem with the recording.

Warning	What happened	What to do
No reps detected	Metric Lift found no reps in the video.	Check the angle, the zoom and the plates, then record again.
Wrong angle	The phone filmed from in front of or behind the bar.	Film from the side.
Bar left frame	The bar left the screen during a rep.	Zoom out or move the phone back.
Too far away	The plates were small in the frame.	Move closer or zoom in.
Too close	The plates were too large to fit the full range.	Move back or zoom out.
Slow frame rate	The video ran below 50 fps.	Check that your camera can record at 60 fps.
Frames dropped	The phone dropped frames during processing.	Close other apps, or let the phone cool down.
Long processing	Processing took much longer than usual.	Record at 720p, or contact support.

If a set still looks wrong, open the menu at the top of the set review and tap Report a bug. The report sends the set to the Metric team. See Common recording issues for more fixes.

Earn the Level 1 certification

Metric Lift on iPhone and iPad has a short interactive tutorial on camera setup, framing and plate detection. Open Account → Information → Level 1 Certification. Pass it and you get a certification card that you can save or share.