I wanted to dodge the crowded gym and coaching fees, so I trusted this AI-powered gym instead

At the risk of sounding like an introverted cheapskate, I tested a smart home gym with a built-in AI coach, so I don’t have to go to the actual gym. Now, I think I need to apologize to all the coaches.

While I consider myself a pretty active person who goes on extensive walks and hikes, likes to run, and does aerial gymnastics twice a week, I’m not much of a gym enthusiast. And it’s not because I get bored with the same routine, as happens to some gym goers.

I’m scared of getting injured. Of course, if you’re training with a coach, you minimize your risks, but considering that you have to pay for the gym membership and then invest in coaching sessions, that adds up to quite a sum of money, doesn’t it?

Since AI has been used in many areas of our lives, to the point where it’s ready to replace humans, I decided to try an AI-powered gym coach that doesn’t take an hourly fee, since it’s part of AEKE’s Smart Home Gym K1.

But the question is whether it’s better than a real coach?

First impression of AEKE Smart Home Gym K1

The AEKE Smart Home Gym comes with a mirror screen with an extendable pad, a smart scale, a bench, and a number of add-on accessories such as a heart rate armband, smart grips, adjustable barbell, and more.

At first, the setup seemed a bit overwhelming, considering that there are various accessories, the device itself, and an app, all of which I tried to set up to ensure that I didn’t miss anything.

The huge mirror with a touch screen seemed really cool, and it motivated me to try everything it had to offer.

And for those who are tired of subscription-based apps and devices, AEKE Smart Home Gym comes without one.

I was especially interested in an AI coach that is supposed to track your movements and tell you if you’re doing a certain exercise incorrectly.

Besides the AI coach, the device also includes pre-recorded workouts that are similar to the ones that are usually found on YouTube, as well as a free training platform, where you can do your own workouts.

Smarter “Just Dance” or an intuitive AI coach?

One of the smart gym's main features is its AI coach, which not only shows you how to do certain exercises but also tracks your movements to ensure you’re doing them correctly.

Considering how obsessed I am with not injuring my back or other important parts of my body, I expected a lot from this feature. I have to admit that I was also quite happy with the thought that I’d get to exercise in an empty and clean environment, which is not always the case in public gyms.

What I liked during my workout was that I could see the “coach” doing the exercise and myself. Since the screen also works as a mirror, I could instantly fix myself according to what I saw on the screen.

I could also see “myself” at the bottom of the screen, where a little avatar that was supposed to be me was shown. This tracker, which reminded me more of the “Just Dance” game, showed my movement. At the top of the screen, I could also see comments about my posture and some motivational phrases to keep going.

I soon noticed that the tracker wasn’t as accurate as I hoped. At first, I tried my best to do everything exactly as the AI coach showed, but after a few times, when I noticed that my knees or my back weren’t bent the way they were supposed to, and I was the one who noticed it, not the coach, I started experimenting.

At times when I just stood there and did nothing, I would get the device saying to follow the instructor. However, I didn’t get many comments when I was doing the exercise, but I knew I was doing it inaccurately.

I asked our “real” coach to help me test other AEKE Smart Home Gym K1 capabilities

After checking the AI coach capabilities, I wanted to see how else the smart home gym can be used. To do that, I went to a health fitness specialist and coach Edgaras Gedvilas, who used the smart gym during our training sessions at Cybernews.

During this session, the coach incorporated the smart gym into our session by using the free training feature. I have to say that I felt much more confident knowing that someone could comment on whether I was doing the exercises correctly.

Gedvilas explained that for the AI system to assess whether a user is doing the exercise correctly, it needs a setup that tracks the user from all sides, not only from the front.

Considering that many gym goers are interested in investing in home gym equipment, I was curious to know whether such an AI-boosted device may soon replace coaches.

The coach shared that the device includes some convenient functionalities, such as weight change, which is especially useful in eccentric training.

But what we shouldn’t forget is that we’re human beings and not robots, so a lot in sports depends on how we feel that day, whether we’re sick, stressed, tired, etc. According to Gedvilas, many like to use AI-powered training programs, but they lack human reasoning.

Work in progress with the much-involved community

I have to admit that my first tries with the smart gym weren’t as glamorous as I had hoped. One of the things I got annoyed by was the screen that would lag and take me multiple taps to summon a workout or change settings.

I contacted AEKE support about this, and while I waited for a reply, I stumbled across a whole Facebook community that shared various information, questions, and requests about AEKE’s smart gym. Honestly, I found this group more useful than the user’s guide.

After going through multiple posts, I’ve felt much more inspired about how I can expand the use of the device.

For example, this is where I learned about screen casting, which worked well when I tried a workout from YouTube via my iPhone. However, some users revealed that the feature is not compatible with Android devices, but that it may change in the future.

Seeing how involved users are in this group, providing their own insights into how to improve the device and sharing what they expect next, also lifted my spirits (or the fact that the lagging screen problem took care of itself, probably thanks to the automatic update).

Considering that AEKE Smart Home Gym was launched at the end of 2024, making it a fairly new device in such a market, but already maintaining users' interest, I believe that the $3,800 gym will only get better in the future. One can only hope that these improvements will focus on the AI coach, as the hardware seems to work pretty well already.

AEKE Smart Home Gym K1 pros and cons

Pros:

• The device works without a subscription;
• Users can more easily follow the trainer and see their posture in the mirror screen;
• Includes a variety of workouts for different body parts (with and without AI coach);
• Users can screen cast other workouts.

Cons:

• AI coach lacks accurate movement tracking or deeper insights;
• The device sometimes lags;
• The weights can only be adjusted before the workout, and not during.

Video review

Want to see how AEKE’s smart gym stacks up against a human trainer? Check out our AI Trainer vs Human Trainer video below.

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