Velocity AI will sell a $149.99 clip-on sensor that measures how fast you move each rep and has an AI coach that sets your next load, reps and rest based on that speed.
The product appears grounded in the science of velocity-based training. Unlike heart rate, this has the potential to let lifters properly quantify the muscular strain of their workouts.
- The California start-up has raised more than $1.95 million to date and will show the Velocity Sensor and Ve Coach app at CES in January 2027.
- Pre-orders are open at $149.99 for the sensor with a bar mount and a body mount. Founding units are due to ship in the US in December 2026.
- Ve Coach is a required membership at $9.99 a month or $95.90 a year, charged from activation. The app is iPhone-only at launch.
- The app builds a programme from your goal, experience, schedule and equipment, and can adjust a session to the time you have or a scan of the equipment in the room.
- The company was co-founded by former Navy SEAL Max Darsonval and technology executive Devin James, and says the funding will pay for marketing, hiring and development.
What velocity-based training is
When you are fresh, the bar moves fast. As you tire, it slows, and the closer you get to failure, the slower each rep becomes. Velocity-based training (VBT) uses that speed to judge how hard a set really was, so a coach can stop a set or change the load on the day, whatever the programme says. It is used across professional sport and elite powerlifting.
The proven kit, from companies such as GymAware, Vitruve and RepOne, attaches to the barbell, costs $300 to $2,000 and has been independently validated. Wearables that try to read bar speed from the body have a poor record, as the history of VBT wearables shows.
The PUSH precedent
PUSH, a Canadian start-up, was the most serious attempt to put VBT in a wearable. It worked with more than 20,000 professional and Olympic athletes, including IMG Academy and Volleyball Canada. WHOOP bought it in September 2021 and then shut the hardware, app and coaching portal down. What replaced it was a WHOOP Strength Trainer that only worked when you picked a preset workout, and even WHOOP’s 2026 automatic muscular load update estimates strain from movement and duration, not bar speed.
What it means for lifters
Velocity’s bar mount puts it in the proven camp at a tenth of the usual price, and its AI coach does the interpretation that VBT normally needs a coach for. The catch is the weight. On a bar, the sensor measures speed but has no way of knowing what plates are loaded, so you still have to tell it. Worn on the body, it also cannot tell which bar, dumbbell or kettlebell moved. Velocity’s site shows the app prescribing loads and logging warm-up weights, but does not say how it learns them.
Used on the body, Velocity faces the problem that PUSH never solved for consumers and that Fort is now attempting from the wrist. Wait for independent accuracy data before pre-ordering, especially if you plan to wear it rather than clip it to the bar.
Quick answers
What is velocity-based training?
It uses the speed of each rep to measure fatigue. As the bar slows you are nearer failure, so you can end a set or adjust the load on the day.
How much does the Velocity AI sensor cost?
The sensor costs $149.99 at pre-order, and the Ve Coach app it needs costs $9.99 a month or $95.90 a year.
Does the Velocity sensor know how much weight is on the bar?
Velocity has not said how it learns the load. A speed sensor on its own cannot measure weight, so expect to enter or confirm it in the app.
Related: Fort tracks bar speed from the wrist, WHOOP bought an Apple Watch strength app and Garmin’s planned strength features.
Last Updated on 5 November 2026 by tfk the5krunner
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin from any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
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Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
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- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: I’ve just bought one.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Ravemen FR1000: The light and the computer mount in one unit, so nothing else goes on the bars. Better than mine.
- Ravemen FR1500SE: 1,500 lumens hanging under your Garmin, for proper night rides.
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- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
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Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home. I use it.
Health, recovery and sleep
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Kineon MOVE+: Red and infrared light for sore knees, Achilles and other joints after hard training. I use it.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
