UW-Madison spin-off company WeightUp Solutions has developed computerized monitors to track weight lifting, a system that is currently being used by the UW-Oshkosh football team.
UW-Madison senior Daniel Litvak founded the company about 14 months ago, and he said he thought of the idea when he observed weight lifters marking their reps and lifting totals with pencils, according to a university release.
“As an entrepreneur and a computer science major, there was no better word than ‘dumb’ for that,” Litvak said in the release. “I started looking at how you could digitize record-keeping, to get a better picture of what was actually happening, and at the same time encourage proper form.”
Litvak said the monitoring system he helped design tracks the lifters form in addition to counting reps. The UW-Oshkosh football team will use the monitoring system through the end of the year to test its effectiveness.
“We are trying to get athletes to understand that we want them to move the bar with as much intent and speed as they can,” said UW-Oshkosh strength and conditioning coach Steve Brown in the release. “Not just to lift it, but to lift it fast and straight. This will selectively recruit certain muscle fibers to maximize force production.”
Because smart watches also offer a similar service, Litvak is trying to bring his company to the market soon.
“We’re not going to do okay,” Litvak said in the release. “In this business, you either hit a homerun, or you go out of business.”
