Recording Guidelines for the Metric Barbell Tracking App

What Metric needs to see

Metric uses your phone’s camera to find the barbell, identify your weight plates, and track your movement frame-by-frame. The full range of the lift fits inside the video frame and the full weight plate on the bar is visible for the full recording.

Metric tracks plates, not the bar — losing them out of the video frame mid-set causes rep-count and data accuracy issues.

For this your set needs:

• Circular weight plates, viewed side on. Metric tracks circular plates. 12-sided plates, empty barbells, or bodyweight exercises can’t be tracked. Use a tracking disc for alternative exercises See: Tracking alternative exercises.
• Plates stay in frame the entire set. If a plate leaves the frame at any point — top of the rep, bottom, or out the sides — the rep or part of a rep can be dropped and data will be inaccurate.
• Stable phone position. Wobble or motion from your device is interpreted as bar movement. Use a tripod, phone clamp, stable shelf, or kettlebell to keep the device stable. Hand-held recording isn’t supported.
• Reasonable lighting. Most gyms and garage gyms work. Avoid bright direct light sources in the video frame (window , or fluorescents close to the barbell in the frame) or trying to track dark plates in dark environments — both make plate detection unreliable.

Tip: Metric provides on-screen guidance before recording for plate detection, lighting, and recording distance/angle. Wait for two green alerts — stable device and plate detected — before starting a recording.

Phone position

1. Distance: Any distance to the side is fine as long as you can keep the barbell, plates and athlete in the frame throughout the set and the plates aren’t so small as to be hard to track. Use zoom to fine-tune if needed.
2. Height: roughly bar-height at the middle of the range of motion. Phone-on-the-floor is fine for deadlifts and bench, but might not be best not for snatches or overhead pressing.
3. Orientation: Portrait, with a vertical phone every time.
4. Recording angle: Record side on, between 0º-30º from the end of the barbell for the best angle.

Tip: Metric is built to record lifts by real lifters in real lifting environments. Metric automatically accounts for distance to the barbell, device tilt, recording angle, and zoom when recording sets live in the app to ensure accurate tracking of the barbell.

Plate detection preview

Before recording, Metric shows a live preview of which plate it’s most likely to track. Use it to confirm framing and device positioning.

Tip: If preview shows detection but you’re getting bad results, send a bug report from the menu at the top of the set review, we are always looking to improve the tracking reliability.

The record flow

Once setup looks right, recording is five taps.

Quick set

1. From the home screen, tap Quick set.
2. Enter the exercise and weight.
3. Open the camera and the video preview will start.
4. Aim the camera at the bar as if you were about to record.
5. The on-screen indicator turns green when the device is upright, stable and in good lighting.
6. The plate preview indicator will lock onto the best weight plate detected in the scene. The app will provide feedback on recording distance, angle, and plate size in the frame. Adjust zoom or device position until this indicator also goes green.
7. Tap Record, complete your set, tap Stop.
8. Metric will complete processing, calculate rep metrics and navigate to the set review automatically.

Upon exiting the set review you will be prompted to either save the set, save the set and start a workout, or delete the set and exit.

Within an active workout

To record multiple sets in a single workout, this is easiest to do with a workout,

1. Start a new workout, add your first exercise, and add as many sets as you need with their weights
2. For each set tap the camera icon on that set row to open the camera and record the set. (You can also swipe right on the set row for manual entry or import options. See Completing a workout.)
3. When you stop recording you will be navigated to the set review and the set saves to your set history and into the workout automatically.
4. To record your next set use the “Next →” button at the bottom or the set review or go back to the workout and repeat by tapping the camera icon.

After the set

The set summary shows reps, bar speed, range of motion, and other metrics. From there you can edit details, hide false reps, or move to the next set.

See Editing set details and Reviewing set data.

Earn your Metric Tracking Certification

Metric ships with an interactive tutorial that walks through camera setup, framing, and plate detection, and issues a Metric Level 1 certificate at the end (iOS only at the time of writing).

Find it in Account → Information → Level 1Certification. Allow 3-4 minutes to complete the quiz.

Pass the quiz and you get a personalised certification card you can save or share.

Quick reference checklist

Before pressing record:

1. Phone is on a tripod or stable mount, side on to the bar.
2. Portrait orientation.
3. Zoom and distance allow the full range of motion to be tracked.
4. Plate detection, stability indicators both shows green.
5. No wobble in the mount or whatever the phone is attached to.

Next steps

For accuracy issues after following everything above, see Troubleshooting for a symptom-indexed list of fixes or report a bug directly in the app. You can do this by tapping the menu in the top corner of the set review page → Report a bug.