In their sophomore year, home gym company Tempo is finalizing an investment of over $100 million led by Japanese holding company SoftBank. Tempo — which offers a more traditional weight room setup than other at-home workout startups — is challenging more established players such as Tonal, Mirror, and Peleton. Recently, NordicTrack also released their own smart gym called The NordicTrack Vault.
This recent investment in Tempo, reported by Bloomberg, sends a strong message that at-home training, even post-pandemic, is probably here to stay. An IBISWorld survey found that 27% of respondents would cancel their gym memberships amid the pandemic (with another 12% saying they planned to). And Fortune reported on a survey that says nine out of 10 Americans would continue to work out at home even after they’re comfortable going back to their gym. Training at home isn’t a new fad, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made it that much more popular.
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According to Bloomberg, Tempo’s new valuation will most likely be under $1 billion. Other at-home fitness companies have seen an influx of cash, too. Tonal — a workout device that resembles a cable machine — raised $250 million and was evaluated at $1.6 billion, according to Reuters on March 31, 2021. The fitness company Mirror (owned by Lululemon) is expected to see a 65% increase in sales in 2021. And Peloton — a company known for its trainer-led bike and treadmill classes — welcomed 4.4 million new members in 2021 and revenue growth of 128% in its second quarter.
About Tempo
What makes Tempo unique is that it offers the closest set-up to a complete gym. Of course, what constitutes a complete gym to one person may be different to another. That said, as of March 23, 2021, Tempo now has three levels of their home gym. The Tempo Pro — which costs $4,245 with delivery and installation — offers a barbell, dumbbells, a kettlebell, a squat rack, a training bench, and 215 pounds worth of weight plates.
The vanity-style stand projects AI trainers that lead you through classes of your choice. You can choose HIIT workouts, strength sessions, or workouts based on body parts. (Users also pay for a 12-month membership that costs $39 per month.) The stand has a built-in camera that maps the user’s body and delivers real-time form feedback. Say you’re squatting and your knees come too far over your toes; Tempo will let you know and tell you to correct it. The smart gym also counts your reps and tracks your progress, so you know when to increase the difficulty of your workout.
Tempo’s new offerings certainly broaden the scope of potential buyers. Strength athletes, for example, may be more attracted to a home gym model that offers hundreds of pounds of weight plus a barbell for moves like deadlifts, back squats, and bench presses. Tempo even has a class modeled after the popular 5×5 program.
The other big players in the at-home gym market focus more on cardio (Peleton) or high-intensity workouts (The Vault, Mirror). And Tonal provides a lot of resistance through its cable system.
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While Tempo offers classes, the squat, rack, bench, and barbell also give strength athletes the option to follow programming from their coach or other athletes.
If you’re not as strenth-oriented, Tempo also offers less equipped features. Here’s a breakdown of what each Tempo package comes with:
Tempo Starter
What it includes:
- Dumbbells
- Weight collars
- Four 1.25-pound weight plates
- Four 2.5-pound weight plates
- Four 10-pound weight plates
How much it costs: $2,495 ($2,745 with delivery and installation)
Tempo Plus
What it includes:
- Dumbbells
- Weight collars
- Four 1.25-pound weight plates
- Four 2.5-pound weight plates
- Four 10-pound weight plates
- Two 25-pound weight plates
- Barbell (with collars)
- Bench
- Recovery roller
- Heart rate monitor
How much it costs: $3,245 ($3,495 with delivery and installation)
Tempo Pro
What it includes:
- Dumbbells
- Weight collars
- Four 1.25-pound weight plates
- Four 2.5-pound weight plates
- Four 10-pound weight plates
- Two 25-pound weight plates
- Two 45-pound plates
- Barbell (with collars)
- Bench
- Recovery roller
- Heart rate monitor
- Weight storage
- Squat rack
- Kettlebell
How much it costs: $3,995 ($4,245 with delivery and installation)
Whether you want to bike, do light-weight circuits, or deadlift heavy weight, the at-home gym market is expanding, so all lifters have options available to them. Expect established companies and newcomers to the fitness space to meet consumers where they’ll most likely be for the foreseeable future: at home.
Featured image: @tempo on Instagram/photo by Phil Vicars
