Top Volt Upgrades of 2020
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Did you know that Volt releases new upgrades to its customers every two weeks?
Now, each of these upgrades isn't always highly visible. Sometimes, "hidden upgrades" might include a tune-up of our code to help the app function faster or a refresh of our security protocol to safeguard customer data. But every-so-often, we get to launch big features that take months to develop and totally change the game for our users! This article is dedicated to highlighting features we released in 2020, that helped our users continue to improve their athleticism, job performance, and physical fitness in a year where staying healthy, going to the gym, and building strength has been more challenging than ever.
January - Training Editor
Can you remember that far back? You know, the before times?
Well, before we knew that a pandemic would rock our world, we released the Training Editor, which allows users to change the structure of their workouts. This includes adjusting the periodization scheme, order of exercises, and even building workouts from scratch! Our coach users found this to be a useful upgrade to match training with weight room flow (pre-COVID) and then for adjusting exercise order and creating circuits when students were forced into training in unconventional spaces like auxiliary gyms, parking lots, and football fields. Technically, we launched this feature in 2019 and then released the 2.0-version in January of 2020. You can check the link above to read the blog article announcing the feature or this link here to view our help article on how to use the tool!
March - Equipment Settings & At-home (Circuit) Workouts
By this time, the writing on the wall was pretty clear that people were not going to be training like normal for at least some time. Right away, our team kicked it into gear with back-to-back feature releases to make sure our users could continue their fitness routines while gyms closing their doors and schools decided to send their students home!
The Equipment Settings feature essentially acts as a filter so that Volt can do the mental gymnastics of swapping out exercises in your plan for the equipment you have available. So, whether you have a full squat rack and dumbbells in your garage gym or just a few sets of bands and a foam roller in your living room, Volt will tailor your training plan to meet you where you're at. You can learn more about the Edit Equipment feature here.
At-home Workouts include full programs designed and optimized for training with minimal space and equipment. With names like Bodyweight High-Intensity Interval Training, Kettlebell High-Intensity Interval Training, and Low-Impact Bands & Dumbbells (just to name a few), these programs now utilize a hands-free circuit-workout interface (released in August) that will keep you moving with audio guidance telling you when to start and stop each interval. You can learn more about At-home (Circuit) Workouts here.
June - Train At Your Own Pace Calendar
I don't know about you, but I can certainly remember struggling to shut my laptop at the end of the day and make time for myself. As the lines between home and work became increasingly blurred and gym access became limited, it became more and more difficult for people to stick to a consistent training plan or workout schedule. Our legacy system used to prescribe training on a weekly basis, with new workouts refreshing every Sunday. This meant that if you didn't do all of your workouts over the course of the week, your program would still rollover at the start of the next week, leaving you in the dust. Our current "Train At Your Own Pace" calendar progresses with you, providing new workouts when you are ready to do them! (*Disclaimer: this does not apply to users that have a coach who manages their training program)
August - Workout Summary Refresh
Prior to this release, our Workout Summaries provided individuals and coaches with feedback about the work that was accomplished in each workout, including attributes such as strength, durability, and explosiveness. As more and more of our users completed bodyweight workouts, we saw a need for more detailed workout summary data. So we decided to do a total refresh of our workouts summaries to include widgets for movement pattern breakdown (e.g., upper-body push & hip extension) for each workout, along with an upgraded, more aesthetically pleasing color palette.
September - Reporting and Projecting Workout Duration
First, we prioritized the reporting of workout duration primarily for our coaches and teachers, who had been asking for a better way to keep their athletes and students accountable as remote-schooling continued through the start of the new school year. In the Coach Dashboard, those who are responsible for overseeing training for groups of athletes/students/etc. can now see how long it takes for each workout to be completed each week!
Second, we always preach to our coaches that setting accurate expectations is key to driving engagement and participation in a training plan. We recognized that we could do a better job of this ourselves by letting our users know how much time to expect for each workout.
October - Estimated Energy Expenditure
Continuing the trend of data reporting, in October we added an Estimated Calories Burned section to our workout summaries. While the number of calories you burn during a Volt workout isn't the only metric that matters, it's one data point that might help you make choices about your training and nutrition.
To calculate this estimate, Volt uses a formula based on MET (or metabolic) values. 1 MET is roughly equivalent to the energy cost of sitting quietly—the more intensive an activity, the higher the MET value. Sport science researchers have compiled an extensive list of MET values to make it easier for scientists to conduct large-scale studies. Using this research, Volt assigns a MET value to each set in your workout (based on the category of the movement) and calculates your estimated energy expenditure through this formula:
[Assigned MET value] x 3.5 x ( [User's bodyweight in kg] / 200 ) x [Activity duration in minutes] = Estimated Calories Burned
To read more about MET values and see the full list compiled by researchers, go here: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/
Three New Features in December!
Warm-Ups in Circuit Mode
We believe that the warm-up is an integral part of each workout. It provides an opportunity to increase core body temperature, improve joint stability and range-of-motion, and ramp up the nervous system to prepare you for the challenging work ahead.
We built our new warm-ups into our circuit workout experience, making them more dynamic and engaging. On top of that, our new Warm-up experience comes with more variety, thanks to seven brand-new routines from a Full-Body Warm-up to a Rotator Cuff Injury Prevention Warm-up.
CSV Export
Cortex®, our performance training AI behind Smart Sets, continually tracks strength markers and training volume for every set, movement, and workout. This means that as you get stronger, Cortex will adapt your training in real-time so you continue to progress and avoid hitting plateaus. And now, coaches and sport scientists can export this very same Volt data in a CSV format, to further explore training and strength data in whatever system they prefer.
Apple Health Integration
What was the #1 most-requested feature of 2020?…Apple Health! This integration allows iOS users to see their Volt workouts in the context of their overall activity, from the Health app. Users will now see the type of workout, duration in minutes, date and time started/completed, and estimated calories burned. This is our first integration with another health technology, which is a big deal! It marks our first step toward making Volt data more useful to our users within the holistic context of health and fitness — while paving the way for Volt to ingest data from other apps/devices in the future, in order to make personalized adjustments to training.
Conclusion
Here's a HUGE thank you to all of our customers for all of your support and feedback throughout the past year! It's because of you that we get to accomplish new and meaningful challenges every day, and we're energized by the opportunity to continue serving you with fun, safe, and effective performance training and fitness resources moving forward!
