Tempo Studio Review: We Tried the Ultimate Home Smart Gym

The Tempo Studio is a smart home gym that helps make weight training accessible to people of all fitness levels by providing real-time form corrections and personalized workout plans.

The machine itself is a sleek armoire with a 42-inch (106.7-cm) touchscreen that also houses a mat, weight plates, and Olympic dumbbells and/or a barbell (depending on which package you get) — essentially everything you need for a great full-body workout.

Using a Tempo Fit membership, you can attend live classes, participate in challenges, and stream prerecorded classes led by experienced personal trainers.

The class types offers by Tempo Fit include:

• cardio
• strength
• recovery
• mobility
• boxing
• yoga
• high intensity interval training (HIIT)

One feature that sets the gym apart is its 3D sensors, which analyze your form and provide real-time recommendations on ways to adjust your it or your weight load for a safer and more effective workout.

Worried about your privacy? The company assures customers that the machine doesn’t take identifiable images of you or your home. You can read more about Tempo’s privacy policy on the company’s website.

The Tempo currently offers three models, including the Tempo Starter, Tempo Plus, and Tempo Pro.

The Tempo Starter includes the basic equipment you need to get started with strength training, including a light pair of weights and an exercise mat.

The Tempo Plus and Pro are geared toward more advanced athletes with heavier weights and extra accessories, such as a barbell, folding bench, and folding squat rack.

Share on Pinterest

Have you used anything like the Tempo Studio before?

Nope! I’ve never used any kind of home gym before.

I consider myself to be a pretty well-rounded athlete, as most days you can find me doing anything from lifting weights at the gym to playing volleyball.

However, I’ve always lived in an apartment, so the lack of ample space and the potential of bothering my downstairs neighbors have kept me from fully embracing home workouts.

That said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Tempo.

Though it also offers HIIT workouts and more, I tend to focus on strength training.

In fact, thanks to the exercise mat’s thick polyurethane top layer and rubber base, the Tempo Studio proves that lifting weights doesn’t have to be noisy.

Plus, as the weight plates are also lined with rubber, I don’t have to worry as much about damaging my floors or annoying my neighbors.

The Tempo Studio measures 6′ tall, 2’2″ wide, and 1’4″ deep (182.9 × 66 × 40.6 cm) and weighs 100 pounds (45.4 kg).

That’s to say, it’s a biggie — at least, it’s bigger than other comparable home gyms in the market, such as the Mirror or Tonal home gym.

To use the machine, you’ll need an outlet, enough space overhead to fully extend your arms overhead while holding weights, at least 6 feet (183 cm) in front of the machine for accurate rep counting and form feedback, and a strong internet connection for streaming classes.

Each model includes the Tempo Studio armoire, which has a 42-inch (106.7-cm) touchscreen, Tempo 3D sensors, stereo speakers, and Bluetooth capabilities.

The types of accessories included vary by package.

As I live in an apartment, I opted for the Tempo Starter, as I don’t have as much room in my living room for some of the larger accessories that come with the Plus and Pro packages, such as the barbell.

Below is a closer look at what’s included with each package.

Tempo Starter

The Tempo Starter comes with all the basics you need to get started with strength training, including:

• a workout mat
• a set of 7.5-pound (3.4-kg) Olympic dumbbells
• 75 pounds (34.1 kg) of weight plates ranging from 1.25–10 pounds (0.6–11.4 kg)
• 4 collars

While some of the strength training workouts on the Tempo app require additional exercise equipment, you can tell your Tempo which accessories you do have and it will suggest appropriate workouts.

If you later decide that you want additional accessories, you can purchase individual items on the company’s website.

With its accessories, the Starter Studio has a footprint of 2’2″ × 2’4″ (66 × 71.1 cm), and the company recommends clearing a 6′ × 8′ (180 × 240 cm) of space when exercising.

Tempo Plus

Next up is the Tempo Plus, which includes additional accessories and takes up slightly more space.

The workout gear included in this model includes:

• a workout mat
• a set of 7.5-pound (3.4-kg) dumbbells
• a 25-pound (11.3-kg) barbell
• a heart rate monitor
• a foam roller
• a folding workout bench
• 75 pounds (34.1 kg) of weight plates
• two 25-pound (11.3-kg) competition plates
• 6 collars

The Tempo Plus has a footprint of 3’2″ × 1’4″ (100 × 40 cm) and requires a 6′ × 10′ (180 × 300 cm) area for exercising.

Tempo Pro

The Tempo Pro is designed for those looking for the ultimate home gym experience.

While it’s the priciest model of the three, it comes with the most accessories, including:

• a workout mat
• a set of 7.5-pound (3.4-kg) dumbbells
• a 25-pound (11.3-kg) barbell
• a heart rate monitor
• a foam roller
• a folding workout bench
• a folding squat rack
• a kettlebell system
• extra weight plate storage
• 75 pounds (34.1 kg) of weight plates
• two 25-pound (11.3-kg) competition plates
• two 45-pound (20.4-kg) competition plates
• 6 collars

As it includes more equipment, you’ll need a 4’2″ × 1’4″ (130 × 40 cm) space for housing it, as well as a 6′ × 10′ (180 × 300 cm) area for exercising.

The Tempo Studio home gym costs a pretty penny.

The current list prices are as follows:

• Tempo Starter: $2,495
• Tempo Plus: $3,245
• Tempo Pro: $3,995

There’s also a $250 white glove delivery fee, which includes expert assembly in the room of your choice.

To make the home gym more affordable, Tempo offers special financing for those who qualify. The company also has a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you’re unhappy with your purchase for any reason.

In addition to the studio itself, you’ll need to subscribe to the Tempo Fit app for accessing classes. A membership costs $39 per month and requires a 12-month commitment.

Regardless of which model you choose, the Tempo Studio comes with the following warranties:

• Cabinet: 3-year
• Interactive display: 12-month
• Barbell and weights: 3-year
• Bench, squat rack, weight plate holder, kettlebell system, heart rate monitor: 12-months
• Labor and installation: 12-month

When you turn the machine on for the first time, you’ll be prompted to connect to the internet and log in to your Tempo account, which you’ll set up first via desktop or Tempo’s mobile app.

To help customize your experience, you’ll answer a few questions about your fitness goals and exercise preferences, including how often you’d like to work out.

Next, regardless of whether you’re an Olympian or a novice, Tempo will require you to take an introductory class that explains the machine’s features, including how real-time feedback works and how reps and weights are tracked.

Then, off you go with your own personal workout program.

After your account is set up, each time you turn on the device, you’ll see the Tempo Fit home page, which displays a summary of your weekly plan and suggests classes based on your fitness goals and recent performance.

The home screen also shows you upcoming live classes, new classes, and the classes you’ve marked as “favorites” for easy access.

At the bottom of the home screen, you’ll find tabs for “Classes,” “Live,” “Programs,” and your user profile.

• Classes tab. You can toggle between HIIT, strength training, and mobility categories. I’ve found that the class options are varied and plenty. You can filter them by length, difficulty, coach, and muscle group.
• Live tab. You can see the live class schedule for the next upcoming 10 days, as well as sign up for any of them. Currently, Tempo Fit offers 7 live classes per day.
• Programs. This tab displays multi-week training programs tailored to your fitness goals. You can also browse the app’s other programs.
• User profile. This tab shows you the classes you’ve completed, your personal records by exercise type, your overall activity, and your upcoming workout schedule.

You can also view classes and your data on the Tempo Fit app on your smartphone.

I admit I rarely follow my program closely (as I mentioned earlier, I’m sporadic and disorganized but very active).

Instead, I tend to turn Tempo on already knowing the type of exercise I’d like to do that day, such as a core workout or one targeting my lower or upper body.

I’ll then go to the “classes” tab and use the filters to look for a workout that fits my goal and preferred length of time.

Before starting a class, Tempo gives you a list of equipment you’ll need.

Classes also follow a similar format in that each class starts with a warmup and finishes with a cooldown, which you can skip if you’re short on time.

During classes, Tempo sets target reps, tracks your pace, and provides feedback on your form, which in my experience has been pretty precise.

For example, several times it’s told me to keep my wrists below my shoulders. It has also alerted me to when I’m leaning too far back.

The machine also lets you know once your form is correct.

That said, there have been times when it missed counting a few reps, which I attribute to the fact that I can’t always be 6 feet (183 cm) away from the armoire, as the system recommends. However, this may not be an issue for users who have more space.

I’ve also appreciated that the device keeps track of when I’ve struggled to complete sets or when I’ve breezed through them.

Using this data, Tempo automatically adjusts its weight recommendations for me the next time I perform a similar workout, taking the guesswork out of how heavy I should be lifting.

Last but not least, Tempo is fully integrated with the Apple Watch, so you can track your heart rate during workouts, without the need for an additional heart rate monitor.

Using the watch, you can also check how many calories you burned during Tempo’s studio classes, see the total volume you lifted, and view your ranking on Tempo Fit’s leaderboard.

As the Tempo Studio isn’t cheap, we know you might want to consider similar products on the market before making your purchase.

Here’s how it stacks up against its competitors:

The Tempo Studio Home Gym is currently the only armoire-style option on the market. It also stands out for its sound system and number of included accessories.

However, as it costs close to $2,500 for just the starter model, the Tempo Studio is one of the most expensive options, next to Tonal.

Instead, the Mirror or Echelon Reflect may be a better option if you’re on a tight budget or already own gym equipment, such as dumbbells.

The main downside of the Tempo Studio home gym is the price. Not only is the studio expensive, but there’s also the cost of a monthly Tempo Fit membership.

Additionally, if you’re mostly interested in mobility, yoga, Pilates, and a good amount of accountability, you may want to consider a cheaper alternative, such as The Mirror or Echelon Reflect.

However, if your preferred exercise style is strength training, I think Tempo is worth the investment.

After all, what makes Tempo unique is the large amount of included gym equipment and real-time feedback on your form and weight load.

Plus, the device is sleek, making it a great fit anywhere in your house, and the equipment and accessories are of high quality.