Stiftung Warentest trains with the smart fitness band Straffr. The examiners think the concept is basically good, but above all the accompanying app still has room for improvement.
Resistance bands are popular because you can use them to do many different exercises to strengthen your muscles almost anywhere. So that this can be done in a more controlled way even without a personal trainer, the German start-up Straffr offers a smart fitness band whose integrated sensor sends data to a smartphone app via Bluetooth. Depending on the level of resistance, the sports equipment costs 100 or 120 euros. Stiftung Warentest examined whether the investment is worthwhile with the help of two sports scientists.
Basically, you train with the straffr band no differently than with any other conventional fitness band. Videos in the app show how it's done, while also providing feedback on whether the exercises are being carried out correctly.
This all worked well in the test, writes Warentest. The app is clear and easy to pair with the band. And even more important: "With the help of the resistance sensor in the band and the feedback from the app, Strafr actually trains and monitors the correct movement sequence of the exercises - beginners in particular can benefit from this."
The experts believe that the exercises shown in videos are also suitable for fitness beginners. However, the offer during the test period in June was too scarce and there were also too few challenges and training plans, Warentest criticizes.
However, the examiners find it even more critical that exercises in many videos are not explained again at the beginning. Measured values, on which the app keeps statistics, also need to be explained. They write that they would have liked to have had more understandable information for laypeople on terms such as "time under tension".
Despite the query of biometric data, Warentest does not yet consider Straffr's core promise of personalized training to have been fulfilled, as they were unable to identify a corresponding adjustment to various different body dimensions or fitness levels and goals.
According to the product test, investing in a tension band is particularly worthwhile for beginners who want to learn how to train properly with a fitness band. However, due to the lack of good explanations in the videos, they still have to work out many of the exercises themselves.
