X3 Bar Vs Tempo Home Gym: The Real Difference

Tempo Home Studio is a complete home gym solution with a wide range of innovative features. Reviewers enjoy the metrics, on-demand classes, and real-time feedback, whether live or Ai-based.

Still, there’s no way around the fact that Tempo uses free weights for muscle building and weight loss; the science says X3 is still more effective for muscle gain and fat loss.

Let’s take a look at X3 vs Tempo home gym and identify the benefits and disadvantages of each home gym system.

About Tempo Studio Home Gym

Tempo Studio is a virtual home gym that leverages technology as its primary differentiator. The stand-alone mirror-like device offers classes using body weight, free weights, and kettlebell-like accessories to introduce users to resistance-based strength training.

Tempo has moved to the forefront of tech-based home gyms by smartly combining the old with the new. Classic dumbbells and barbells work together with biometric tracking and Ai-based coaching for a user experience that combines innovation with familiarity.

But does it work? If your goals include access to live and on-demand classes, hand-holding through rep-counting, and continual feedback on form, Tempo home gym is for you. Users enjoy having a personal trainer, whether real or virtual, in their home.

But if your goal is results-based, Tempo still has one primary flaw, it makes no use of variable resistance.

The Tempo Home Gym

Tempo Studio is available in three iterations, the Starter, Plus, or Pro version. The Starter comes with 75 pounds of free weights, which for most people, won’t contribute much to muscle growth or weight loss. For the full Tempo experience, including all accessories, you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro version, at an additional cost.

Starter	Plus	Pro
75 pounds max resistance	150 pounds max resistance	230 pounds max resistance
No barbell, just dumbbells	Barbell, dumbbells, and weight bench	230 pounds max resistance Barbell, dumbbells, kettlebell, weight bench, and squat rack
$2,495	$3,245	$3,995

The primary selling point for the Tempo home gym is not its strength-building capacity, however, but its attractive design and 4- inch screen, which out-competes the Mirror or Tonal system in terms of size. The 4K Ultra HD Screen currently streams in just 1080p but is ready for a future upgrade as access to high-speed internet improves in the US. Tempo does not currently ship worldwide, as X3 does.

What the Screen Does

Tempo’s screen is equipped with 3D sensors that use infrared light pulses to track your form as you move. Tempo counts reps and offers corrective feedback in real-time using Ai. During interactive live classes, coaches can see you and provide personalized technique advice.

Users can choose from a library of on-demand yoga, boxing, cardio, and strength-training classes or join in with live offerings filmed at the Tempo headquarters in California. New classes are added every day.

Metrics

No need to keep a notebook filled with your weights and number of reps, Tempo Studio does it all for you. After your workout, you’ll complete a short survey on intensity to help Tempo learn what weights or workout programs to recommend for you in the future.

Users who purchase the Plus or Pro version will see additional stats on heart rate and calories burned, as these come with the additional heart rate monitor.

What Reviewers Say About Tempo Home Gym

Reviewers are positive about Tempo Studio. After spending upwards of $4,000, including a one-year minimum subscription commitment, you’d hope this would be the case.

For beginners or those new to fitness, Tempo seems ideal. Users primarily fall into one of two camps, those who have never before done weight training and appreciate the instruction, and those who enjoy spending hours each day in fitness classes but now feel more comfortable exercising at home.

Tempo’s client base, however, may not be aware they’re missing out on the bigger picture. Tempo Studio is a smart home gym because it’s rooted in technology, but is it really that smart?

What the Science Says About X3 vs Tempo

The X3 Bar System is also a total-body home gym but operates much more simply and effectively than Tempo Studio.

The X3 Bar System

The compact strength-training device doesn’t rely on free weights or pseudo-kettlebells but uses latex bands for variable resistance. A heavy-duty ground plate protects ankles and improves safety, while a steel grip bar, similar to an Olympic bar, ensures a secure, comfortable grip.

Using the X3 for muscle gain and fat loss requires no fancy technology, no hour-long classes, and no heart rate metrics. A 10-minute daily workout is all it takes. The X3 program consists of a series of movements in which the user either pushes or pulls the resistance bands, for one set performed to fatigue.

X3’s simplicity is not a gimmick but a nod to the science behind the product. With variable resistance, one relatively inexpensive, the small space-saving device is all that’s needed to see significant changes in body composition.

X3 Technology

X3’s ‘technology’ is based on the science of variable resistance. No matter the screens or classes it’s paired with, weight lifting will always be a waste of time. Why? Because weight lifting relies on an outdated technology that loads joints most heavily in their weakest, most compromised position while failing to offer increased resistance when the body is in its strongest, impact-ready position.

Variable resistance closely mimics the natural strength curve of the human body by offering a lighter load where joints are compromised, for example, at the bottom of a squat, and a heavier load where the body is strongest, as the legs reach full extension and the hips begin to power through.

No weight lifting device, no matter how ‘connected,’ can match the efficiency of this strength curve.

X3, No Matter Your Goals

To tone, lose weight, or build muscle, one needs to lift heavy and lift to fatigue. For most people, that means heavier than the 230-pound maximum Tempo Studio provides. The X3 Bar is capable of offering more than 600 pounds of resistance.