Speede Fitness
Speede Fitness, creators of a smart strength training system, raised $2.5M in an oversubscribed seed round.
The startup will launch its newest machine this summer, leveraging endorsements from top athletes to reach weight rooms and living rooms alike.
Heavy Lifting
From the start, Speede has zeroed in on performance at the highest level.
In an interview with Fitt Insider, co-founder Dan Mooney spoke to how high-performers were being underserved in achieving peak strength:
“We saw a flaw with a lot of connected fitness devices out there. They weren’t built for athletes…”
Speede’s latest machine, the Speede Challenger, tackles this. With a screen, platform, and pulley system, the device can deliver up to 2,000lbs of force across four different training modes.
Investing heavily in sports science, its machine offers isotonic, isokinetic, and eccentric training. From an athletic perspective, that means improved muscle mass, power, bone density, metabolic rate, and injury prevention.
Partnering with Mohammed Iqbal and the Sweatworks team, Speede’s software stack will feature computer vision and motion capture for form and reps, as well as a robust analytics package for quantifiable gains.
For the UFC’s Michael Chandler, the NFL’s Justin Fields and Justin Simmons, and the NBA’s Mason Plumlee—who serve as Speede Pro Athlete “power users”—that type of training is invaluable.
As such, Speede envisions a machine in every high school, college, and pro weight room, as well as fixtures for elite trainers and physical therapists. But, it’s the efficiency aspect that’ll hook the at-home consumer.
Pressed for Time
In preparing its consumer launch, Dan Mooney holds the position that the machine is “built for athletes but made for everyone.”
While everyone can benefit from strength training, not everyone has the time to invest their bodies like athletes. Providing the continuous resistance of eccentric and isotonic training, users can get the results of an hour-long workout in minutes.
Initially, that means Speede will be targeting busy executives and others who are short on time — a benefit quickly becoming a top consideration for choosing a workout.
Looking ahead: Speede Fitness’s business is a classic trickle-down playbook — overserve athletes and wannabe athletes will follow. But, as consumers start to spin their wheels with smart bikes, startups offering more gains in less time may be worthy of the big investment.
