These digital 'personal trainers' ensure home workouts never feel like a cop out – and some even work with your existing TV

Whatever your goals, often the best results you'll see when exercising come with the gentle (or not so) encouragement of a personal trainer. Enlisting a personal trainer's help will keep you accountable, make sure you're pushing yourself so that you can reach your goals, and also keep an eye on your form. 

However, using a personal trainer has some drawbacks, too. Unless you have a home gym, you'll more than likely need to head out for a session, and you're at the whim of how booked up they are with clients. 

Now, however, smart home workout equipment has evolved in a way that you can get the personal training experience at home. These systems offer the best of both worlds, melding the core aspects of working with a personal trainer with an enhanced home workout. You'll, undoubtedly, have heard of Peloton and its bikes and treadmills, but these other clever gadgets work by either creating a live connection with a personal trainer, or using clever AI technology, to monitor your form and your workout progress - the ultimate convenience. 

Fitness mirrors 

10 years ago, today's fitness mirrors might have seemed like science fiction inventions, but in 2023 there's a growing number of brands offering these clever pieces of home gym equipment. A fitness mirror might look like an unassuming freestanding mirror from the outset, but it not only allows you to see your own form when working out, they're almost like huge smart tablets where you can load up and view classes, too. 

The best fitness mirrors, like Lululemon's The Mirror (opens in new tab), deliver on the personal training touches in two ways. First up, the mirror offers real-time data that can help you work out smarter, not harder, and while the integrated camera can help you perfect your form, you can also customize exercises to meet your own capabilities. On the other hand, the camera allows you to get feedback from a real instructor (if you so wish). 

Different brands offer different approaches, and their offerings can be upgraded with workout equipment to increase the range of exercises you can undertake. Some 'mirrors' actually use 3D sensors instead, too. 

Generally, fitness mirrors require a membership-based subscription to access classes, much in the same way the genre-defining Peloton does, while the initial outlay for the mirror itself is often not cheap either. 

Turn your TV into a PT

While fitness mirrors might be the ideal choice for a home gym, we don't all have that luxury. If you're shorter on space, or the potentially eye-watering prices of the mirrors aren't for you, there's an introductory series of gadgets that can connect to your TV, or are integrated into them already. 

These tend to be small cameras like the Peloton Guide (opens in new tab), which not only allow you to see yourself on the TV during your workout, but also offer rep counting for accountability. All the while you get Peloton's digital guidance on how to best construct an at-home workout routine. 

Some others even have AI that can help suggest how to improve form for your workouts, giving you that personal training experience, even though you're not engaged with an actual person. 

Breathe better 

Now for something a little different. The Airofit is a gadget that's been designed to help improve your breathing when exercising - what the brand behind the gadget describes as the 'most overlooked areas when it comes to improving personal fitness.' 

So how does it work? You pop the trainer into your mouth and the app will measure your current lung function. Then, you can set 'resistance' to help train your breathing muscles, just like any other muscle, while exercising. You'll find benefits in your general fitness and improved sports performance, but it's suggested it could also help with conditions like stress, sleep disorder and anxiety.