{"id":11403,"date":"2026-10-12T19:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spleeft.app\/?p=11403"},"modified":"2026-10-12T19:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:14:16","slug":"apple-watch-bar-contro-deadlift-da-polso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spleeft.app\/it\/apple-watch-bar-contro-deadlift-da-polso\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Watch per lo stacco da terra: sul bilanciere o al polso?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When measuring bar velocity with Apple Watch during deadlifts<\/strong>, does it matter whether you wear the watch on your wrist or attach it to the bar? After we shared the latest improvements to Spleeft, one of the most common questions was why an Apple Watch appeared strapped to the bar instead of on my wrist.<\/p>\n\n

I understand the reaction. A watch on a bar catches your eye and, yes, I knew that image could spark curiosity. But behind it was a question we had been investigating for a while: could we make the measurements even more reliable by placing the watch on the bar?<\/strong> In practice, deadlift measurements with the watch on the wrist did not seem as reliable as measurements in other exercises, such as the squat. The independent Apple Watch validation study also reported this difference.<\/p>\n\n

In our simultaneous deadlift tests, the watch attached to the bar recorded fewer oscillations before the ascent. When we reconstructed both signals using the same procedure, its velocity curve was also closer to the encoder’s in most repetitions. Here are the data and the limits of that comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Apple
The setup used in our field tests: the watch attached to the bar, with an encoder as an external reference. The photograph illustrates the placement; it does not identify a specific repetition in the graphs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Apple Watch on the Bar or Wrist: What Movement Does the Sensor Measure?<\/h2>\n\n

When you wear an Apple Watch on your wrist during a deadlift, your hand moves with the bar. However, that does not mean their movements are identical at every moment.<\/p>\n\n

Before lifting, you may adjust your grip, tension your arms or slightly change your wrist position. Those movements can reach the sensor even when the bar has barely moved. Strap fit and vibrations can also influence the recording.<\/p>\n\n

Our hypothesis was that some of the irregularities at the start came from the interaction between the body, wrist and watch. Attaching it to the bar could reduce those relative movements and bring the signal closer to the object whose velocity we wanted to measure.<\/p>\n\n

This matters because Spleeft reconstructs velocity from acceleration. A small error in that signal can accumulate during integration. What happens just before the ascent can affect the starting point and, subsequently, the trace of the whole repetition.<\/p>\n\n

How We Tested Apple Watch During Deadlifts Against Vitruve<\/h2>\n\n

This research is part of our ongoing work with training recordings, which we describe in our article on improving Spleeft’s velocity algorithm with real data<\/a>. For this article, we will show three signals recorded simultaneously during the same sets:<\/p>\n\n