Is velocity based training the new way to measure a PB? (Episode 75)

Episode 75 of Barbell Coach & Physio. We talk through what Metric does, how the app reads bar speed and range of motion from a phone camera, and why velocity is starting to change how coaches measure progress.

The episode title asks the right question. The traditional way to measure strength progress is to test it — work up to a maximal single and see what happens. It works, but it’s fatiguing, it carries risk, and you can only do it a few times a year. Velocity offers a different path: because the load–velocity relationship is stable for an individual, moving the same submaximal load faster than last month is evidence you got stronger — a measurable PB without ever grinding a max. Bar speed at a known weight becomes a progress marker you can check every session.

We also get into the physio-relevant angle: velocity and range-of-motion data as a way to watch an athlete’s return from injury objectively, session by session, instead of waiting for a test day to find out where they’re at.

For the full method behind velocity-driven progress tracking, see tracking progress in the gym with VBT and the 1RM estimation guide.