GAIN Fitness, a web based personal fitness service built by a team that includes two former Googlers, has launched in early Alpha mode to the public today. The service aims to help users make the most of the limited time to exercise, by recommending personalized workouts built from a list of 400 exercises and based on a user’s goals and available time.
The GAIN team includes Nick Gammell, who spent two years doing financial modeling for YouTube and Google, and Robert Bailey, who was the lead visual designer for Google-acquired Picassa. It’s rounded out by a Fullbright scholar who can do a one-armed pull-up and a software engineer with a demonstrated ability to lose weight quickly.
At launch the website is quite simple (it is an Alpha, the company says) but looks like it could be a quick and easy way to get some exercise advice. Account creation doesn’t appear to be live yet but the sample workout creator looks ok.
Given the backgrounds of the founders and the depth of interest in this market, GAIN is likely a startup to watch despite being a little confusing at present.
Call it “Sweatin’ to the Oldies 2.0” or call it the quantified self, the application of web technology to improve real-world physical fitness is widely expected to be big.