University of Pittsburgh student launches fitness app

PITTSBURGH — Imagine having a personal trainer give you customized workouts while recovering from an injury or just to help you get fit.

You’re probably thinking it sounds expensive and time consuming. But it’s not. It’s just one click away thanks to an app developed by a local Pittsburgh college student.

University of Pittsburgh student, Kunal Gandhi is in his senior year. He’s been going to classes and working on the side working to develop an app that would help him and other students still workout while dealing with former injuries. Gandhi suffers from a back injury he got while in high school.

“So for me I just wake up every day and I deal with the problem, so until someone else is able to solve it, I am going to do everything I can to contribute to that goal,” said Kunal Gandhi.

So Gandhi decided he would spend his spare time in school developing the fitness app called EZ-PT. For the past three year he’s worked alongside other college students locally and across the country developing and improving the app to launch to it to beyond just college students but the world.

But how does an app really help with form and prevent injuries? It goes back to the revolutionary technology of Artificial intelligence. Gandhi says while there are plenty of fitness apps out there, his is very different and easy to use.

“The app uses AI and computer vision,” said Gandhi. “And so, what that means is we’ll track joints on the body, we’ll track 20 joints across your body and as you do the exercise, if you’re doing a squat, for example, and if you start bending over, it’ll tell you not to bend over.”

It’s like a personal trainer is right by your side coaching you. Pitt student Alex Nicholas says he noticed body form is often compromised by clients he trains in the gym.

“Without good form, you can either really hurt yourself, or just never progress in the way that you may want to, said Nicholas.”

The app tracks data – which allow people to track their progress or share with those who are caring for them like a trainer, or a physical therapist. Most of the app is free, but you can sign up for upgraded services for $8 a month.

Gandhi says the goal is to make it affordable so students and everyday people can use it, “our real mission here is to bridge and create sort of this wellness continuum across personal trainers, physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons.”

The full version launched in 2021 and took off after a post on Tik-Tok. Gandhi says he’s seen thousands of people from across the world use it, but says the biggest compliment is his school backing his passion and encouraging Pitt athletes to try it.

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