WurQ, the Wearable Built for CrossFit, Partners with HWPO Training
Amidst a sea of step counters, sleep trackers, and heart-rate gadgets, one company is betting heavily on something different: a wearable explicitly designed for CrossFit.
- WurQ is the first commercially available device designed not just for Zone 2 cardio or 10,000 steps, but for the variability of functional fitness: heavy barbells, kipping pull-ups, burpee sprints, and everything in between.
Its promise is straightforward: to automatically track a user’s WOD and turn it into meaningful training insights.
Why CrossFit Needed Its Own Tracker
Most wearables struggle to provide accurate, useful data the moment a workout stops looking like a steady jog. But that’s not CrossFit.
- The variability in our methodology renders traditional sensors ineffective at distinguishing a power clean from a push-up, or a work interval from a rest break.
WurQ’s goal is to measure the work actually done and how the body handled it.
That means tracking how far and how fast a load was moved, how pacing changed as fatigue set in, and how much time was spent working versus transitioning. It’s not about chasing another “recovery score”; it’s about providing athletes with a clear picture of strength, power, and workload over time.
The Team Behind the Tech
The company is led by CEO Dmitry Popov, a robotics PhD and dedicated strength-training athlete, and by cofounder Francesco Bertacchi, an experienced full-stack developer and sensor designer.
- Their small Boston-based team has spent years collaborating with affiliates, gathering data, running workshops, and observing athletes improve and correct movement patterns.
After three years of prototypes and dead ends, the team took the tech out of the lab and into Beantown CrossFit gyms, refining it rep by rep.
And they have significant buy-in. Earlier this month, WurQ announced that they had partnered with HWPO, led by Mat Fraser and Matt O’Keefe, combining WurQ’s measurement with top-tier coaching.
- “This partnership brings cutting-edge AI and biomechanics to the years of coaching experience and relentless drive of the HWPO community. Together, we’re building a smarter way to track HARD WORK,” said the HWPO Training team via Instagram.
The joint program is currently open to HWPO ambassadors, with plans to expand in 2026.
WorQ User Experience
The user puts on a small chest sensor and a wrist sensor, completes their WOD as usual, and then gets a detailed report: movement types, rep counts, work versus rest time, power output, and how pacing changed as fatigue increased.
- Over weeks and months, WurQ visualizes trends in volume, intensity, joint loading, and imbalances.
The team is adamant about one thing: it’s not trying to replace coaches. The goal is to provide coaches with better data to help them make more informed programming decisions.
Where the Tech Is Going
Today, WurQ tracks movements, counts reps, breaks down sets, and calculates power – all combined into a performance score. Next, it will layer an LLM on your training history so you can ask questions like, “Where am I weakest?” or “How did this month’s workload compare to last?”
Right now, the wearable can be found in local affiliates, on CrossFit competition floors, at HYROX, and even in high-level rowing programs. Check out their website and Instagram to discover more.
