Check distance and framing
When you are too close, an elbow or wrist may briefly leave the frame; when you are too far, pose keypoints may be harder to read. Keep your head, shoulders, and torso visible, with steady lighting and no obstruction.
How PushupAI works
How does a camera push-up counter work? Why does PushupAI sometimes not count?
The short answer: PushupAI estimates body pose from your phone camera, waits for a completed ready state, then supports counting across the down-and-up movement. When a rep is not counted, check the view, distance, and ready state first.
What one count uses
What does a camera push-up counter actually look at?
PushupAI processes pose keypoints from the workout view on the phone. It uses that pose to recognize the ready state and the stages of a complete down-and-up movement. It follows a continuous movement, rather than treating one camera frame as a rep.
Basic workouts can run on-device, so raw workout footage does not need to be uploaded. Workout records keep training data such as counts and time; the camera view is used to support counting and prompts during the session.
After the ready setup, the workout view shows a translucent green depth-target band calibrated to that pose. Lower your shoulders past the target line to reach the depth used for the current count; it is a counting cue, not a palm-contact check or a complete form assessment. The workout screen stays on during camera training to reduce system timeout interruptions.
Why the ready state matters
A complete rep has five practical stages
- Fix the phone. Keep it in front of your body, with a steady view and your head, shoulders, and torso clearly visible.
- Complete the ready pose. Wait for the setup feedback to confirm that the pose and distance are usable; setup movements are not the workout count.
- Move down. Keep the main body landmarks in the frame and avoid heavy occlusion or cropping while lowering.
- Use the target band. After ready, watch the translucent green band and lower your shoulders past its target line to reach the depth used for the current count.
- Return up. The down-and-up sequence supports one count when the pose remains available; a brief loss of pose may require reacquiring the view.
When a rep is not counted
Check these in order
Make sure the app is ready
After placing the phone, wait for the ready prompt to finish. If the app is still reacquiring your pose, adjust your position instead of treating setup movement as a workout rep.
Use the depth-target band
After ready calibration, the translucent green band shows the calibrated down range. Lower your shoulders past the target line to help reach the depth used for the count; it is a counting cue, not a palm-contact check.
Complete the movement
A partial lower, a very quick rebound, or a brief pose loss at the top may not form a complete movement stage. Slow down slightly and keep the main body landmarks in frame.
Follow narrow-mode cues
Narrow mode uses more conservative arm-position feedback. When it asks you to adjust, fix the position first; the cue does not prove palm contact or full movement quality.