The latest release of Apple’s new watch series 4 is another reminder of how the fitness industry has continued to revolutionise with the advent of technology. Technology has slowly infiltrated the fitness industry, from wearable fitness trackers to mobile apps and online tutorials. This movement is evident from marketing methods to storage of data through cloud management and digital payment transactions. Below we describe seven ways that technology is revolutionising the fitness industry.
1. Online lead generation
The traditional use of banners, letterbox drops, and newspaper advertising used to be a common tool to drive fitness club members. While this method is still widely used, social media has taken fitness marketing to a new level. Today, the powerful and effective way to connect with new clients and grow your business is through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, blogs, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Websites are essential for all gyms and fitness clubs for potential clients to browse and enquire.
2. Fitness instruction
The virtual personal training techniques and YouTube videos on websites and blogs offer a modern way of delivering fitness training to more people. Franchises are now using the internet to train their instructors, and this has invariably standardized their classes through updating new choreography and videos on web portals. Fitness clients can do workouts from home, by subscribing to a weekly fitness routine they can receive exclusive content and even access to meal plans and other fitness tips and tricks.
3. Community
It is widely established that social support stimulates long-term exercise adherence and achievement of goals. However, social media has driven social support to a high level. Online fitness communities can direct newbies to good sources of information and also help exercisers stick to their exercise goals. Fitness club members can share their progress on social media and gain support from the wider community as well as find work out buddies and others with similar interests. Social media also enables professionals to be able to connect and share resources online, you can even connect with personal trainers that come to your home and get tailored training. The fitness community can organise events and meet-ups to promote wider fitness. Influencers such as Kayla Itsines have built an entire fitness empire through social media, inspiring many to get active.
4. 24-hour access
Although 24-hour gyms have been available for so long, the success of fitness franchises such as Anytime Fitness is basically due to advancement in technology, and this has allowed members continues 24-hours access to the gym. Security has also increased due to technology; access cards are more secure and most 24-hour fitness facilities have surveillance cameras to monitor activity as well as alarms and alert systems.
5. Fitness Apps
Developers across the world have built apps that encourage people to take more responsibility for their exercise and nutritional routine. Personal trainers do not have to be there for long cardio sessions. Apps such as Runkeeper, 5k101, Strava, Yoga studio take users through series of fitness programs, allowing personal training sessions to be carried out as well as activities where technique and guidance are critical. Apps are accessible and easy to use, hence their popularity. Apps are usually integrated with video content and tutorials as well as some kind of fitness tracking or diary.
6. Wearable gadgets
Nowadays, sensor-embedded sports gadgets are fast becoming an essential fitness tracker. The sport wristband measures the activity level, heart rate and also provides valuable information about user’s progress. Pavlok is an interesting gadget that enhances behavioural activity by generating a mild shock to deter negative activity to encourage users to reach fitness goals. Popular gadgets include Fitbit and Apple watch, some models even include mobile data capture to monitor activity levels such as running distance and calories burnt.
7. Innovative fitness machinery
The fitness industry has been taken to a whole new level with advancement in technology which has brought about improvement in heart rate monitoring, fitness trackers, surround sound, interactive treadmills and weight machines, more technology is still on its way. VirtualIU is a 3D body scanner that is currently being tested in the several gyms in the United States. The 3D body scanner is designed to note changes in the body measurements, and it is also in beta testing. This type of equipment can provide a detailed analysis of fitness changes. It will be exciting to witness the developments in fitness technology that will make excising more informative and convenient for everyone.