The fitness industry is increasing more and more. According
to IHRSA, an international association of more than 200,000 health and fitness
centers and technology providers, last year the total benefit was nearly $ 100
billion, even with the COVID-19 crisis.
One of the key aspects of this growth is the emergence of
technologies used in fitness, so the challenge is to classify and validate so
many technologies and their applications in this industry. The dilemma for
companies is knowing which hobbies are fleeting and which will prevail over
time.
The American College of Sports Medication (ACSM) Global
Fitness Trends Survey 2021, or other similar research, could be a good tool to
do this. Careful assessment of these trends by clubs can be critical to their
growth. This overview should highlight three trends that are closely related to
technology.
Learn online
The number one trend in the survey is online learning, which
has been directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, ranking 26th last year.
The restrictions associated with the pandemic have forced the clubs to reorient
their strategies in attending this type of training, which involves adopting
the necessary technologies and teaching them to use them.
Various methods are used to advertise these activities on
the Internet, such as posting videos on social media, but the most popular
method is to broadcast the activities live, which can help increase the
popularity of the centers and increase the number of clients. potentials. These
tools allow you to take classes anywhere in the world, interact with users,
answer questions, and provide advice and feedback on the exercises. In
addition, social networks are also very useful to generate customer
expectations, promote new videos, offer new training, etc.
Portable devices
ACSM places them as the second trend for 2021 in the fitness
industry, considering that they have improved significantly in recent times,
with more precision in data recording and more devices (watches, bracelets,
pedometers, etc.). These tools make training more tangible for users with
specific data from their training.
While used outside of centers, they can also increase users'
engagement and overall experience in a gym, such as group sessions, with
systems that predict heart rate or calories burned.
It is important to note that wears do not replace gyms, but
they can be combined to improve the customer experience. The handheld device
can provide interesting exercise data, but it cannot tell the user if the
exercise is good or bad.
Smart team
The use of this smart equipment can provide the user with
data such as exercise frequency, calories burned, weekly tasks, etc., which can
greatly increase the value of the services offered by the center. But it is
also useful for the center itself, since it can provide data on the use of the
equipment or the preferences of the user.
This type of technology is very extensive, and some of them
are used more and more, for example, applications and programs for the
management of personnel and customer data, that is, for administrative tasks.
As far as artificial acumen is concerned, it can be very beneficial
for the growth of fitness centers, but it has its own risks in terms of its
correct use. Therefore, the center staff must be fully trained and familiar
with this type of equipment so that they can help users in the best possible
way.
