Technology is sweeping all industries around the world. In the health and fitness industry, all manufacturers are trying to come up with new concepts to make fitness more interactive and technological.
“Obviously, if the manufacturers create innovative equipment that members enjoy — they are more likely to join the club that obtains that equipment,” said Mitch Batkin, the senior VP of fitness for Sport&Health in Washington, D.C. “People continually desire new ways to entertain themselves and motivate themselves to stay on the treadmill, elliptical or bike an extra 20 minutes in order to burn those extra calories and reach their fitness goals.”
Keeping Members in the Club
The hardest aspect of exercising is never the workout itself. Members struggle each day to make it into the club and they can easily develop a million reasons why they can’t make it that day.
One of the reasons it’s easy to build excuses, especially in the beginning, is because it’s easy for members to not know the results they are getting. With modern technology, members have the ability to know exactly all the calories they are burning, how high their heart rate gets and how hard they need to push themselves to reach certain fitness levels.
These devices give trainers an upper hand when working with clients. Before the client ever sees changes in their body, the trainer can show the member new technology that tracks their program through the weeks of training.
“The dotFIT Me online fitness and nutrition program is simple to understand and easy to use,” explained Neal Spruce, the founder and CEO of dotFIT. “It allows for complete customization for the member, from supplement recommendations to menus to exercise routines — a trainer or other club staff can create a unique program for every member.”
Nutrition is such a major aspect of fitness. Getting members to stay on a nutrition plan can be difficult because of the time the typical member spends outside of the club. With interactive nutritional services, trainers have the ability to monitor client-eating habits and work with them during sessions on what could be hurting their results, or what they may need to add to their diet.
“We address both of these points with our program,” Spruce said. “Knowing just how many calories you burn in a day gives you the power to control your weight, and thanks to technology, it gives you that information minute by minute.”
The rapid changes in technology are occurring in more places than just the nutritional side of personal training. Members are experiencing new technologies throughout the entire club.
“As technology improves and the member experience becomes more individualized, we have attempted to stay ahead of the curve by offering the latest options, consistently replacing older equipment with new, interactive pieces,” explained Kevin Headley, the COO of O2 Fitness in North Carolina.
“By providing a more individualized and entertaining experience, we have a better opportunity to see the member engaged in exercise, enjoying their visits and creating positive habits,” he continued.
Companies like Fitness On Request have developed technologies that allow members to interact in the club, even when there isn’t group x instructors or trainers around.
“Customers today are leading busy, stressful lives,” said David Kraai, the principal for Fitness On Request. “Flexibility and convenience are the keys to the fitness industry today.”
By giving them a program that allows them to participate in a group fitness class on their schedule, they will spend more time enjoying the technology in your club — Fitness On Request provides the club with this new possibility.
Some New Advances in Fitness Technology
We’ve reached a time when the fitness industry will continue to grow with technology. Owners and operators are starting to implement wireless Internet into their club, giving members the opportunity to continue to send and receive e-mail and surf the Web while they are away from their office.
Clubs are constantly looking for newer and better technology to make their club stand out among the rest — it’s an ongoing process.
“A club’s interactive fitness technology (IFT) strategy for members continues to evolve as a result of external forces outside the industry with strong influences stemming from the changes in the consumer electronics and web/mobile technology space,” explained Sean McKirdy, eFitness program director for Star Trac Fitness.
“IFT solutions can offer new methods for engaging the ‘not fit’ population, otherwise known as the majority,” McKirdy continued. “Clubs that dedicate resources to using IFT as part of their existing or new-member programming that is designed to engage the inactive or marginally inactive populations will typically experience higher levels of participation.
“This mesh of technology and fitness programming often leads to a community building experience that creates a strong bond between members and their respective clubs and staff.”
Batkin continued to explain how interactive fitness technology would be here forever and continue to evolve and improve. “It’s a great feature to showcase on a tour with a new member prospect and can impress someone to join,” he said. “It needs to be fun and functional for it to be consistently used by the customer.”
Sport&Health have seen machines that have implemented iPod attachments, MP3 attachments and personalized workout programs built into the machines that keep members engaged and comfortable within the club.
Members have the ability when working with other suppliers to check their heart rate and improve their workouts based on data from previous workouts.
“When a club partners with dotFIT, their members are given the tools they need to truly improve their health, not just a place to exercise a couple of times a week,” Spruce said. “And, both the club and the member get the support of the dotFIT team, which is made up of industry veterans, academics, researchers, certified personal trainers, registered dietitians and other experts.”
Polar Electro is a company that maintains their focus on calculating calories and helping members personalize workout routines. “People who use Polar are motivated and have data and guidance before, during and after exercise,” said Jesse Harper, the director of sales, education and health clubs for Polar USA. “Many people have long-term fitness goals that can’t be achieved right away. But, interactive fitness/technology, including assessment and heart-rate training, lets people know they are on the right track and provides positive reinforcement at every step.”
Also, members have monitors that can be used for multiple purposes — watching TV, listening to iPods or being taken to a virtual world.
“People want to be engaged in something that can take them away from what they are doing,” explained Andrew Kolman, the senior product manager for Matrix.
Virtual Active completely takes members into a different place on the globe to participate in their cardio workout. “Say you are running through the Rocky Mountains,” Kolman said. “When the screen changes, the treadmill or bike gets harder to pedal or the treadmill changes its incline.” The video is shot by a team of professionals that use a steady cam — a special camera used to film smooth video — that gives the user that smooth feel. “The steady cam requires a lot of practice to use,” Kolman continued. “However, when you’re up 5,000 foot elevation and trying to film, it’s extremely difficult to stay balanced even with the steady cam.” After the film is shot, digital professionals take the digital film and edit it down further, pixel by pixel, to ensure a completely smooth run for the member.
Marketing for Interactive Fitness/Technology
With all the products that dotFIT, Polar Electro and just about every equipment manufacturer provide for clubs, the ability to market effectively can become confusing.
Clubs must focus on the hot spots within their clubs. During the club tour, sales teams must understand what is holding members in the club and what isn’t.
Although the club may have a lot of cardio products, members and prospects may not understand the effectiveness of heart-rate monitors or nutritional guidance. Also, prospects may not understand the actual effect a diet has on the overall success they achieve.
“Without a fantastic member experience, a person has very little reason to come to the club — much less enjoy the experience,” Harper said. “That person is less likely to renew membership or recommend it to others. A highly engaged and satisfied member will come in more regularly, use more club services, become a lifelong customer and encourage others to do the same.”
At O2 Fitness, they understand the difficulty of exercise for many of their members. Headley said it’s important that they give those members more individualized and entertaining experiences during their workouts. “We have a better opportunity to see the member engaged in exercise, enjoying their visits and creating positive habits,” he said. “We highlight our experiences in each and every tour, outgoing direct mail and advertising campaigns. Highlighting the fact that exercise can and will be enjoyable is a great first impression for those timid about entering our facility.”
“As clubs continue to work on ways to engage their members and offer new programming, IFT can provide solutions that fit both needs,” McKirdy said. “The opportunity for clubs using IFT is limited only in their commitment to integrate the offering as part of their core business. Clubs that purchase some form of IFT and do not train their staff or continually promote the technology to members, should not expect to reap the full benefit of the technology.
“Additionally, IFT can offer clubs opportunities to identify members that are at risk for cancelling their memberships based on performance or participation, and provide solutions and strategies for re-engaging at risk members.”
Clubs must discover the best way technology can be implemented within their individual club. Each club is different and can use a different level of technology throughout their club. However, we’ve reached an era when clubs can’t go without technology. Club members have a desire for a technological workout, and will work hard to discover clubs that provide them with all their desires. -CS
