How tech is shaping fitness...

 
 

A recent article in The Guardian discussed "how technology is creating a workout that's more data rich, smarter and convenient that ever before". 

David Minton, Director of LeisureDB, was quoted discussing the possibility of futuristic workouts...

"The backdrop at the gym isn't always that motivating but thankfully tech companies are playing around with virtual reality so in the future we can put on a headset, sit on a stationary bike and feel like you're riding through mountains". 

See original article via this link. 

Bloomberg 2016

Last week David moderated a panel discussion at Bloomberg HQ for the e-Wellness & Technology Trends event which focused on how the fitness and wellness industry is changing due to technology. 

The first panel discussed "Millennials buying and consuming habits" and was moderated by Kate Cracknell, the editor of Health Club Management. Her panel included the CEOs of eGym, Fitbug and Pure Gym as well as the Group CIO of Virgin Active.

Millennials and their consumer habits is a vast topic but the panel successfully highlighted some of the more intriguing trends seen in this generation. Firstly, technology has put the power back in the consumer’s hand and in terms of the fitness industry this means that millennials want gyms to integrate their technology and data more seamlessly with their health devices like Fitbit, Apple and Android Wear. Secondly, millennials, unlike previous generations, feel no loyalty towards just one brand and enjoy the freedom of choice. Thus, no-contract, low-cost memberships and pay-as-you-go are ideal options for millennials. And so, the fitness industry must continue to innovate and challenge the market in order to satisfy this generation’s consumer appetite.

David’s panel discussed “Utilising Big Data to Monetise Wellness” and he was joined by PayasUgym, Babylon Health, Thriva and the Lifestyle, Health & Fitness Partnership Manager of Google Play.

With such a varied panel of healthcare start-ups, app developers and fitness facilitators there was plenty to be discussed in terms of how data is being utilised across the wellness industry. PayasUgym, for example, is the ideal service for the undecided fitness user and their data is fed back to gym operators as a means of understanding the consumer. Meanwhile, Thriva offers a home blood test kit and Babylon Health provide online doctor consultations and advice. Combining intelligent data with real doctors is disrupting how we access health care and the potential of analysing and improving our own health through data is a huge step. People want a quantified understanding of their own health and they want to be able to self-diagnose. Despite this the wellness industry is still working on connecting data to action but it’s evident that integration of services and products will be the prerequisite to success. The more data we collect and analyse the more questions we can answer but whilst we can utilise big data to monetise wellness, what are the ethics behind holding so much personal data?

 

The final panel, moderated by Ting Le Deng of Santander Bank, discussed “Virtual Reality (VR) & Gamification Taking Off in Cycling – Is this the future of sports & fitness?”. The panel included previous world champion cyclist Michael Rogers, ex-World Tour rider Matteo Carrara and representatives of Zwift, AbsolutBlack, Wahoo and Tacx.

Could VR and gamification enable more people to partake in sport? Time has always been a notable barrier to participation but gamification and VR in sport, particularly cycling, is enabling individuals with busy lifestyles to get involved. Another barrier to sports participation is competition but VR and gamification could be the home fitness solution if driven by a strong sense of community. It won’t be long until we can take part in the Tour De France live from the comfort of our living rooms.

However, it is apparent that the expansion of VR and gamification from cycling into other sports and fully into the fitness industry is still part of a broader strategy and will take time. It’s unlikely sports such as swimming will be as simple to gamify as cycling was. Yet it is evident that gamification does have the potential to fundamentally change the customer experience in gyms for example and gyms are openly ready to upgrade their hardware to allow for this development. 

By Abi Taylor, Research Supervisor

Are you square fit?

David recently attended IHRSA 2016 in Orlando as a roving reporter for the Leisure Review. Here's his article from the event:

Almost two years to the day from when Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had purchased the virtual reality (VR) start-up Oculus Rift for around $2 billion, the VR units appeared at IHRSA and Mark’s sister, Randi Zuckerberg, was a keynote speaker.

Sponsored by Matrix Fitness, Randi’s Keynote was titled It’s Dot Complicated and was the first IHRSA keynote to use social media channels to broadcast her inspirational session live. For those who missed it (and in advance of the Leisure Database Social Media Index Report), these are the top five social media channels for fitness professionals.

Number one: YouTube. Video is the way to engage with your audience but few in the UK have this as their priority so far. Six of the top ten public sector brands do not have a channel and only five private brands have over 200,000 views. Number two is Facebook; no surprises there. Facebook is the most common social media platform among UK fitness sites. Number three is LinkedIn. As professionals you can target influencers and expand your network. Four is Instagram. I’ve already banged on about how many public and private fitness brands are neglecting this highly engaging and superior indexing platform. Five is Twitter, the second most popular platform in the UK. Lots of trade suppliers, including MyZone and Precor, used Periscope on Twitter to share their IHRSA showcase live.

On the IHRSA show floor it was like CES (Consumer Electronics Show) meets Fitness. MyZone, Polar, Microsoft, Intel, Reebok, NEO and Garmin were among the main companies who made the move from Vegas in January to Orlando in March, while new technology was evident among almost all companies exhibiting. It seemed like there was an app for everything. Seminars, such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Impact on the Fitness Industry, came from Technogym daily. Precor had a separate section on ‘the future’ and were showing real-time configuration in use in the UK at EasyGym, where you can pay reception for screen access. MyZone moved centre stage with the new app, a sports bra (launched CES 2016), a new integrated T-shirt, group display and a host of online platforms.

As a cyclist I liked the Recon Jet smart eyewear from Intel, also launched at CES. The performance eyewear frame and lenses set wakes up using glance detection to provide live metrics such as heart rate, speed, cadence and power. The point-of-view-camera enables you to capture the moment and the GPS maps can be used to show location of other riders, which is useful when doing endurance rides. Microsoft Health is a good example of a tech company looking for a cause and the Band with continuous optical heart rate monitor, GPS, guided workouts and the usual calls and texts, email and calendar looks and feels too much like the now-defunct Nike Fuel Band. 

Wearables and trackers have now been joined by alternate- and mixed-reality technologies that are poised to invade the fitness space. Although the early target market for Oculus Rift are gamers, fitness suppliers such as UK-based Pulse Fitness have introduced gamification for added motivation. Pulse Interactive Fitness combines facial recognition and augmented reality (AR) using Oculus Rift. With a tilt of the head the game starts and the Trixter bike takes you on an AR ride. Linked live to multiplayers worldwide, the results are shown on the bike, in the headset and on a big screen for the local audience. Zumba have developed a 360-degree VR dance class using Oculus Rift. For those who have always dreamed of dancing with Beto Perez, stop dreaming: do it via VR.

Besides Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive is coming, Sony’s PlayStation VR will be with us soon, along with Microsoft HoloLens; and Google is looking to expand Cardboard. The Samsung Gear VR headset, which Oculus also powers, enables you to select the Samsung smartphone to snap into the headset, a combination was used by Zumba. We are at the beginning of a VR and AR journey and, as a result of the billions been spent on this technology, we will all know about this cool, engaging and immersive experience very soon.    

As I walked through the event I was struck how the square photograph has become the norm. Square images fill our Twitter streams, Facebook dashboards and of course Instagram. Many of the suppliers know this and have adopted it as standard. Many consumers swipe the phone so photos are square on, permanently. Square is another example of how social media has changed the way consumers experience and report on the world around them. Are you square-on fit?