(Editor's Note: This sponsored article is part of the Club Industry report, "Technology: Agent of Growth for the Health and Wellness Industry," which can be downloaded for free by going here.)
From fitness tracking to streaming workouts, digitalization and data have become commonplace within the market, a trend that will accelerate in 2021.
We have watched fitness tracking evolve from step-counting devices to full workout programs with a variety of metrics. Tracking has helped people understand their workouts on a different, deeper level. Whether they are working out in a club or streaming a workout at home, data tells people how they can push themselves to reach their goals—and those goals have changed from simply estimating calories burned to measuring intensity levels, activity levels and impact.
These tracked numbers have impacted sustainable changes for individuals and allowed people to tailor goals to their needs. Tracking simple metrics, such as how many hours a day they are moving or their heart rate range during a workout, can help people set and accomplish goals. This can also help to reduce the intention-action gap, which is the difference between what people say they would like to do and what they actually do. Reminders such as “Time to get up from my desk and take a lap around the office (or house)” can make a huge difference.
Unsurprisingly, these metrics will continue to drive workouts but with a twist. In a recent survey, 62 percent of respondents said that they would be more motivated to push themselves during a workout if their efforts generated electricity for the gym, and 70 percent said that they would prefer to be part of a gym with sustainable initiatives. With the addition of metrics such as workout power, energy production and environmental impact, people are beginning to track their individual impact and their societal impact. This added layer of motivation will help continue to bridge the intention-action gap—people may find it easier to push themselves to reach their goals when it’s for a cause.
This intention-action gap was reduced even more with the use of workout streaming. Although not new, streaming platforms that track metrics are becoming more popular. At first, metric tracking in relation to streaming workouts was tied to the equipment of specific manufacturers, not personal devices, making it difficult to operate within a gym or with different equipment. Recently, we’ve seen a shift to streaming workouts that are tied to personal devices. This opens the door to meaningful metrics for streaming class on any piece of equipment at the gym or at home.
By combining workouts with meaningful statistics, people are connecting personal streaming to the community aspect of a club. With collective goals, such as carbon offset and energy production, members can track their individual impact and compare it with others’, and discover how their workouts are contributing to the collective goal of the facility. Meaningful measurements have the ability to create a community of individuals focused on collective real-world change. Inherently, people want to belong and to make a difference. Through fitness, this is a reality that can be tracked and celebrated.
BIO
Ruben Mejia, executive vice president of SportsArt Americas, has five years of experience in the fitness industry, previously holding the title of chief technology officer. Prior to his work at SportsArt, Mejia held executive roles within the technology and ecommerce spaces. In 2000, after four years of active deployment in the military, Mejia began working in the corporate IT and telecommunication fields for the U.S. Army, launching his career and interest in the technology industry as a whole.