Exercisers have used technology in their workouts for years, but a new crop of highly individualized, computer-based programs has gym owners looking for the sweet spot between cutting-edge and intimidating.
Hoping to lure time-pressed members seeking the most efficient, effective workout possible, manufacturers and club operators alike are having to determine whether members truly want all these bells and whistles. Some say Millennials are a safer bet for all things high tech, while others insist technology appeals to all ages. For health club operators, though, the real question is whether enough new and existing health club members want the latest exercise technology that purchasing it will justify the investment in something new and unknown.
Although heart-rate monitors—worn around the chest to measure heart rates—aren't a new technology, they are enjoying a resurgence in clubs as a means to information-rich, individualized tracking. Customers who understand how these metrics translate into progress will, with hope, keep coming back.
Florida-based Orangetheory Fitness is one of several gyms leveraging heart rate-based exercise.
"It's at the core of everything we do," Orangetheory Fitness CEO Dave Long said. "It's much more beneficial, effective and respectful of (customers') time."
Life Time offers a Performance Plus cycling class that monitors heart rates, and late last year released LT Connect, a smartphone app that encourages members to monitor their heart rate while exercising both in and out of the gym. Orangetheory Fitness sells its "pods" for $69.
"People can bring their own heart-rate monitor, but they won't have the data we offer," Long said.
Life Time also offers in-depth metabolic assessments that calculate ideal heart rate zones. Members in its personal training programs are encouraged to take advantage of this technology to customize their workouts. And those in the corner office are hoping the allure of all these metrics sticks.
"Just like all technology," Long said, "people get hooked on it, and then they want it 100 percent of the time."
Long said upwards of 98 percent of participants wear the heart-rate monitor during class—the only way to receive a performance summary email—a sleekly designed post-workout review detailing calorie burn, average heart rate and time spent in each heart-rate zone.
Although tracking and goal-setting tools may boost motivation for the on-the-fence exerciser, people are not joining health clubs specifically for the technology yet, said Dan Hubley, program manager of metabolic assessments and health technology for Life Time.
"But once they are members, they really enjoy having it at their disposal," he said.
Technology in Equipment and Assessments
Health club members not only want technology options but also expect them, said Adam Hubbard, director of product management at Precor, Woodinville, Washington. That expectation goes beyond heart rate monitors and wearable trackers to technology right on the equipment inside of health clubs.
"It's no longer a novelty," he said. "It's an expectation, especially with more Millennials in the club space."
Most of the largest fitness equipment manufacturers have been adding a multitude of technology options to cardio and even some strength equipment. Precor, for example, offers its Preva platform, which provides on-demand video and can save users' favorite workouts, track progress and set goals. The Preva app lets users log any activity inside or outside of the gym.
"Our customers are coming back and buying the same platform once their leases are up," he said. "Or once they expand and add more clubs, they're adding networked fitness equipment."
Touch screens and great media content are easy sells to attract members, Hubbard said, but the attraction for members of fancier technology is harder to quantify.
"Even operators don't really know," Hubbard said.
Strength equipment at The Exercise Coach's 30 franchised locations offer a computer-controlled strength-training technology called Exerbotics that measures the muscular makeup of each client, according to Brian Cygan, CEO and founder of The Exercise Coach, which caters to people who are 55 to 65 years old. The resulting data is used to craft a training plan.
"These are people for whom standard fitness was not working," Cygan said. "But they are losing muscle, metabolism and mobility, so effective strength training can be a big game changer."
The machines provide real-time digital feedback on how much force exercisers are using, and resistance automatically adjusts based on ability.
Cygan said older members feel less intimidated and safer using Exerbotics compared to free weights.
"There's nothing to drop because it's computer-controlled resistance," he said.
Technology is even creeping into assessments. Denver-based MuscleSound offers biomarker technology that measures muscle glycogen. The company developed the product with professional triathletes and cyclists, but the benefits of greater efficiency and lowered risk of injury extend to all levels of exercisers, CEO and co-founder Stephen Kurtz said.
"Technology…can confirm real-time what is going on in your body," Kurtz said.
MuscleSound can also measure body-fat percentage to help customers craft a personalized diet.
Club Investment in Technology
Whether club owners can offer high-tech equipment and gadgets may depend on their size, needs and revenue.
Health club operators can choose from technology at various price points, Hubley at Life Time said.
"It could range from $10,000 to millions of dollars," he said without disclosing how much Life Time has spent on technology.
For franchises that focus on technology, such as Exercise Coach and Orangetheory, most of the cost of the technology is built into the price to become a franchisee.
Cygan said the initial investment for Exercise Coach franchisees ranges from $179,000 to $229,000, which includes almost everything: build out, equipment and more.
It costs $450,000 to $550,000 to open an Orangetheory Fitness studio, and franchisees invest $10,000 to $15,000 in proprietary Orangetheory Fitness hardware and software, Long said. That hardware and software was a multimillion-dollar upfront cost for the company, he added.
The profit margin at an Orangetheory location is less than 20 percent, he said.
"So they're looking on the ROI overall, not just on the heart-rate monitors," he said. "Even if the monitors were a break-even, the goal is to monitor as many people as possible."
Keeping up with software updates and newer technology could prove expensive for club owners. As anyone who has ever found their phone's features obsolete within a year knows, gyms introducing high-tech workouts risk trying too hard — or spending too much money — to keep up with constantly evolving technology.
Then there are the bugs: About 1 or 2 percent of the time, Long said, people do not receive the Orangetheory email after their workout, and that, well, bugs people.
Health club operators tempted to completely overhaul with the latest technology-enabled equipment should make sure the technology remains attractive to the masses, Hubbard said.
"Athletes are vocal about performance features, but for the average exerciser, we want to make it approachable and celebrate small milestones. [Don't] force people into this technology," Hubbard said.