The Fitness Industry Technology Council (FIT-C) has issued a request for proposal (RFP) related to its work on caloric burn data standards.
FIT-C is seeking to establish a metric for fitness equipment based on metabolic equivalents (METS, or kcal/min) and is requesting bids from qualified institutions and individuals to provide a validation process for any equipment that reports caloric burn. The deadline to submit a response to the RFP is Nov. 1.
“It’s a well-known problem in the fitness industry that similar pieces of equipment from different manufacturers yield very different caloric burn readings, even if the effort expended is identical,” FIT-C President Bryan O’Rourke, CEO of Integerus, said in a statement. “This RFP is the first step toward assuring fitness equipment users worldwide that calorie burn readings can be trusted, regardless of the make or model of that equipment.”
In conjunction with the Club Industry show next month in Las Vegas, FIT-C has invited the public for a meet-and-greet from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Attendance is free, but registration is required.
Also, FIT-C is sponsoring a fitness technology roundtable from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, at the Club Industry show. The roundtable is called “Influence of Technology – A Glimpse at Tomorrow’s Health Club.” O’Rourke will lead a panel that will include Chuck Runyon, CEO of Anytime Fitness, Graham Melstrand, vice president of corporate affairs for the American Council on Exercise, and Kevin Laferriere, CEO of Personal Training Academy Global.