The pandemic has changed and is changing many aspects of what was considered everyday life until last February. Among the many sectors affected by the emergency, there is also the fitness industry. Since last March, all these realities have closed their doors to the public to stem the spread of the virus.

However, in these long months, the need to keep fit has not disappeared and, on the contrary, it has worsened for the millions of citizens forced to stay at home, with a good chance committing to commuting between the bed, the chair, and sofa. 

Thus, while gyms and swimming pools, like many other businesses, have been forced to deal with lost earnings and with rents and salaries to pay, the world of fitness and sports associations has reinvented itself with technologies.

Let’s see a brief overview of how technology is changing the fitness industry?

Wearable technology in fitness 

By wearable technologies, such as smart watches, heart rate monitors, GPS locators, latest-generation sports watches, which appeared in past years, confirm a trend of prominent impact. They are extremely useful for tracking and storing biometric data, heart rate. Plus, their online features make workouts more competitive and engaging. Challenges, integrated games, connections with various applications are creating a completely new digital environment that stimulates people to improve themselves over time. They are also very useful in outdoor training, in the open area, a sector that is growing and that opens up new important opportunities to clubs that will be able to read this trend.

App 

There are more and more applications to keep fit and to help users in their physical exercise, allowing multiple training experiences. They monitor weight, nutrition, exercises, distance walked, running, calories consumed, and hours of sleep. Dedicated to those who love running, skiing, skating, cycling, and physical activity outdoors, they use the GPS of mobile phones to track the route taken, the time taken, and the distance. They show the movements to be made and it is possible to view graphs that record the progress of the training and the progress made.

Artificial Intelligence – A more of human

A more human artificial intelligence Google Home, Alexa, Cortana – the interaction with artificial intelligence is becoming more and more human. Chatbots are also improving and can often naturally answer questions from website users. In the blink of an eye, this technology can collect, process, and present information to users. When this type of AI is used more, there will be a significant impact on consumer behavior. A simple example: Customers can book a personal training session through a chatbot or voice assistant. Your marketing campaigns will also change if the target audience searches for their local gym with their voice!

Virtual training 

For the first time in this survey, virtual training is separated from online, creating a category of its own. Why? Virtual workouts are typically held in gyms on a big screen and attract fewer clients compared to live classes. It is a different group fitness experience. However, now, as with online recruitment, which allows maximum customization, virtual recruitment is an industry reaction to the pandemic, so the experience has been improved in levels and even betting on the gaming that allows training a single person.

Conclusion

This is how technology has allowed the fitness market to evolve. The wide varieties of products that are being developed are just the beginning of a path that will continue to advance.