The global pandemic has changed the way the USD 32 billion fitness industry operates and grows. At the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, thousands of people worldwide canceled their gym memberships as health and fitness studios closed their doors for an unknown period. The fear of the virus, spreading and catching the virus, became a blow to the private fitness studio industry. The US gym and health club industry lost a reported USD 13.9 billion from mid-March to August 2020 and by September 2020 that number increased to USD 15 billion in revenue and 480,000 jobs cut.1 However, as the studio industry was losing money at an accelerated rate, the at-home exercise and wellness industry, including machines, weights, and smartphone apps for at-home use saw a surge in sales and downloads. Virtual fitness became a part of many people’s daily lives as they continued to work from home and were not yet comfortable with returning to a studio. As new routines were formed at home for many over the last year, these fitness and health routines are still a part of their daily lives today even as some return to work outside of the home.
Technology in the fitness industry has evolved in everything from wearables to fitness apps to live streaming and virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) fitness classes. The global market in fitness apps is predicted to be worth more than USD 13.5 billion in the next six years.2 Many people are no longer paying monthly fees at boutique gyms and their local YMCAs, their money is now spent on home-based workouts. These new at-home fitness regimes can come with a hefty price tag, depending on the app and technology they are using. Several apps are free to download and use with limited content (Jefit, Map My Run, Daily Workouts Fitness Trainer, Simply Yoga) but there are an even greater amount of apps that offer premium services such as fitness tracking, exercise recommendation, heart rate tracking, live and virtual personal training.
At-home workout technology can be expensive. There are several companies competing in the same style of workouts – Peloton (starting at USD $1500) and Echelon (starting at USD $840) for cycling, Mirror (USD $995), Tonal (USD $2995) and Tempo (USD $1995) for full-body strength and resistance workouts. Not only is the buy-in high for these workouts and their equipment, but often there is a monthly fee associated once you have the equipment, giving you access to numerous workouts, exercise plans, and custom schedules. These monthly fees range anywhere from USD $9.99 to USD $39.99 per month. Depending on your equipment choice and subscription, you could end up spending nearly USD $3500 in your first year of home-based workouts.
The team behind Sports Computing has built a technology that can help strengthen the setup, the outcome, and the user experience of many of the above-mentioned workout programs. Sports Computing’s patented technology uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to track and record a user’s workouts and movements. This high-end technology can quality control a user’s workouts, making sure the correct muscles are being targeted as the joints, limbs, and movement are all being tracked by advanced AI, rather than simply following a live-stream or pre-recorded exercise routine in front of a screen. By incorporating this technology into already existing home-based workout programs, companies can ensure that their users not only prevent injuries and strain on their bodies but can also put themselves ahead of their competitors by providing the most accurate and precise at-home training available.
To find out more about Sports Computing and how their advanced technology improves the at-home fitness industry visit www.sportscomputing.no