Fitness has always been about innovation. Almost 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greeks developed stone weights with handles called “halteres,” used for resistance training and the long jump. These basic tools evolved into the thousands of different types of dumbbells we have today (plus kettlebells, maces, bands and balls). As people look for ways to get faster, fitter, stronger, and live better, they also search for ways to train smarter. It’s fascinating to see how technology plays a part in where, when, and how people exercise!
At F45 Training, we pride ourselves on holding an innovator’s mindset and embracing technology. The use of data and tech is central to both our customer experience and franchise system. It makes it easy for members to intuitively track their process and enjoy real-time results, and for franchisees to have constant access to HQ.
Of course, health and fitness will always be about putting the actual work in—foundational principles like healthy movement, good nutrition, and proper recovery are unlikely to change significantly. From in-studio screens to electronic booking, wearable tech, and live data, F45 is always looking for ways technology can make doing the work easier and more enjoyable.
It’s an approach that makes it easy for new members to start, and creates far more engagement and retention than “big box” models. Here are some of the ways we’ve seen tech changing the way we work:
The rise of apps.
People are increasingly happy to have less face-to-face contact and more screen time. This is great when it comes to shopping, banking, and paying your bills, but fitness is still about people—a screen can never replace a living, breathing community. This gives F45 a real advantage over training on an app, but there’s no doubt that apps make booking workouts, tracking progress, and logging nutrition/health data easier. The F45 Challenge is a great example of how we’re pushing to make this technology intuitive to use and seamlessly integrate it into training.
A more consistent experience.
A good workout is the product of so many little things. While some are easy to standardize, others can be difficult to replicate—offering a consistently high-quality team training experience isn’t a straightforward process. F45’s in-studio technology makes it easier to get right, though, as members are able to easily and safely follow any workout and self-manage their training to a large extent. It’s one part of perfecting our member experience.
Real-time contact.
Gone are the days of lengthy travel and endless emails for franchisees. Even though the F45 Training family extends across the globe, it’s never been easier for individual franchisees to stay in touch with each other and HQ.
Web portals, virtual meetings, and interactive videos make it easier for franchisees to train staff, implement marketing campaigns, and keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest from the network.
The future is wearable.
In the world of fitness, heart rate monitors and exertion trackers have been around for a while. With improved hardware and software, though, wearable devices are more accurate than ever and better able to interpret and track data. The F45 Lionheart is a great example of this.
Cool new toys.
The ‘fun stuff’ to play with doesn’t stop with watches and monitors. Rowing machines, treadmills, and resistance equipment are all evolving at an incredible rate.
It’s a far cry from the stone dumbbells of the past, and just another reason F45 Training couldn’t be more excited to be in the business of health and wellness.
Reference article: https://www.valuewalk.com/2019/07/tech-transforming-fitness-franchises/
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