Technology
Get in the Game!
Fitness facilities compete to offer cutting-edge movement trends, but what about cutting-edge technology? The fitness world is becoming ever more virtual, and incoming clients are looking for more than a fun indoor cycling class or a cool cardio machine; they want to play a game!
โWhat smartphone app or computer program could you not live without in your business?โ
I could not live without the Tabata Proโข Timer and MyFitnessPal apps. Tabata Pro Timer is essential to my private and small-group training sessions and our group running program. I can set three different timers to meet all my interval needs.
MyFitnessPal enables my clients to track exercise as well as food and water intake, and to share these publicly or just with me. The app provides accountability for my clientsโ fitness and nutrition goals.
Is Advertising on Social Media Worth the Cost?
Remember social media 5 or 6 years ago? A lot of people thought of Facebook and Twitter as โfree advertisingโ hubs for companies and entrepreneurs, because it was easier back then to gain attention with your posts (Snapchat and Instagram were just getting started at that time). If you were committed to posting decent content, you could expect ample clicks, likes, replies, etc. Now, however, times have changed.
Is There a Best Place to Wear a Heart Rate Monitor?
With heart rate monitors, where you place them may determine how accurate they are, according to data published in the Journal of the College of Cardiology (2017; 69 [11], 336).
Pokรฉmon Go Gets People Moving in a Big Way
Pokรฉmon Go, a virtual-reality app that requires players to navigate their surroundings in search of animated creatures, got people to log lots of extra steps last summer, according to researchers from Duke University in North Carolina.
Whatโs Hot in Equipment: Fitness Pro Favorites
Fitness professionals like their equipmentโfrom "tried-and-true" to "oh, so new." And equipment companies like to fill convention halls with fresh gear to help trainers and clients hit their goals. Of course, fitness pros also enjoy new gadgets for the pure thrill of themโand will sometimes go for equipment that targets a fun goal over a hypertrophy goal, for example.
Fitness Technology That Shakes Things Up
For me, the annual Consumer Electronics Show combines the joy of Christmas morning with the wonder of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. The massive Las Vegas trade show surrounds me with the bells and whistles of the latest and greatest technologies from around the world, with booth after booth full of people showing me why their products will be the next game changer in the health-and-fitness industry.
Do You Need a Better Technology Policy?
If you've spent any time at all inside a gym, you've likely experienced this scenario: You're humming along on your treadmill when Joe Talksalot hops onto the machine next to you and proceeds to speak loudly into his smartphone. To distract yourself from Talksalot's notโsoโprivate conversation, you scan the gym floorโand over in the corner you see a woman doing backbends while contorting her neck to maintain a visual on her tablet.
On-Demand and App-Based Training: Getting Clients via Smartphone
The onโdemand economyโfeaturing Uberโstyle personal fitness trainingโis here. While app platforms vary in structure and locale, they share a common thread: onโdemand connection with fitness experts.
Onโdemand mobile commerce attracts more than 22.4 million consumers and $57.6 billion in spending annually, with $8.1 billion going to health and beauty services that include fitness training, Harvard Business Review reported in April 2016.
Fit-Tech Trends to Watch in 2017
Fitness technology is part of the fitness industry's "new normal," but it's changing rapidly. Many of the fitness technologies we saw at the beginning of last year have already morphed into new and improved devices and features. We should expect more exciting updates this year as fit-tech companies, app developers and tech-savvy fitness brands continue to iterate.
Become a Fit-Tech Guinea Pig
You donโt learn how to ride a bike by reading a book about it. You have to get on and start pedaling. The same is true of fitness technology: To learn it, you have to use it.
Thatโs why I recommend you become a fit-tech guinea pigโexperimenting on yourself to see what works. Fitness technology offers motivational tools that can do the following:
A No-Tech Sunday
Cellphones, computers, tablets. All of these are important tools that help you to run a successful fitness business. But technology can seep into every moment of your life and take over. Do you need to step away from email or give your smartphone a rest from time to time? Discover why youโll be a better entrepreneur if you explore options for setting limits around technology and just say no to it some of the time.
Some fitness entrepreneurs are finding that saying no to digital devices every Sunday helps them find work-life balance.
Look Whoโs Put a Block Party on the Plate
Zumbaยฎ instructors can now extend their celebration of fitness beyond the dance studio and help fuel all-around fitness with Plate by Zumbaโข, a healthy eating program and e-learning course.
Strategic Self-Promotion for Fitness Pros
Promoting yourself has never been easier. Free social media, affordable Web design and easily accessible graphic design provide ample opportunity to draw awareness to what you have to offer. But without a blueprint, you are wasting your time. Read on to uncover core self-promotion methods that can increase your business in less time than you think.
Top Tips for Personal Branding
More and more, knowledgeable individuals are developing themselves as brands. For exam- ple, well-known fitness professionals like Chalene Johnson and Cassey Ho have become the product they sell. Public relations expert Marsha Friedman believes that everyone should follow in these expertsโ footsteps. โBy branding yourselfโmaking sure the world knows who you are and what expertise you have to offerโyou not only set yourself apart from your competitors but you also open the door to new opportunities,โ she explains.
Here are her top tips for developing your own brand:
Four Easy-to-Use Email Tools to Launch Your Email Newsletter
Learn the pros and cons of four popular tools.
Self-Reported Energy Balance Data Cannot Be Trusted
Imagine your clients having to record their food consumption and energy expenditure as part of an important research study. The details might get a little sketchy from day to day, right?
The Hunger-Obesity Paradox: Thereโs an App for That
More than one-third (78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. But according to a 2014 report by Feeding America, a hunger relief charity, 49 million Americans are โfood insecure,โ meaning they eat smaller amounts, go hungry or eat less nutritious foods because they canโt afford to eat better. Almost one-third of Americaโs food insecure are children, the report says.
Secrets of Social Media Success
Social media offers fitness businesses an opportunity to market products and services. But there are some best practices to consider when navigating online platforms, explains Rochelle Sanchirico, head of marketing and analytics for Webs.com.
Sanchirico offers these insights to help you maximize your social media presence:
Trainer Tech: Six Software Apps to Improve Your Business
How many clients did you work with before you realized personal training required a lot more administration than you thought? With scheduling, monitoring progress, planning meals, preparing training programs and keeping track of all of your clients, thereโs a lot to be done. Luckily, in this age of โThereโs an app for that,โ trainer technology is vastly improved. Gone are the days of manila folders, clipboards and record-keeping with pen and paper.