Fitness equipment is getting smarter, do we still need fitness coaches?
With the gradual popularity of wearable devices, more and more people wear smart watches that can monitor data such as heart rate and pace while exercising. Some startup companies have also begun to launch smart home fitness systems, replacing traditional smart fitness devices and online live broadcasts. Gym.In fact, many people have tried fitness at home, it is nothing more than doing exercises on their own against video tutorials. What is the difference between these smart fitness equipment?
San Francisco fitness equipment startup Tonal launched a home fitness system this year, which is mainly composed of a screen that can be hung on the wall and a handle that generates electromagnetic force, and there is no common fitness equipment such as Barbells and dumbbells.
The biggest difference from traditional fitness equipment is that when users use the Tonal system for strength training, they do not pull the physical weight provided by the metal plate and spring, but the electromagnetic resistance controlled by the algorithm. The system can be based on different parts and training. Analyze the data to adjust the size of the resistance.
The large screen is so that users can choose different fitness tutorials, and can also customize one-to-one fitness coach video guidance. However, the price of this system is not cheaper than that of a traditional gym. The retail price of a set is US$2,995, and the installation fee is also US$250. If you want to subscribe to a personal trainer, the monthly price is US$49.
However, more and more Silicon Valley start-ups are involved. For example, a company called Mirror has launched a smart fitness device that looks like a dressing mirror, which is actually an interactive teaching of different fitness courses through a large screen.
Another start-up company, Peloton, has launched a treadmill priced at nearly $4,000, which simulates the real gym effect through a 32-inch screen and realistic sound effects.
In addition, Peloton also encourages users to socialize through the microphone and camera on the device during fitness. Peloton is currently valued at more than US$4 billion and is expected to be listed next year.
Throughout these smart fitness start-ups, they have adopted the business model of selling smart fitness hardware and fitness tutorial subscriptions. Although the prices of these devices are relatively high, the rise of this entrepreneurial wave in Silicon Valley shows that there is indeed a certain market demand.
For users who are busy at work and have no time to go to the gym, but lack motivation for exercising at home because there is no coach guidance and supervision, these smart fitness systems just meet the needs.
Although this model is still not popular in China, fitness apps are not new anymore. Nowadays, the fitness product Keep, in addition to providing fitness tutorials, has also begun to launch the KeepKit treadmill, which focuses on family scenes.
Move It, a smart home fitness hardware developer, has also launched fitness equipment with built-in sensors, including elastic bands, abdominal muscle wheels, push-ups and skipping ropes, which can recognize more than 40 fitness movements and movement frequencies. Last year, Move It received investment from Xiaomi and became a member of the Xiaomi ecological chain.
According to the data of iResearch, in 2017, China Mobile's fitness users were close to 100 million, while the annual membership of traditional gyms was less than 9 million. The home penetration rate of China's fitness equipment is not high, so smart fitness also has a certain market potential in China.
However, in addition to the fitness system that focuses on the home scene, some offline gyms have also begun to introduce similar smart fitness equipment. For example, the smart gym light pig pen uses smart bracelets and mobile phones to control various fitness equipment. Wang Feng, the founder of Guangzhuquan Fitness, believes that by 2020, the market share of smart gyms will exceed that of traditional gyms, accounting for about 38%.
Can these fitness models based on wearable devices and the Internet really replace traditional gyms? The answer in everyone's mind may be different.