It is believed that the Internet of Things can fully revolutionize the sports and fitness industry and change the way people exercise and organize their physical activities. IoT can make the fitness experience much more personalized and engaging which is expected to increase the number of people of different ages who will go in for sports regularly. Already today a lot of fitness centers and gyms demonstrate their interest in AI, ML, VR/AR, and IoT in order to find solutions that will increase their visitor satisfaction. According to recent studies, by 2025, the intelligent fitness market can hit the mark of $30 billion. Let’s have a look at the concepts that are said to shape the future of this industry.
Training virtually with others
Virtual training sessions with other sports lovers are one of the best examples of using IoT in the fitness industry. This option can make workouts much more exciting than when you are exercising alone. Thanks to modern technologies, you can run a virtual marathon or train on a stationary bike in the virtual space.
Group fitness
IoT can also greatly change group fitness. With battery-powered gateways and wireless sensors, gym visitors have the possibility to view their actions and results. By using this information, instructors can better understand the needs of each participant in the group.
Data tracking and sharing
For many people, one of the most motivating things is the possibility to share and compare their results with others. Already today there are apps for connecting users with their friends and relatives as well as making posts on their social media accounts using the info generated in a sports app.
Leaders
Some fitness studios use special smart leaderboards to demonstrate cadence or heart rate to motivate people to exercise harder to become a leader of the group. For measuring heart rate, fitness centers use wireless sensors installed on sports equipment or get data from clients’ wearables.
Solutions for competitions
It’s interesting to note that such solutions can be used for both traditional human and animal competitions. Special wearable devices can be used to monitor the vital parameters of athletes or animals during competitions and ordinary training sessions. As s result, coaches can get a lot of valuable information that can help to achieve significantly better results.
Instead of a closing word
Of course, all these concepts and ideas are just a small part of the entire list of use cases that can be applied for ensuring higher user satisfaction and better training results. Moreover, IoT solutions help to make training sessions much safer for fitness lovers. The Internet of Things technologies can track physical activity in real time. As a result, IoT-powered apps can detect the states that can be dangerous for users’ health and define cases of medical emergencies like heart failure which can help to save people’s lives.
If you are considering the option of launching a fitness solution for gyms or personal use, now it can be a very suitable moment for doing it. The market is actively developing but there is still enough space for newcomers. If your app is unique and directly addresses people’s needs, you have a high chance to win the hearts of users.