The Future Of Fitness

by Emma Barlow | 30 January 2016

Experts have predicted an end to exercise apathy, as high-tech gear promises to get even the most militant fitness-phobes moving, just thirty years from now.

As the nation's new years resolutions kick off, a report by Futurologist Ian Pearson, commissioned by Fitness First, paints a picture of health for all. He comments "The rapid development of technology means that in the near future we can expect to see many more people engaging in activity that will directly benefit the health of the nation."

By 2046, the traditional Insta-fit-pic will be turbo charged, with the introduction of drone-swarms. A collection of drones will be activated and fly around the user recording performance in real time and from every angle.

People will be able to see and adjust technique by watching video streamed directly to digital eyewear, and be able to post video imagery and commentary directly to social channels during a work out.

Fitness Director at Fitness First, Lee Matthews comments "This is the ultimate selfie! Personal recognition really motivates a number of people - a trend we've seen take off in recent years. But the benefits are much broader; being able to monitor your movement in real time, replay video and break down technique will mean that performance will improve exponentially."

Gym-bots also feature heavily in the future of fitness, bringing extraordinarily life-like movement and performance to a sparring session or being programmed as a pacemaker during any given workout. Gym-bots will also be able to demonstrate perfect form and join users in virtual worlds.

Another exciting prediction sees the gamification of exercise fuse entertainment with fitness. Not only will members be able to run on a beach or through a forest from the comfort of their treadmill, but friends in other locations will be able to join them in their virtual world.

Fitness First's Lee Matthews continues, "You could be white river rafting with your friend who lives in Australia, all from the comfort of your gym in England. Equally, members could choose to run the London Marathon with Mo Farah or cycle with Victoria Pendleton.

"But it doesn't stop at virtual and augmented reality, smart equipment will mean that traditional treadmills will be able to react to the virtual experience, moving to give the user an even more realistic experience and increasing the intensity of the work out."

"The benefits of this technology being readily available in a fitness environment are directly linked to keeping people motivated. A major barrier to fitness is engagement - keeping people interested and making it feel less like hard work. This not only introduces an element of excitement, but it also promises almost limitless choices in terms of what you could be doing in any given day."

The birth of a new technology, dubbed Active-Skin by Ian Pearson, will take performance to a completely new level. The addition of layers of electronic capability onto and into the skin will allow state of the art monitoring, linking the nervous system to external IT.

Active-Skin will activate equipment and upload personal profiles to machinery so it can see what was done the day before and what needs to be done to improve performance. Heart-rates, blood pressure and more will be monitored in minute detail allowing users to respond instantly to their body's needs, all through Active-Skin.

Incredibly, sensations will also be recorded and replayed to accelerate learning. For example, when someone starts a new activity, it takes time to learn the best grips and the right movements before they become proficient. The ability to put signals into the tissue means that muscle memory can very quickly be trained.

Fitness First's Lee Matthews concludes "The possibilities blow my mind! Anything that can give us data on what's working and what's not in real time can only improve human performance and ultimately improve our health in leaps and bounds. Every body is different and this will allow us to create programmes based on minute detail, bespoke to each member!"

Kate Toland, Head of Marketing at Fitness First comments "We're always looking at how to help people make healthy choices and maintain an active lifestyle, which is why we commissioned this report. Technology already has a huge part to play in the way we develop our offer, and it's exciting to see that the predictions in the report support our mission to make staying motivated as easy as possible."

The beginnings of some of the technology the 'Future of Fitness' report predicts is already starting to be integrated as part of the Fitness First offer. For example, digital instructors have been incorporated into the gym environment with an array of virtual classes. With large screen technology, digital mood walls that change colour with the music, a large presenter stage and coloured lighting, new Move studios provide an engrossing and convenient option for members.

Equally, Fitness First recently revealed plans for its new 'Connected Fitness Labs', which will fuse technology, fitness expertise and motivational science, backed by an investment of £7.5m.

Operating independently, Fitness First Connected Fitness Labs will apply the principles of behavioural psychology to create a range of products that deliver the first truly connected fitness experience.

David Langridge leads the Fitness First Connected Fitness Labs, and commented "We are breaking out of the gym industry and into the digital health space in a way that no other fitness provider has yet achieved. The Connected Fitness Labs will act like a start-up, using cutting-edge thinking on digital tech in the form of apps, partnerships and services to provide a truly connected fitness experience."

The future of fitness could include: sparring with a robot opponent, running the London Marathon with Mo Farah in a virtual world, white river rafting in the gym with a friend in a different location, posting 360 degree videos and imagery to social media instantly and monitoring body function, operate machinery and correct form through active skin.

Watch an interview with Professor Stuart Biddle on the factors affecting human motivation.