Why Doesn't My Wearable Device Talk to The Elliptical at The Gym?
Pretend with me for a moment that you are a person that just joined a health club to start working towards your fitness goals in the new year. You purchased a wearable fitness device, you are tracking daily nutrition and activity. Now, you walk up to the elliptical, select an option and start moving. Then a disconnect occurs, the machine is reporting to you what is happening on the monitor and so is the wearable on your wrist, the activity is being tracked twice, but not syncing. You begin to wonder why?
At the center of what I am discussing is connectivity ability. Consumers are purchasing wearable devices and measuring their daily activity while exercising at health clubs and at this point the consumer is not able to easily connect or sync their device with equipment in the gym.
This presents a large gap in our industry and consumer understanding. The places to go exercise are not connecting technologically to what the consumer is using to track their activites. What an incredible opportunity! to create apps and systems within fitness equipment that starts to connect actual workouts with tracking systems.
I am not the only one thinking about this dilemma. Thought leaders at the Fitness Technology Council (Fit-C) are working hard to develop and promote technology standards for fitness equipment. You can team up with them by joining their council.
In an era where Quantified Self is becoming a highly used term, the internet of things is driving consumers activity. The Fitness industry has room to respond with connected equipment and more technology centered functions to meet the consumers needs.
If you are interested in purchasing a wearable device it is becoming easier to decide which one to go with. The Warby Parker Style try on system for wearables, Lumoid gives you the ability to check out each product individually to see which one fits your fancy!
It is very exciting to be a part of the ever expanding fitness industry, wearables and connectivity is a large opportunity and one I look forward to seeing traction in the coming months and years.
Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach to the fitness and wellness industry. She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions. For more information about lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o