Working out just got a whole lot smarter! From high tech gadgets to innovative software platforms, mobile apps to motivational hashtags, more and more digital trends continue to evolve and shape the face of the fitness industry. These new trends allow athletes to participate in online communities, challenge buddies, set workout reminders, track progress, monitor sleep, experience less pain, and enjoy more comfort. Curious about how you can bring your workouts into the 21st century? Take a look at how these technologies are transforming the way we exercise.
- Strides in Shoe Manufacturing Minimize Bodily Stress
If there’s one excuse people come up with to avoid exercising: it hurts! That’s true, no doubt. Running, in particular, places a ton of stress on our bones and joints, and if you’re just getting back into shape and taking charge of your fitness, too much perceived pain can squash your motivation altogether.
But more and more shoe manufacturers are using their very own sports science facilities to pull data from real life athletes and pour their insights into the design of their shoes. These findings help optimize energy return, pressure distribution, and shock absorption, just to name a few. Take the Inov-8 brand, for example. Their proprietary POWERFLOW technology delivers 10% better shock absorption and 15% better energy return than standard midsoles, meaning you can press faster and farther with less work.
- Sporty Smartwatches Shed Light on Fitness Stats
Perhaps there’s no better example of how technology is transforming the fitness industry than the introduction of smartwatches. These gadgets are designed to log your workouts, track your progress and performance, and monitor your sleep and heart rate. Access to these stats allows you to see the results of your hard work in live time, check your weekly mileage, cadence, pace, amount of calories burned, steps taken, distance of altitude gained and lost, quality and quantity of sleep, minutes of inactivity, amount of water consumed… the list goes on and on! If you have a Garmin GPS Sports Watch, you can even communicate via call or text, as well!
- From Personal Trainers to Mobile Apps
In the past, if we wanted a motivational kick to the butt, we would drag ourselves to the gym to see our personal trainer. While this might have allowed us to show off our best tracksuits, it left us spending a lot of time and money on a little push and guidance.
Now, with the proliferation of mobile app technology, tons of developers are creating free (or very inexpensive) fitness apps that are like a personal trainer in your pocket! Set up goals, receive custom notifications for when it’s time to get moving, connect with friends and push each other’s limits, and listen to workout instructors who can keep you driven while busting a sweat.
- In-Home Cycling Studios
Instead of paying over a hundred dollars a month for your cycling studio membership, save money by bringing the studio straight to your own home! With today’s technology, an in-door cycling machine is so much more than just a stationary bike. Enjoy thousands of live-stream classes with video footage of all your favorite instructors; filter by type of class, length, or difficulty level, then get your heart pumping as you listen to live DJs throughout a music-driven class. These devices are all about metrics, and the numbers help keep you in step with resistance and cadence cues. When you can have fun working out—in your own home, on your own schedule—you’re guaranteed to do it that much more!
- Accelerated Recovery Times
No pain, no gain, they say. But what if you can have gain, with significantly less pain?! Because modern technology totally makes that possible. Shiatsu back massagers relieve pain by manipulating pressure points across your back, behind the neck, over the shoulders, and along the bottoms feet. You can also elevate your fitness experience with the Hyperice vibration technology using their Vyper 2 foam roller. With a German engineered exterior and three different vibration settings that penetrate deep into muscle cells, these rollers can help you warm up, activate, and recover faster than ever before.
Goodbye, aches and pains! Step into the future and invigorate your workout routines with technology that can take you to your peak performance.