Gyms Are Adding New Equipment and Services
Say sayonara to beat-up treadmills with broken audio jacks. Gyms are already stepping it up with fancy new equipment, which may be an effort to target would-be at-home gym equipment buyers.
"Radically different resistance mechanisms are going to replace legacy fitness equipment across all fitness sectors, not just rowing and weight lifting," Bruce Smith, founder and CEO of Hydrow, a high-tech rowing machine, told POPSUGAR. Noting that much of your run-of-the-mill gym equipment (like barbells, for instance) hasn't changed "in more than a century," he said we're finally starting to see "new resistance mechanisms, which offer computer-controlled resistance that is quiet, light, and extremely adjustable."
In addition to better equipment, expect to see more variety in services at your local gym. "Massages, juice bars, and places to meet friends for a healthy meal are going to be taking over more and more of the real estate at high-end gyms," Bruce said.
Because many consumers can now have high-quality gym equipment in their homes (if they have the space and budget for it), gyms will have to offer experiences and services that an at-home "studio" cannot: social time, made-to-order smoothies, recovery services like massage, and more. Bruce believes people will "treat the [gym] more like a club."