Fitness is in, as you may have noticed. But its future is smart. Just as well, since there is quite a lot of Chinese people, and they increasingly have very little time for fitness in their busy lives.
This 8 August marked the 11th anniversary of China’s National Fitness Day, a day for which this year Nanjing’s Olympic Stadium opened its doors for free to the general public. Indicative of the awareness for public fitness, so too has China’s national fitness industry developed rapidly, and participation by both urban and rural residents in physical exercise has increased dramatically. With 40 percent of China’s citizens now technically obese, people’s demand for weight loss is on the up, as well as for body sculpting and other reasons of vanity.
In recent years, lack of time has become the main reason why many people find it difficult to start exercising and/or to stay fit. New fitness modes are therefore now emerging, those that deliver short-term, highly-efficient solutions, by employing artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technologies.
Hardly a day goes by with us hearing about the future marvels of 5G technology, a “second coming” of the internet. In some fields, it has already arrived, and fitness is one of them. For many a gym in China can now be termed “smart gym”.
Also referred to as “unmanned smart gym”, or “artificial intelligence gym”, the smart gym in China uses a variety of biometric technologies, such as face, fingerprint and iris recognition, to collect member information and provide access control, including smart locks, smart devices, smart showers and other gym equipment that can collect member training information and activity. Combined with the management system’s big data statistical analysis function, the smart gym can assist gym managers to make decisions and optimise the facility’s management.
So far so good. At this point, many a reader may be concerned over issues of privacy and the legalities of such information gathered. After all, in this case, there can be little dispute that the information be defined as personal. The Nanjinger has you covered, however, but all that need wait until our October issue…
In the meantime, and in the name of ever-increasing efficiencies in fitness, to address the lack of space that has become a major obstacle to the fitness of the whole nation, China has also recently developed an “Outdoor Smart Gym” (OSG) concept. And it’s catching on fast.
The top of the OSG is an umbrella-shaped, large white awning, which is almost aesthetically tasteful. Shaded from sun and sheltered from rain, the OSG is approximately three metres high and five metres in diameter. Powered by solar panels, in addition to its fitness functions, the umbrella structure also provides lighting, enabling use during in the night.
Compared with a traditional gym, the OSG comes with a small footprint, easy management, low cost and convenient use. Not only can it provide the familiar functions of the traditional gym, but the OSG also addresses many of the traditional gym’s disadvantages, being open to the entire community, or at least everyone who lives in the residential complex in which the OSG is located.
While there is no reason why OSGs could not be rolled out in public parks, other than the issue of who is responsible for their installation and upkeep, that they be more appropriately placed inside residential communities has two distinct advantages; costs would be borne from the building management fee paid by all households therein, while the OSG is also within easy reach of the elderly.
It is therefore no surprise that OSGs feature large print on their instructions for use. Being “smart”, OSGs offer electronic tests as to users’ height, weight, heart function, reaction time, strength, etc. The equipment can also provide residents with weekly and monthly fitness data reports, analysing changes in body fat percentage, muscle content and other fitness indicators.
At the same time, users can watch instructional videos as to the use of the equipment therein, typically Tai Chi pusher, horse-riding device, waist- turning device, leg press, abdominal muscle trainer and other specific workouts.
The OSG is, however, still in its infancy. Qingdao and Tianjin are pioneers of the concept, while at time of writing, The Nanjinger could not find any evidence of OSGs in Nanjing.
Back on the issue of ethics, as 5G becomes ubiquitous and our world ever more connected, some gyms also plan to cooperate with hospitals and insurance companies to collect and share users’ health data, in the name of offering “personalised medical treatment”.
No matter artificial intelligence, VR or any other technology used for fitness, all have almost unlimited potential for helping people to stay fit and healthy. That which we see now is just the tip of the iceberg. With the advent of the 5G era and given time, the future of fitness is one whereby people’s exercise will be more effective, saving considerable time and energy. After all, fit and healthy people better contribute to the rejuvenation of a nation.
Image credit: Personal Trainer Academy
