21-April-2020 By Jeffrey Cooper

The Virtualized Club: Transcending the Four Walls- Part 1

Note: This series has been updated to add a 5th part, which covers working out at work. These articles are written as an idea takes form, so as I write subsequent articles, things occur to me that I go back and address. Partly, this is thinking out loud as an idea evolves. Also note that although this still describes a virtualized club application framework, I have renamed the actual application a Universal Club Application.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant economic shutdown has driven home an issue for gyms. When the member cannot visit their club, their club is mostly out of mind. Because club apps seldom are used for actual workouts, it’s not top of mind most of the time. In this series of five articles I will detail out a Virtualized Club application to better connect clubs to their members.

Recently I completed the Connected Gym series. This next series, The Virtualized Club, will build on that. A Virtualized Club application is a superset of the Connected Gym app. It contains that app, but has additional capabilities. With these capabilities added in, you will have a branded, universal app for your member to take everywhere and use for any workouts.

The word virtualization can have several meanings, depending on the context. I am using the term to define a Universal Club Application, one that your members can use inside your club and on the go. In the club, it works as the Connected Club application. Members can use it to give them virtually coached workouts in the club and record their workouts.

The basic capabilities of the app are the same anywhere, but there are important differences depending on where the workout is done. All locations will have coached content, and all locations will record the member’s workouts with whatever biometrics are available. And all locations will offer some form of Personal Trainer in the Loop.

The Virtualized Club Application

The virtualized club application works in essentially four different modes, from the user’s perspective. The context changes when the member changes locations. If you remember from earlier articles, context is a constraining element. Out of a universe of all possibilities, say Options[A..Z]. in this particular location, only Options[A-C, H, N-P] are available, while at another location, Options[A..E, J-L, S-W] are available. Context limits choices to only those that are meaningful, and gives the user a manageable set up options.

For the sake of these articles, we are going to say that the Virtualized Club Application contains four elements- @Club, @Home, Outdoors, @Work and On The Go. The latter, On The Go, can include other clubs (outside of your chain), hotel gyms, etc…

When the member is at the club, the app behaves like the Connected Gym application. It will operate to whatever level of functionality you have implemented. The design is purposefully modular to allow operators flexibility to install what they want now, and add on later. Hopefully they will at least implement Tier 1, which gives the biggest initial boost to capability.

If you have many clubs, the app will adapt to that club the member is using at the time. Each club has a manifest, which includes the equipment at that club as well as indoor mapping, if the indoor location features are installed.

When I am in my home club or an away club, content is suggested based on my training goals and progress through any programs.

Another important element is Virtual Assist Personal Trainer. This allows a personal trainer to actually push workouts to the member’s phone and watch for them to execute on days in between training. The trainer gets a report back of the member’s performance.

This and other parts of the At The Gym experience are already available with Pear Sports club application and is in use at FitnessSF in San Francisco.

Get Members to use the App

One of the most important things a club needs to do get their members to use the club application. One way of doing that is to require the club app be used to complete the sign-up process. A small number of new members won’t have smartphones, so provide an alternative. However, you should require this for most new sign-ups. To incentivize them to use the app, give them rewards early on for using it enough to become a habit.

When the member onboards for the first time, make sure they answer a basic questionnaire. This can be done in the app, or by the person setting up their membership. You might consider letting them sign up in the app itself. On that questionnaire, find out if they are new to working out or a pro at it. You don’t want to push newbie advice on a pro, and vice versa.

Encourage a heart rate strap or wearable, and reward the usage. Invest in at least Tier 1, which will allow for automatic workout recording at a basic level. Getting your members into the habit of tracking their workouts will improve their fitness journey

Going Beyond the Club

Once you have members in a habit of using the club application and recording their workouts, they’ll be more apt to use it outside the club as well. When they use the app during normal club visits, the app can offer tips that lead them to discover the capabilities of the app outside the club, too. And you will have a direct line of communication to those members in the event of an emergency like we are going through now, or they simply just pause coming to the club.

This overview article is meant to brief you on the overall concept of an all-around club application applicable everywhere, which include the already-covered Connected Gym application. In the remaining articles, we’ll examine each of the other four modes in detail, which build onto the original concept, to create the Universal Club Application- the Virtualized Club.

Next up is the Virtualized/Universal Club Application @Home.