Last Updated on October 20, 2013 by New-Startups Team
Despite the woes faced by the economy, the fitness industry continues to flourish. IBISWorld’s Gym, Health and Fitness Clubs published a market research report last year revealing that the demand for fitness clubs and gyms will continue to rise in the next 5 years as the aging population becomes more health conscious. And fitness startups are looking to grab a slice of the growing billion dollar industry.
Photo Credit: Brand Muller Inc..
Innovative startups serve as a reminder that we’re not alone when it comes to healthcare and fitness, and a community is just a click, or a tap away.
While there are several innovative fitness startups operating in the industry, the four that you should especially keep an eye on are:
1. CoachBase
CoachBase is targeting unprepared coaches who buy more than $100 worth of material each year through an interactive platform that offers videos, drills and training techniques. The startup also has a sports app for iOS with Nike integration that measures the improvement in performance of players over the course of time.
The company that came under the spotlight at the Nike Accelerator startup covers drills for more than 20 different sports and allows coaches to share them on social media, through email or on the cloud. CoachBase iOS app has been adopted by 150,000 paid users.
2. Green Microgym
The Green Microgym is a five-year old startup based on the concept of eco fitness. The founder Adam Boesel started the company after realizing that there was a lot of speculation out there regarding the generation of electricity through exercise equipment, but no one had actually tested the idea. The franchises now include cardio machines that power the electrical systems of fitness centers/buildings by converting human energy into electricity.
An average of 50 watts of electricity is generated by a vigorous workout, explains the company. They also claim that human power and solar energy generation contributes to 36% of the total electricity. Green Microgym also has options to use fitness club software to reduce the carbon footprint. This is because such an addition would reduce the amount of paperwork required to record data of members because all the information will be stored in a single, centralized database that can be accessed from any remote location through the internet.
3. Fitocracy
Brian Wang and Dick Talens brainchild is being called the poster boy of the fitness industry. The company integrates the concept of gaming with fitness and allows users to measure goals and progress with ease.
Fitrocracy already has several honors to its name and also been listed in 10 NYC Startups to Watch by Time Inc. The Fitocracy app allows users to track goals, get support from the community, receive feedback and advance to new levels. The app is set up similar to a game so upon reaching a particular fitness goal, players get to advance to new levels.
4. Wello
Wello presents a live video format that contains exercises and group workouts. Instructors charge their own rates for each session, and the starting price for each individual is $25. This makes the service affordable, especially if individuals opt for a session as a group and split the fee.
The sessions are conducted over an interactive, two-year platform that also includes a rep counter. New updates are also expected to bring in the ability to share images on the platform so that trainers can point out the correct form for the member, and utilize the anatomy pictorial to pin point the muscles that members should be working on during a particular session.
