by Matt Weik
Ever since wearable technology has come to the market, it’s been changing the way many people view their health and fitness. This is everything from tracking your workouts, to tracking your nutrition, tracking your heart rate, counting your steps, telling you when you need to stand up and move, notifying you to drink water, and many other useful features. While there are many wearing tech pieces out there, in this article I’m focusing solely on the one that just made the news (again) – the Apple Watch and its integration with Crunch Fitness locations.
Crunch Fitness is a large chain of gyms similar to that of a Retro Fitness, LA Fitness, Gold’s Gym, Planet Fitness, etc. The article I read on PR Newswire that spoke about Crunch Fitness introducing the Apple Watch integration made me rethink the future of fitness and how new integrations like what I’m about to talk about can be a gamechanger when it comes to convenience and helping people focus on their health and fitness (maybe even bring new people into gyms to help improve their lives).
9 Crunch Fitness Locations Launch New Apple Watch Program
If you own an Apple Watch, you know the plethora of apps you can download and use on your Apple Watch. Crunch Fitness decided to capitalize on the opportunity and launch their own app to improve their member experience.
A select number of Crunch Signature locations in New York (monthly gym memberships starting at $112) are rolling out the new technology in their clubs. Some of the benefits to having an Apple Watch with the Crunch Fitness app is the ability to reserve space in a class, record workouts, check into the gym location, and even leverage their time in the gym to complete fitness challenges that can save them money on their monthly gym membership (CrunchTime Active Rewards).
The Crunch Fitness app is said to use Apple GymKit technology where users can use the app to choose the piece of equipment they are using (such as treadmill, elliptical, bike, and stair machine) to more accurately track their heart rate as well as display their workout information directly on their Apple Watch.
The app takes things one step further by integrating Apple Pay. What this allows gym members to do is not only pay for their personal training sessions at the gym but also pay for any retail items they want such as apparel, drinks, food, and supplements.
Chad Waetzig, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Branding at Crunch Fitness was quoted saying, “Crunch is thrilled these New York locations are part of the Apple Watch Connected program. An overwhelming majority of our members choose iOS as their mobile platform of choice and we’re seeing widespread adoption of Apple Watch by members in our club. With the convenience and great fitness and activity tracking features of Apple Watch, we feel we’re able to bring our members next level integration by building an entire experience around this device. And we’re fully intending to expand the Apple Watch Connected program across more Crunch Signature and Crunch Fitness gyms in 2020 and beyond.”
The CEO of Crunch Signature, Keith Worts said, “Today, everything is digital and Apple Watch helps our members achieve a healthy and active lifestyle. This new program takes Apple Watch a step further for our members with Apple GymKit technology, club check-in capabilities, online class bookings, and fitness incentives and rewards. This whole experience helps our members keep track of their fitness goals in a fun and innovative way.”
Why Do I Feel This Type of Technology Is a Gamechanger?
We live in a world where everyone is on the go, no one wants to be bothered or wait in long lines. Everyone wants to get in and out of the gym as quickly as they can and get on with their day. This type of technology, like Crunch Fitness has introduced with the integration of the Apple Watch, is brilliant. You can do everything directly from your watch without the need to really even talk to anyone. After all, let’s face it… people aren’t exactly very talkative these days and are somewhat standoffish.
Crunch Fitness is a “No Judgements” type of gym and in an effort to “give people their space,” these types of technological advancements are a necessity. While it makes sense for a gym like Crunch Fitness to invest in this technology, not every gym is going to be able to afford such improvements. Crunch Fitness has over 1,500,000 members with over 325 locations worldwide.
If you still think devices such as the Apple Watch are a fad, I want to share a few things with you. Over 50 million Apple Watches have been sold to date and based on the growing sales numbers, I think it’s safe to say this “fad” isn’t going anywhere.
In fact, I was speaking with a very successful businessman the other day and I noticed he was wearing an Apple Watch. Now, I want to preface this by saying the last time I spoke with him, he was wearing a $40,000 Rolex Yacht Master II. I asked him what made him purchase an Apple Watch as well as prefer it over one of his watches from his extensive Rolex collection? His response is exactly what I’m trying to get across here. He told me that it came down to convenience. He could do anything and everything from his wrist. He could answer calls, look at emails and text messages, check the weather, check his fitness, and get reminders from his calendar about meetings he needs to be present at.
The more technology can streamline processes, make our lives easier and less complicated, and bring a convenience factor, it will always win. Combining technology with fitness just makes sense. And I feel that what Crunch Fitness has done with their app is just the tip of the iceberg of what we will see in the next 10 years.
