The concept of leveraging technology and science in the sports and fitness industries has been around for decades, arguably going back to the introduction of the shot clock, improved, flatter track shoes, and the more recent GPS tracking and goal line technologies.
But for quite some time now, sports technologies and sports science were saved for the professionals. This includes force plates, VO2 Max testing chambers and old school reaction light training. These technologies, though, were expensive and complicated, much of the physical tech was bulky, and they weren’t mass produced for the soccer coaches who are training ten year-olds and the trainers down the street.
Thankfully, the rise of modern day technology, and the influx of startups, hi tech companies and innovative ideas surfacing in recent years, is not only improving sports science and technology but is democratizing it as well.
What we mean by democratizing sports and fitness technologies, is that the best technologies are no longer reserved for the top clubs and organizations with thousands, or millions, to invest in training facilities and equipment. These technologies are accessible to just about everyone, giving sports teams and organizations at all levels of the sporting food chain the ability to leverage technologies to improve performances. This includes lower tier professional sports teams, semi-professional, grassroots, colleges, high schools and all the way down to younger generations who are still developing. Utilizing sports technologies for younger generations is critical for their development process, pushing them to become improved athletes from a young age can help them be better prepared when they reach the higher levels of sports and fitness.
The sports world already seems to be moving in this direction, adopting technologies as they hit the market. Though for some reason, the fitness industry seems reluctant to follow suit. Many are still devoted to the old ways, to conventional training products - weights, treadmills, and so forth - while adapting some technologies such as wearables to measure heart rate and distances while running.
It is time for the fitness industry to take the leap into the technology revolution, a fact that was highlighted even more so by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced trainers out into the open air to train in new ways. Trainers should not be skeptical of these new technologies, their ability, portability or their prices. In fact, it is now easier than ever to leverage tech to encourage and motivate clients, to add new elements into old training methodologies and keep things fresh.
Technologies such as BlazePod are cost-friendly for fitness trainers who may be on a tighter budget, train one-on-one, in groups or for smaller sports organizations. Flash Reflex (FRX) Training, developed by BlazePod and powered by the BlazePod app and Pods, is a great way to get everyone motivated, from professional and elite athletes all the way to fitness clients and children who are in their development stages. The Pods are small, compact and can be taken anywhere, a new must for trainers - especially those who have taken their business outdoors or into their clients’ homes due to the Coronavirus pandemic - and for sports trainers who travel with their teams and bring their training devices on the road with them.
The combination of the app and Pods doesn’t only allow for endless activities and ways of motivating clients, it is a means of proving to your clients that they are progressing. For years the only way one could measure his or her success at the gym was on a scale and with a mirror - did he or she gain weight or lose weight? How do they look? Today, analytics offered by BlazePod offer down to the millisecond proof of clients’ and athletes’ progression, providing comparisons to previous activities and immediate proof of results.
The world is riding a wave of innovation that is affecting every aspect of our daily lives, why shouldn’t we embrace it when it comes to our training? Technology has made new gadgets and revolutionary approaches to training accessible to everyone, it’s now time for all across the fitness industry to embrace these technologies and leverage them to become better trainers and coaches.
