The Evolution of Gym Equipment: From Heavy Iron to High-Tech and Sustainable Solutions

Gyms have changed from basic open spaces focusing on military training into community-orientated, tech-driven environments. In recent years, there's also been a big push for gyms to become wellness spaces, supporting not just physical fitness for aesthetics but also for its physical and mental health benefits.   

A Brief History of Gym Equipment in the UK  

It was the Victorians who started organised physical exercise in the UK. Heavily influenced by European Strongmen like Eugen Sandow, strength training and calisthetics became more popular. By the mid-nineteenth century, private sporting clubs started appearing around rowing, boxing, fencing and gymnastics. After the Second World War, public spending saw large-scale investment in swimming pools, sports halls, and gyms.

In the 1960s, public interest in weightlifting and bodybuilding grew, while the 1980s saw an explosion of interest in aerobics. Budget gyms became popular in the early 2000s, offering affordable access equipment and group classes. Since then, boutique gyms have offered specialised classes and training, access to remote classes and experiential forms of exercise. There's an understanding now that exercise can be fun and immersive and should be accessible to people of all ages. Gyms have also become communities, which is why research suggests that group classes help improve member retention. Now, there's also a move towards 24/7 access to equipment, even among budget gyms.

The pandemic changed things, too. Home workouts became increasingly popular, especially as technology was able to bridge the physical gap between trainers and members.  At-home workouts can be just as effective as going to the gym and are more convenient.  

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This isn't to say that fewer people are going to the gym. Many people have a hybrid approach, accessing the gym for specialist equipment or recovery amenities but working out at home at other times.  

Current Trends and Future Directions  

You can now buy equipment with sensors to record posture, speed, resistance, power output and heart rate. This can help make exercise safer and more effective, especially in disciplines like weightlifting or yoga or during functional training where the correct form is vital.  

Software can really make a huge difference to performance and training. The electricity-generating RE:GEN, for example, can measure Functional Threshold Power or FTP—a metric of how much power you can hold—which can help a rider perform more efficiently and effectively.   

Performance and wellness data on wearable fitness trackers helps us all better understand our physical health and fitness. It removes some guesswork, highlighting potential sticking points like why exercise is feeling harder (lack of sleep) or low energy levels (hormonal changes). Research suggests that most new gym members quit within the first 6 months often because they fail to see visible results. Wearable fitness trackers can show changes in fitness and body composition even when our eyes cannot. 

Virtual reality and AR are also being used in some gyms to make workouts more enjoyable and fun for members. You can also buy VR headsets for fitness, with Forbes calling VR 'the next frontier of fitness'. For people who have traditionally struggled with working out, VR and AR can gamify the process. It makes the process more enjoyable rather than forcing them to focus solely on the end result. 

Interactive workouts can also help remote users connect with others. Zwift is a great example of this for cyclists. Of course, there's AI, too. These can learn a user's fitness profile and, over time, deliver a tailored workout to push them to a safe and effective workout. 

It's not all tech-driven, however. Gym equipment now has a smaller footprint, making it accessible for home users. Things like folding stationary bikes and treadmills, cross-trainers, weights, etc., can make integrating fitness into the modern household easier. 

Recovery is also something that we're likely to see more of in the future. Cryotherapy, percussive therapy and compression technology support recovery and can help prevent injury. There's more availability for home users now, but we'll likely see gyms investing in recovery therapies. David Lloyd, for example, is integrating recovery zones into its health clubs, including things like cryotherapy.  

While the core function of gym equipment may have stayed relatively unchanged for centuries, technology has advanced them significantly. One of the key developments has been giving in-gym and at-home users access to performance and health data. This helps the individual to better understand their overall fitness and performance. Technology also makes fitness more enjoyable and engaging, adding a gamification element that will appeal to a wide audience.