More companies are offering software and applications that can run on portable devices to make personal training easier for trainers and clients. Photo courtesy of FitnessMgr.

With the rise of smartphone use and the mobile application market continuing to grow, some consumers have taken their workouts digital, and that means that fitness facility operators must take personal training digital in order to compete, says Jeremiah Johnson, CEO of ETrainer Services LLC, Orlando, FL.

“Consumers are following cookie-cutter workouts to get their fitness fix,” he says. “While these apps and websites are no replacement for live trainers, it is forcing fitness professionals to digitize their operation to stay relevant in the marketplace.”

Although some fitness facility operators are investing in products such as the iPad, mobile devices such as these are not as prevalent in the fitness industry as one might think, says Doug Feik, a physical therapist and president of BioEx Systems Inc., a Smithville, TX-based company that is developing a web-based video product for iPads and other portable devices.

“While there are many iPads around, the percentage is still quite low compared to the total market of computers and such, especially in a niche market, and it makes it economically hard for companies to develop applications for them and make it profitable,” Feik says.

Laszlo Antal, lead developer for FitnessMgr, Dalton Gardens, ID, agrees that the majority of personal trainers still carry around pens and notepads, but that smartphones and tablets are becoming more prevalent on the club floor.

“In the future, we will see more mobile devices in the trainer and client arena,” says Antal, whose company’s FitnessMgr app allows trainers to track schedules and results in real time and for their clients to schedule sessions and access their own results, progress and food logs. “This frees up even more time for the trainers, so they can get right to what matters the most—getting results for the client.”

Independent personal trainers, studio owners, and corporate fitness trainers are leading the way when it comes to the mobile software trend, says Craig Schlossberg, president of PumpOne, New York, which offers the FitnessBuilder app for mobile devices. In contrast, he says medium to large gyms are lagging behind on adopting this technology.

GymIt, a low-price coed club in Brookline, MA, owned by Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women, uses iPads for selling memberships but not for its personal training department, says Matt Harrington, president of GymIt. Harrington bought five iPads for the GymIt facility when it opened its doors six months ago.

Four of the iPads are mounted near the front desk, and visitors use them to join the club, sign in as a member, leave comments, or make inquiries about personal training. Managers use the fifth one to fill out equipment inventory lists and record the mileage on the treadmills.

“iPads are more affordable than a desktop computer, and they’re more reliable,” Harrington says. “They are also really cool, and people see them, and they are wowed by them.”

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