We've looked at the possible future of both health & fitness many times over the years - Workout Clothing, Virtual Training Partners, various medical discoveries and of course the Gymchats. Particularly #224.
Continuing those thoughts, here are a few items that may make an appearance over the next year or so. Health & Fitness Predictions for 2014.
- Many examples of ordinary workout clothing will become 'smart' - heart monitors, GPS tracking and so on.
- Equipment in several catalogues (for gym equipment, workout clothing, nutritional supplements etc) will be computer generated (photo-realistic in most cases).
- 3D printing of some types of workout equipment possible.
- Gradual increase in emphasis worldwide on cycling. Cycle lanes, bike sharing schemes, cycling for general fitness and so on.
- Gradual shift in health-related advertisements from 'not being sick' to 'actively being healthy'.
- Increased use of Graphene in medical research.
- The beginning of an emphasis on location-aware technologies in the gym - both at home, and commercial operations. Things like Apple's iBeacon.
- Greater emphasis on wearable technologies, particularly devices which use things like Apple's M7 processor. Think a much more powerful 'Fuelband'.
- Sensors in many more things (in and out of the gym) - some which make more sense than others. It'll probably be like digital clocks in the 1980s - everywhere, but not really useful until many years later.
And a few things I'd love to see :
- Much tighter integration of health and fitness. Your GP could recommend a Personal Trainer or a Nutritionist in the same way they recommend other specialists currently. The same would also happen in reverse.
- Health data will undoubtedly be collected in more and more places over time. I'd love a way to export all of this and have full access to and control of all of it. Same for everyone else - each person is able to control their own health data, and seek outside help as needed.
- A stronger use of 'Internet of Things' devices in gyms (both commercial and home). The ability to control and adjust things remotely - lights, temperature, music, cameras, TV screens and so on.
- Much greater sharing of fitness information via various devices, clothing and equipment. Quickly broadening knowledge surrounding what works, and what doesn't.
Of course, these are just a few of the things that I'd expect to see personally. I'd love to hear your own thoughts - anything you'd add or change?
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via SttB Articles http://straighttothebar.com/articles/2013/12/the_future_of_fitness_predictions_for_2014/ --- ( NB : Originally published on straighttothebar.com )
