Thanks to wearables, internet sleuthing, and other resources, consumers have more access to health and fitness information than ever before. They spend millions on companies like AncestryDNA and 23andMe to learn about their ethnic origins and inherited DNA. And they are especially interested in divining clues about their medical destiny from the data they receive.
People can’t get enough information about their own health status, and they now have access to data that was once only available from expensive tests administered by healthcare professionals. This has obvious implications for the fitness industry.
This increased emphasis on biometrics is a key element in some of the most popular fitness programmes in the industry. You see it in group training classes that display heart rate measurements of members as they exercise. Whether self-monitored or guided by a trainer, data-based fitness assessments have never been more visible in a club environment.
Like all other tech devices, instruments that measure biomarkers are becoming more precise. Body composition, blood-sugar levels, blood pressure, the data is both plentiful and accessible. But how does a typical club owner convert this data to create achievable results for members?
Serving a Data-hungry Public
The constantly increasing demand and reliance on data has affected every industry, including our own. Today, when you walk through a health club and study what you see, it seems that the generation of reports, stats, and metrics is a secondary business subordinate only to the provision of health and fitness services.
This profound paradigm shift has touched every area and aspect of a club, including the theory and practice of exercise physiology, and the technology employed in its service, particularly with respect to fitness assessments.
Assessments have long been a critical part of the club experience, but now, empowered by big data and propelled by the expectations of tech-savvy consumers, they’ve become more sophisticated, informative, and productive. They range from improved versions of the basic and essential to what could be regarded as the industry’s current gold standard.
While many clubs don’t make assessments mandatory, they’re a valuable tool that can be utilised to engage members, establish a baseline, identify potential health concerns, create customised exercise prescriptions, and track members’ progress.
A test for metabolic rate is a desirable metric for any club serious about health data. When you test a person’s metabolism, you’re looking under the hood at the engine and learning how a person burns calories.
Knowing a person’s resting metabolic rate provides the following advantages:
• Better weight loss results: With precise RMR data, you can calculate a “weight loss zone” to calculate a caloric goal unique for your member. This insight shows you why they may not be successful with an out-of-the-box plan. If they have a 1.5-pound-a-week weight loss goal, for instance, you can figure out a plan to get them there much more accurately and effectively.
• Account for abnormal metabolism. Many people mistakenly believe they have a slow metabolism that discourages them from believing they can improve with an exercise and diet program. RMR measurements can reassure them that they have a metabolism in the normal range, which can be motivating. At the same time, if RMR data indicates hypo-metabolism, members will know to seek further help from healthcare professionals.
• More efficient tailored workouts: Knowing the calorie needs of a member while exercising tells you their nutrition and energy requirements at each heart rate throughout their workout. This information will allow you to customise each workout to fuel their body correctly in order to meet their goals. Are they burning fat effectively? Or do they need to replenish carbs to improve performance? You will know because you have the data.
• Increased athletic performance: Those members who want to take on challenges like 5Ks, obstacle races, or triathlons, can maximise their performance by knowing the key thresholds that will allow them to improve endurance, increase maximal effort, and effectively utilise fuel sources.
To have this information available to trainers can make a huge difference in creating successful fitness and health outcomes for members. And that creates happy, loyal consumers.
Metabolic Testing Made Specifically for Fitness Pros
Unfortunately affordable metabolic testing for use in health clubs hasn’t been widely available, leaving trainers to rely on predictive formulas to establish heart rate training zones and caloric requirements for their clients. Metabolix are proud to resolve this issue by providing convenient and affordable physiological testing solutions to UK health care and fitness industries.
Our focus is dedicated on making metabolic testing mainstream. Making technology once only accessible via expensive laboratory settings affordable and available to everyone.
Using the latest medical-grade laboratory equipment we’re able to analyse metabolic rate to predict incredibly accurate caloric requirements and VO2 Max to define the markers necessary for endurance training, peak performance, and metabolic efficiency.
For more information on Metabolix RMR and V02 Max Testing, visit our website and learn how we can help you take maximum advantage of the biometrics revolution.
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