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Amazon’s Echo Buds debuts a new suite of fitness tracking features, including step count, distance, pace, and calories.  And results automatically sync with the Alexa smartphone app.  Health app maker Levels, who provides actionable health information by constantly monitoring the wearer’s blood sugar levels, secures a new funding round to fuel their bold wellness ambitions.  Finally, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) released a new research report that pegs the global mental wellness market at $121B.  We’ll take a look at the details behind each of these stories this week.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #amazon #echo #echobuds #levelshealth #levels #funding #homefitness #wellness #wellnessmarket 

This week, Nautilus delivered impressive third-quarter results, as the impacts from the pandemic changed consumer exercise habits and preferences.  Nautilus also launched a new bike product to more directly compete with companies like Peloton.  Planet Fitness stock receives an upgrade from a Jeffries analyst as vaccine hopes gave the company a lift.  Can the brick and mortar mount a comeback while we wait for the vaccine to be approved and distributed?  Finally, Peloton teams up with superstar Beyonce to produce a series of workouts (with associated music) for Peloton members.  Can this partnership continue to provide momentum to Peloton?   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #peloton #pelotonmember #beyonce #queenB #workout #homefitness #planetfitness #gymtime #nautilus #bowflex 

This week, Under Armour announced that it is unloading MyFitnessPal, five and a half years after acquiring it for $475M.  The sale of MyFitnessPal to investment firm Francisco Partners will allow Under Armour to focus on its core products and brand.  Whoop, a maker of personal wearable fitness tracker, closed a funding round valuing the company at more than $1 billion.  Finally, digital coaching app maker Future secures a $24M funding round to fund product development and growth strategies.  We’ll take a look at these companies and what’s next in this week’s show…. #fitness #fitnesstechnology #UnderArmour #MyFitnessPal #Whoop #FutureApp #workout #homefitness #gymlifestyle #exerciseroutine

Flexit’s personal virtual training app helps consumers get personalized, one-on-one personal training sessions from their network of experienced personal trainers.  We’ll see how they pivoted during the pandemic to continue their growth.  One of the original personal fitness tracking companies, Fitbit, looks to innovate to fuel its ongoing wearables strategy.  And, Fitbit rival Garmin has unveiled a new fitness watch specific to the eSports market.  We’ll take a look at this new device and the features to up the performance level of eSports athletes.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #FlexIt #Fitbit #Garmin #esports #pandemic #workout #homefitness    

The list of gyms and health clubs filing for bankruptcy protection due to the pandemic continues to grow.  We’ll take a look at the full list and speculate who might be next.  Playbook - a digital platform for fitness instructors - secured a new funding round to fuel its growth strategy.  Finally, MYXfitness is a new entrant into the home fitness craze challenging incumbents like Peloton.  And MYXfitness recently announced  the integration of news and other original digital content into their fitness platform.  We’ll take a look at these new startups and how they are angling to be your home fitness digital partner.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #Playbook #MYXfitness #bankruptcy #gyms #healthclubs #workout #homefitness    

ICON Health and Fitness, the parent company of such fitness brands as NordicTrack, ProForm, and Freemotion, has secured a new $200M financing round.  These funds will be used to accelerate ICON’s growth strategy in the fitness industry.  Next, we’ll discuss Consumer healthcare platform Ro has announced availability of a new and unique weight management drug called Plenity.  Finally, startup JaxJox secured a new funding round to further their vision of a smart personalized home gym platform.  We’ll take a look at this latest entrant into the increasingly crowded AI-powered home fitness space.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #ICON #NordicTrack #iFit #ProForm #Freemotion #roman #ro #JaxJox #AIfitness #gyms #workout #homefitness    

Hyperice, makers of the Hypervolt massage therapy device, have signed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as both a brand ambassador and investor in the company.  This adds to Hyperice’s already impressive pro athlete roster that increases the visibility of this $100M company.  Also, Intellivideo hires the former CEO of Gold’s Gym as it strives to be a B2B digital fitness platform for gyms and health clubs.  Finally, we take another look at in-home fitness giant Peloton - this time looking at the meteoric rise and the inevitable competition and lofty performance expectations looming for the company.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #Hyperice #Hypervolt #NormaTec #PatrickMahomes #Intellivideo #healthclubs #gyms #workout #Peloton #fitnessplus #homefitness   

It’s been five years since Apple debuted the Apple Watch, and updates have continually evolved around new health and fitness features.  With the advent of the Fitness+ service, Apple’s strategy around health and fitness is really starting to take shape.  In typical Apple fashion, the combination of world-class hardware and sensors coupled with a cloud-based service is the cornerstone of the strategy.  Within the digital fitness space, two startups recently secured new venture funding to support their expansion.  Zwift, an online fitness platform that immerses cyclists and runners, landed a $450M financing round to build its own connected fitness hardware.  Finally, AI-powered fitness coaching platform Freeletics secured $25M in financing for development and global expansion.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #Zwift #apple #workout #fitness+ #fitnessplus #freeletics #homefitness   #workingoutathome   

When gyms shut down across the country, people obviously resorted to outdoor and home fitness workouts.  Which begs the question:  Why do we go to the gym anyway?  Different variables include health, vanity, focus, discipline, commitment, community, and even a social element to complement one’s life.  Also, back in Episode 47, we mentioned Tonal Fitness - back in the news after securing a new funding round to continue their quest to be the Peloton of strength training.  Finally, we take a closer look at Peloton, the leader of the in-home digital fitness craze.  What makes Peloton successful and can they fend off both the re-opening of gyms and increasing competition in home?  That and more in this week’s show.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #peloton #gym #workout #tonal #tonalfitness #homefitness   #workingoutathome   

As gyms and fitness centers continue to open across the country, what factors will drive consumers back to the gym?  Even with miniscule coronavirus cases within most gyms across America, a number of factors remain to build customer confidence.  Also, Apple recently announced their new Watch Series 6 with new health and fitness features.  And, Apple’s new Fitness+ subscription service that provides access to workouts and instruction plus music.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #apple #fitness+ #gym #workout #applewatch #gyms #homefitness  #fitnessplus #applewatchseries6  

Although the pandemic wears on, gyms and fitness centers across the country are opening for people to work out.  A new study looks at the incidence of COVID-19 spread in gyms across almost 3,000 fitness centers across the country.  Also, a new scientific research study out of the Buck Institute looks at alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) effectiveness as an anti-aging compound.  Finally, Peloton introduces new product updates and a pricing realignment in an attempt to keep its torrid growth rate during the pandemic.  That and more in this week’s show.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #peloton #akg #alphaketoglutarate #antiaging #covid #gyms #homefitness  #lululemon 

The fit tech wearables device market continues to flourish with new entrants and updated hardware.  This week, we discuss two brand new fitness tracker releases from Amazon and Fitbit.  Amazon’s first entry into the health and fitness tracker is the Amazon Halo Band, which uses an array of sensors to track one’s health and fitness.  Similarly, Fitbit’s Sense is a brand new smartwatch with a number of new features to guide one’s overall health.  Each of these trackers leverages the power of AI-powered cloud analysis to provide actionable insights into one’s overall health and wellness.  Nudging users to subscribe to cloud-based health and fitness services coupled with wearables is key for the future wellness ecosystem.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #fitnessapps #wearables #Amazon #AmazonHalo #Fitbit #FitbitSense #WearOS  #smartwatch 

With the pandemic essentially closing all gyms and fitness centers across the country for a chunk of 2020, Planet Fitness was no exception.  About 2000 Planet Fitness locations closed, resulting in a top-line revenue drop of 78%.  As these clubs start to re-open with strict cleanliness guidelines and new technology to aid members, can Planet Fitness make a comeback?  Also, health trackers and smartwatches might be able to help detect the coronavirus before more recognizable symptoms appear.  However, privacy and trust issues among the pandemic’s hardest-hit population segments remain.  This adds to the difficulty in getting those groups to participate in broader pandemic health studies.  We’ll take a look at some of the opportunities and challenges of fit tech as an early detection opportunity.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #fitnessapps #wearables #planetfitness #Fitbit #WearOS #Fitbit #smartwatch 

While the exercise-at-home trend has surged due to the pandemic, companies like Peloton have flourished.  But, in a post-covid world, will traditional gym membership models survive, or even thrive?  In other fit tech news, Apple is reportedly developing a fitness service where it may bundle a fitness app with other Apple hardware and/or services.  We’ll take a look at what such a service might look like, and how it fits into the Apple ecosystem.  Google is commissioning Samsung to develop a new microchip to among other things track body movements.  This fuels speculation that Google may be building a reference watch design to spark more next-gen WearOS devices.  Finally, Fitbit announces the latest subscriber growth of its fitness subscription service, Fitbit Premium.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #fitnessapps #Apple #digitalhealth #PixelWatch #WearOS #Peloton #Samsung #gymlife #Fitbit  

Samsung recently debuted the new Galaxy 3 Watch, and added several key features to allow the watch to measure the heart’s rate, rhythm and electrical activity.  Also teed up are features that measure VO2 max and SpO2 levels to measure cardiovascular activity and your blood oxygen saturation level respectively.  Also on the fit tech front, e-commerce giant Amazon has partnered with Oral-B to bring Alexa to your digital oral health.  Finally with TikTok in the news for trying to find a potential new US-based owner, the TikTok app shows no sign of slowing down as it integrates augmented reality fitness features for virtual workouts.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #fitnessapps #Amazon #digitalhealth #SamsungGalaxy3Watch #WearOS #ECG #TikTok #AR 

The global fitness tracker and wearable market continues to grow at a robust pace, and shows no sign of slowing down.  Consumers are able to learn much more about their fitness level and track their progress.  Also driving growth is the lower cost of technology combined with people’s greater interest in their overall health.  We take a look a some of these growth trends and where the wearables market is heading.  Also, fit tech startup Tempo, makers of the Tempo Home Gym, recently closed a Series B funding round valuing the company at about a quarter of a billion dollars.  Finally, the EU will undertake a 4-month deeper investigation of Google’s planned acquisition of Fitbit, and how that impacts the likelihood of the deal closing.   #fitness #fitnesstechnology #fitnessapps #Fitbit #digitalhealth #GoogleFit #EU #TempoHomeGym #google #fittech

With fit tech becoming more pervasive in apps, software, and wearables, how does one become more knowledgeable about these digital wellness technologies?  More specifically, how do kids get educated on using this new technology as they start utilizing apps for fitness or dieting?  We’ll take a look at a new study that studied early education about fitness technology with young children.  Next, we look at a potential future scenario where doctors write prescriptions for fitness and health (rather than just medications) for their patients to get the desired health effects and benefits.  Finally, a partnership forged between the University of Tennessee and fit tech company Whoop hopes to advantage UT athletes in their sports performance.     #fitness #fitnesstechnology #fitnessapps #educationiskey #digitalhealth #prescriptionforwellness #whoop #TennesseeVols #sportsperformance #fittech

As the pandemic stretches into the 6-month plus mark, the fitness technology world continues to evolve accordingly.  First up this week we have the German Fitness company RSG Group acquiring Gold’s Gym and its 661 worldwide locations.  Next, we take a look at a recent study out of Rutgers University that examines in-school food offerings and availability of physical activities and their impact on student health and fitness.  Finally, rumors are circulating that Under Armour is potentially looking to sell its popular MyFitnessPal digital app.  We take a look at the popular app and the cloud-based food and exercise database and why UA might be looking to sell what was previously heralded as their bridge to the digital customer.      #fitness #goldsgym #RSGgroup #elementaryschool #highschool #myfitnesspal #underarmour #fitnesstechnology #healthydiet #fittech  

As technology continues it’s relentless integration into our daily lives, that certainly includes fitness apps and workout equipment.  With increasingly user-friendly hardware and integrated software and services, growth in fitness technology shows no signs of abating.  Today we take a look at Mighty Health, a new startup with a mobile app specifically targeted at the over-50 population.  Next, we discuss the latest EU regulator action relative to Google’s planned $2.1B acquisition of Fitbit.  Finally, we discuss some of the ways you can integrate technology into your workouts - to help keep you motivated during your workouts and easily track the results of your progress.    #fitness #fitbit #google #fitover50 #analytics #mightyhealth #fitnesstech #fitnesstechnology #workout #smartwatch #fitnesstracker

In the ever-changing landscape of fitness technology, this week we discuss three new stories regarding mergers and acquisitions.  First up we have device-maker Garmin acquiring its former downstream data analytics partner, FirstBeat Analytics, and their go-forward plans.  Next, the debut of a new Peloton subscription on Roku devices provides numerous instructor-led workouts with or without equipment directly in the comfort of one’s living room.  Finally, with the plethora of connected fitness devices, smartwatches, and fitness phone apps, where does all of that personalized fitness data go?  We take a look at some of the factors behind Google’s planned acquisition of Fitbit as regulators review the details around data and privacy concerns raised by consumer groups.   #fitness #fitbit #Peloton #Garmin #dataprivacy #bigdata #homeworkout #analytics #machinelearning