Norm Morrison Nov 21, 2021 11:25:13 AM 8 min read

Content vs Connected...What is Connected Fitness?

I've done a lot in this fitness industry, from selling equipment and teaching sales to designing equipment... In the last couple of years, I spent a lot of time on the connected fitness side, with Hydrow and consulting with other content companies.

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I'd say one of the big areas of change, as well as an area where a lot of people misunderstand equipment, is based on what connected fitness really is, versus what a Content Company is.  People use the terms interchangeably, and they really are very different things.
 
And let me also say before I really get into this that most of the companies that make really good content don't make quality equipment...yet. It's getting better, but especially for treadmills,  and in most areas of the industry, there's a wide difference between companies who make good content "for equipment" and people who make good equipment. The easy litmus test is still in the warranty.  Don't buy a crappy treadmill or strength piece with a 2-year parts warranty, just because they have a big marketing budget.  And you can see this playing out with some of the issues showing up in the early connected/content brands, frankly, like Peloton and their rise and collapse.
 
But to go back to the actual subject, when we consider something "connected", we are nearly always talking about the ability to connect to Wi-Fi.  And the first equipment that connected to the internet showed up in the early 2000s, and in a category called asset management, where you could plug in your treadmills at the gym and remotely the manufacturer would know if they were getting too much use or needed repairs.  Later, they added 'media consoles', that allowed each piece of equipment to watch TV.
 
Today, "Connected" means being connected to the internet still, but there's a lot on the internet. And just being able to stream Netflix, search the web, or watch YouTube doesn't much help you work out. It may distract you a little bit, but that's all.  So don't be fooled by a media screen with a few apps, but no content of its own.
 
Now, a real Content Company, like Peloton, Echelon, Hydrow or IFIT, make their own content to go along with their own equipment. And it's not just agnostic content made for anybody, the real Content Companies now spend millions of dollars..sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars... creating content that goes with their equipment, with their instructors, with their messaging,  with access to certain music...and the workouts they believe in and that the community believes in.
 
 
So buying a treadmill, or a bike, that has a screen that allows you to search the web or use somebody else's content is just a media screen, not the same as a Content Company. Lots of fitness equipment try this game, they come up with a media screen that's connected, and they pretend it allows you to do the same thing as the real Content Companies. But it's not the same.

It is normally not even close.

I cannot even tell you how many clients come in telling me they don't need the 'bells and whistles' until they find themselves on a walking tour by the pyramids or rowing down the Charles, or Biking down a computer-generated landscape. And the newer connected/content companies are getting better in quality and starting to look at biomechanics. 

But often, understand that clients are spending serious money and are buying a residential-only, moderate quality piece when they buy a Content Brand product.  This is actually one of the reasons for Peloton's actual fall from grace, their quality was never even average residential grade

So remember to seriously look at the quality of the equipment, the quality of the biomechanics, and the quality of the Content of any piece of equipment.  Or ask us at ConnectFit.  We're happy to help.
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Norm Morrison

Norm has a long history of building partnerships between Health and Wellness companies and meshing technology creators with manufacturers and vendors. He helped build the largest fitness equipment dealership from the ground up and has worked with nearly all of the major manufacturers in the industry. The top brands in the market come to him for advice about developing and improving their product. Norm has helped dozens of companies bring products to market and has an inside track on what’s new and what’s next in both the legacy and connected fitness industries.

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