Personal fitness and a fondness for the latest in high-tech gadgets don't always go together. After all, the lure of the couch is often at odds with the call of the gym. But ever since Jane Fonda's 1982 workout tape cracked open the American fitness market and drove sales of then-new VCRs, there's been a gradual blending of technology and fitness.
Since the early 1990s the number of people with gym memberships has more than doubled, and now rests at 41 million. Given the rise in the number of people exercising, the growth of high-tech exercise equipment, from GPS-enabled handhelds to microprocessor-laden wrist watches, isn't surprising. Perhaps the biggest boon for people who exercise has been the proliferation of high-tech gadgets geared to keeping them entertained while they burn calories jogging or cycling.
Digital music players are a perfect example. In a survey conducted last year by market researcher American Sports Data, 26.6% of respondents said their favorite activity was exercising to music.
That's a statistic not lost on Apple ( ) and Nike ( ). The duo made waves last summer by introducing a joint product, the Sport Kit, which has special shoes that transmit information about a runner's distance and pace to an iPod. The $29 product was a huge hit for both companies.
In December, Nike reported second-quarter sales growth of 8% in the U.S., to $1.
4 billion. At the time, Chief Executive Mark Parker said that sales of Nike + iPod shoes and accessories are turning out to be huge. Makers of map and road-based navigation devices also have improved the technology into gear destined for the active.
Along with units designed for cars, GPS maker Garmin sells devices for running, biking, boating, and hiking. The prices of its Forerunner series of GPS watches range from $100 to more than $375. According to Mike May, spokesman for the Washington (D.
C.)-based Sporting Goods Manufacturers Assn., that proliferation is understandable.
Technology and exercise equipment definitely have a symbiotic relationship, he says. We like feedback, we like to be entertained, and so it's only natural.
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