Not everyone has time to head to the gym, and many business travelers know it is even hard to squeeze in a good workout, let alone make the time to meet with a trainer. But is it possible the fitness could be heading to the cloud, as in cloud computing?
The concept of the cloud is that data, information and even software isn’t locally stored or accessed, but rather connected to via the Internet. Thus the information and software lives in the “cloud.” Now some companies are looking to bring this type of off-site connectivity to fitness. Among these is Core Performance, which was recently profiled in NetworkWorld. As the story notes:
“Core Performance is using business rules software from IBM to automate the application of expertise gleaned by training elite athletes. The company is an offshoot of Athletes’ Performance, which provides training, nutrition and physical therapy programs to professional athletes. While Athletes’ Performance focuses on training its pro sports clientele, Core Performance is creating fitness programs and equipment geared for everyday people. Using IP-enabled exercise gear and cloud-based applications is key to its delivery model.”
According to Core Performance, the cloud-based technology further helps make it possible to achieve a scale that wouldn’t have been possible if the company had to rely solely on personal interaction between the clients and personal trainers, physical therapist and nutritionists.
What does this mean for equipment? As noted in the NetworkWorld story, “the flagship device is the CPro, an all-in-one strength trainer that self-adjusts and has an interactive monitor to show each user what to do. If someone is instructed to do a bench press, for instance, CPro will automatically adjust the motorized arms and bench to the right height, and the device will set the pneumatic resistance to the appropriate level.”
With the CPro your next workout might not take place in the gym. It might just take place in the cloud!
[Via NetworkWorld: Internet-connected exercise gear taps the cloud]