FitLinxx
Last fall I got the chance to check out a FitLinxx installation at my girlfriend's gym. FitLinxx is a hardware/software package that is integrated into the equipment at your local gym - in this case the Bellevue YMCA. Their website (www.FitLinxx.com) says that their system is "installed at over 500 facilities in the U.S. and Europe and is used by over one million exercisers."
There are three key pieces to the FitLinxx system:
* sensors & touchscreen interfaces on gym equipment
* kiosk in the gym lobby
* website
The most interesting piece is the hardware attached to the gym equipment - the touchscreen console and the sensors. According to their site, their hardware is compatible with over 1000 models of fitness equipment. At the Bellevue YMCA, each piece of strength equipment had a touchscreen like the one shown below:
When you sit down at a machine you type in your FitLinxx PIN number and the console shows you how much weight you should lift and how many repetitions you should do. An on-site personal trainer can review your workout logs and make suggestions for your program.
Sensors on the machine measure whether you are exercising the proper range of motion and whether you are lifting the weight too quickly or too slowly.
The other pieces of the FitLinxx system are the kiosk and the website. Users must login at the kiosk before they can use their account with any equipment - which seemed like an unnecessary constraint to me. Users can also review their workout logs on the FitLinxx website. They also have an incentive program where users can compete within a facility or across the FitLinxx system to see who is working out the most.
All in all, a rather nifty system.