From membership-wide gamification challenges to VR equipment and immersive digital apps, operators are implementing technology in increasingly creative ways
The “gym” has come a long way from a simple place filled with rubber floors, some treadmills, free weights and selectorized strength machines — but it’s got further to go still.
While the fitness industry has long been criticized for being behind the times when it comes to adopting new technologies, several pioneering brands are starting to change that narrative. In the process, they’re forcing the entire industry to follow their leads, ushering in a new era of tech-forward fitness inside and outside the four walls of brick-and-mortar facilities.
ATN breaks down how top gym and club operators are utilizing tech in 2025, including gamification, VR-enabled equipment and digital apps.
EoS Fitness Adds Equipment Tracking, Gamification Tech
EoS Fitness is one of the gym industry’s biggest success stories over the past decade, growing from less than 20 locations to over 125 in that time period and recently agreeing to be acquired by TSG Consumer Partners in a deal that reportedly valued the Texas-based chain at $1 billion or more.
Part of that growth can be attributed to EoS’ willingness to innovate when it comes to technology.
EoS has become one of the first big-name American gym brands to integrate EGYM’s line of smart equipment and software into its clubs. That includes Gameday, the German fit tech giant’s gamification platform that allows a gym’s members to compete against other members, or themselves, while working out. Released in 2023, Gameday tracks metrics such as amount of weight lifted, and displays the results on a leaderboard.
Richard Idgar, chief operating officer at EoS, says EGYM’s tech has allowed the gym brand to gamify working out, driving member engagement.
“That is very appealing to a lot of demographics in our gyms, where there is a leaderboard, and they’re competing, not only monthly, but daily, against themselves and then other members, even other gyms,” Idgar said of how EoS is leveraging EGYM.
EoS also leverages EGYM tech that creates personalized workout routines for members, Idgar shared.
EoS has also partnered with Ecofit Networks, a tech provider that allows operators to track and analyze usage patterns on their equipment. Ecofit’s tech can drive insights into which machines need maintenance, and also help gyms make future purchasing decisions.
Idgar said Ecofit has been “very impactful” in helping EoS understand usage patterns on its equipment.
Ecofit has worked with many of the top gym brands in America, including Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness, to name just a few.
VR Fitness Starts To Gain Ground
If some of the hype around virtual reality (VR) fitness has cooled down in recent months, it might start to pick up again soon.
That’s because Xpriential, a maker of VR-like treadmills, is starting to gain traction with major gym chains. The New Jersey-based company makes an immersive treadmill that lets users run virtual marathons, explore natural terrains and partake in video game-style challenges.
Xpriential isn’t exactly VR, but it plays in the same realm.
“We’re not VR as we don’t require goggles and didn’t want the associated dizziness that often accompanies them,” the company’s chief commercial officer, Jeff McManus, told Athletech News. “However, we are a version of extended reality. We’ve married novel, premium hardware with our onshore-developed software and intelligence, resulting in a one-of-a-kind innovation station delivering what we call ‘phygital immersion.’”
The company has struck early partnerships with gym chains including The Edge Fitness Clubs, Powerhouse Gym and Fitness Factory. The Xpriential team believes its treadmills are fun enough to get people back on cardio machines inside gyms.
Greg Maurer, vice president of education at national chain Workout Anytime, has told ATN he sees a big future for Xpriential treadmills inside gyms and clubs.
“It’s mind-blowing,” said Maurer, who first tried the product at the IHRSA 2024 trade show. “I was literally in another world, running the exact course of the Boston Marathon. There were other runners, and I was passing them. It’s a completely differentiated experience.”
Life Time Sees Big Wins on Digital App
Don’t call Life Time a “gym” brand — but operators can learn a lot from how the athletic country club operator has developed and iterated on its member app.
In May 2024, Life Time made the bold move to make its LT Digital app free to non-members, allowing anyone to access the brand’s premium wellness offerings, including on-demand fitness classes. As of February, the operator had attracted an impressive 1.7 million non-member subscribers to the app, with projections of reaching three to four million by the end of this year.
For Life Time members, the app packs plenty of punch, too. The operator partnered with Microsoft to launch L.AI.C, an AI-driven companion for members with a chatbot that answers basic questions about Life Time locations, builds tailored workout programs and more.
“AI advancements are unstoppable, and we’re embracing this opportunity to provide our members with experiences that will only get better and better – just as we have committed from the start,” Life Time founder and CEO Bahram Akradi said.
Life Time’s app endeavors are part of the company’s broader mission to become a trusted health and wellness companion for people across the country, whether they belong to a Life Time club or not. Recently, Life Time launched in-app wellness challenges, one of which is a protein reset.
“From personalized, proactive suggestions and reminders to virtually unlimited opportunities to support our members’ unique needs and preferences, L.AI.C will further extend our brand as the trusted, go-to health and wellness partner for a lifetime,” Akradi said. “The best is yet to come.”
A version of this article originally appeared in ATN’s 2025 Technology & Innovation Outlook Report, a go-to guide for understanding how AI, smart equipment, VR fitness and more are reshaping fitness and wellness. Download the free report.
