Last Updated on September 2, 2020

We all know the best way to exercise is with a personal trainer. You know, that sergeant major character that follows you around the gym encouraging you to do that one last rep?

Personal trainers and fitness instructors are certainly known for their inspirational approach!

A recent innovation, however, suggests that gym instructors could soon have an even more unreal dedication to fitness. This is because our future personal trainers and fitness gurus are set to be finely-programmed robots.

These fitness instructor robots with encyclopaedic knowledge of the gym will join other automatons trained to do a variety of tasks, such as teaching and completing household chores.

Juan Fasola from the University of Southern California has developed a gym instructor robot. The robot’s main task is to teach people basic exercises to help the body maintain and improve its strength and flexibility.

Increase strength and flexibility with a robot gym instructor

Gym instructor robots can be trained to enact an exercise, such as lateral raises, where the arms are lifted out to the sides. The robot will perform the exercise accompanied by a mechanical voice-over to explain the specific movement and its benefits.

The exerciser then copies the robot’s demonstration and the robot can sense if they have performed it correctly.

These gym robots are especially great for working with elderly people who want to improve their flexibility and children who love the idea of a robot personal trainer!

One of the great things about robot gym instructors is that they enable all people to have personal instruction who might otherwise feel uncomfortable with one-on-one tuition.

Some people may feel intimidated in an exercise class or even with a real life trainer, so the robot takes away some of the tension that may be experienced by some exercisers.

Robot gym instructors and personal trainers also have the benefit of eliminating human error, such as forgetfulness and emotional hindrances, such as impatience.

House robots for domestic chores

Some gyms use virtual gym instructors, enabling people to undertake exercises and practice using the equipment through virtual tuition.

An interesting discovery was that people actually tend to prefer the physical interaction with personal trainer robot to a virtual exercise session.

The aim of the developers is that robots will become part of our home lives, able to undertake a number of different tasks around the home.

Future robots would be able to help out with domestic chores and serve as general helpers, for example, reminding elderly people to take their medication.

A house robot would be able to maintain itself by sensing when it is running low on power and plugging itself in to recharge. It would also be able to start itself up as programmed.

So you can be woken up for your breakfast, followed by your early morning gym session by your own robot instructor.

Advancements in ‘smart’ gym tech

It is not only in gym instruction where technology is sweeping in to shake up the word of exercise. As the interest in fitness heats up, gyms have to compete with each other to provide the best experience in terms of equipment and variety.

This high level of competition is fueling the advancement of gym technology and robot personal trainers are just one of the many new innovations that could be seen in your local gym in the near future.

‘Smart’ gym tech has taken the fitness world by storm and we now face a myriad of choices when it comes to improving our fitness experience.

Right now, London-based Virgin Active gyms are offering their members a smart wristband that tracks their workout and syncs exercises between equipment and their smartphone.

These wristbands also work as locker keys, membership cards and exercise trackers for use at home. Virgin Active’s fitness tracker comes onto a market already saturated with fitness tech and tracker apps such as Fitbit, Nike and Jawbone trackers.

Exercise machines at technologically advanced gyms offer the use of portals for accessing the internet, chatting on Skype, watching videos and playing games while you exercise.

Other cool tech advancements mean that some gyms have sports halls with automatically changing floors.

Bright LED lights mark out the floor for different sports, such as tennis, volleyball and badminton and the markings can be changed at the touch of a button by turning the lights on and off.

The lights are then covered with toughened glass panels which can be sprung and heated for comfort.

This allows you to change the markings on the floor easily, depending on the sport being played. So you can play 5-a-side football then change the markings for basketball, badminton, netball or volleyball, just by flicking a switch.

Virtual Reality Gym Tech

Other developments set for gyms include spinning classes where the bikes tilt to provide real hills and turns. Riders could also soon be wearing 3D headsets to provide a realistic track or trail environment.

Runners on treadmills will soon also be able to immerse themselves in their environment of choice.

If you fancy a run by the sea but you live in Birmingham, or want to run through a leafy forest, no problem. All outdoor virtual reality situations could be provided at the flick of a switch on the treadmill control panel.

There will also be the option for rowers to enjoy rowing through a virtual river, while cyclists can cycle down a virtual mountain track all from the safety of the gym.

A fully immersive exercise experience

It seems our future gyms will not only be home to robot instructors, they will also offer a realistic and fully immersive experience for any exercise.

The technology available will enable us to monitor every move, enhance any exercise and easily track our fitness improvements.

What do you think about these smart fitness gadgets? Do you think they enhance our performance? Or do you prefer to get back to basics?

Would you use a robot personal trainer or do you prefer the human kind?