Most people go to the gym with a goal in mind: to get fitter or stronger, to lose excess weight, to perform at their peak in a certain discipline.

When people train smart, they reach their goals faster. This is important for gym owners and managers, because members who achieve their goals are happier and more engaged.

Enter smart training machines, like the DKN Smart Training Concept, exclusive to GymQuip.

Data-driven, AI-powered, connected fitness equipment is the future of the industry. In this guide we’ll reveal why the most ambitious and forward-thinking gym owners are currently racing to fill their facilities with smart gym solutions.


How smart training machines enhance member engagement

Modern gym members know that fitness is a numbers game. If you want to lose weight, you need to run a calorie deficit. Getting stronger demands progressive overload in your lifts. Increasing endurance is about exercising for longer periods of time at ever-higher intensities.

For proof of the importance of data, just look at your members’ wrists. Many if not most of your customers will wear a smart watch or fitness tracker while they train, to track performance metrics through their workout.

By offering your members an extra level of data-driven insights, in the form of AI-powered workouts from interactive fitness machines, you offer a more engaging, enjoyable and effective experience:

  • Personalised workouts: Personalised training machines can create custom workouts based on a member’s goals and abilities. It’s as if every machine comes with its own personal trainer, ready to offer expert guidance for free.
  • Live tracking and performance analytics: Members can receive real-time feedback on their performance. Some machines can even adjust resistance and difficulty on the fly to provide a consistently challenging workout.
  • Gamification and interactive training: Smart equipment can create virtual challenges and guided workouts designed to keep members engaged and motivated.
  • Wearable connectivity: By choosing smart equipment that can connect with popular fitness trackers, you can give your members even more data, which can be used to generate even more training insights, to help them reach their fitness goals sooner.

Ultimately smart equipment can be a huge lure for potential members, particularly right now, while it remains relatively rare. Marketed well, it can be the USP that helps you attract more members than ever before.

Reducing equipment downtime with smart technology

There are two ways to make more money in your gym: increase revenue or reduce costs. We’ve already discussed how smart gym equipment can help with the former, but it can help with the latter too.

Smart machines can tell you precisely when and how they need to be maintained, lowering the cost of upkeep while extending the life of the equipment. Sensors detect wear and tear, alerting gym operators before breakdowns occur and avoiding costly repairs. Enhanced energy efficiency can also reduce power consumption, which can lower your energy bills.

You spend less on repairs, replacements, maintenance and utilities, all while attracting more members with the latest and greatest gym tech.


Smart training machines and member retention

Smart training equipment isn’t just a great way to attract new members, it can significantly increase your retention rates too, by enhancing the experience that your current members enjoy: 

  • A personal trainer-style experience: From crafting custom workouts to offering advice on proper form, smart machines can deliver a personalised experience to your members – one that genuinely compares to that of a personal trainer (but that won’t replace them any time soon.)
  • User-friendly interfaces: Smart machines can be incredibly simple to use. Intuitive user interfaces mean that the overwhelming majority of your current members will quickly get comfortable with the new equipment.
  • Automated progressive overload: Smart machines can help users maintain a progressive training regimen. This helps to ensure that members continue to see results, which can reduce drop-off rates.
  • A future-proofed gym: By investing in the future of gym equipment now, you get ahead of your competitors, and capitalise on an advantage that may not exist in a few years’ time, when AI gym equipment has become commonplace.

Perhaps you don’t own a commercial gym at all. Perhaps you manage a gym within a hotel or apartment block. In that case, a lot of the points around member acquisition and retention remain pertinent, they just apply to residents and guests instead.

A smart gym in a hotel can be a real selling point for guests, particularly for those valuable corporate travellers who tend to book during mid-week lulls, and who can be less price-sensitive than leisure travellers.

By including a smart gym in your plans for a new apartment block, you can add an enticing amenity that could prove the X-factor that gets a potential buyer to choose your property over another.

The future is smart: why now is the time to upgrade your gym

The best time to upgrade to smart, modern gym technology was yesterday. The second-best time is now. By making an investment in technology like the DKN Smart Training Concept, you’ll enjoy:

  • Happier, more committed members: Smart equipment enhances the member experience and boosts retention rates by offering personalised workouts, progress tracking and interactive/gamified features.
  • Enhanced member acquisition: By spreading the good word about your smart equipment, you can become the go-to gym for anyone looking for the most effective training possible.
  • Competitive edge: We’re at the very beginning of the smart gym equipment curve. By getting in early, you’ll enjoy a competitive advantage over your main rivals.
  • Data-driven insights: You can use smart equipment to track usage rates, peak hours and member performance, which helps you to better understand and cater to your members.
  • Increased revenue streams: Smart machines feature tech that can open up new money-making opportunities, like live-streaming interactive workouts that your members can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.
  • Efficiency and maintenance: Advanced diagnostics can allow smart machines to identify and highlight potential issues early, reducing maintenance costs and equipment downtime.


GymQuip: your smart training experts

At GymQuip we’ve spent the last three decades helping people reach their fitness goals by placing ourselves at the leading edge of fitness innovation, including as the exclusive supplier of DKN smart gym equipment in Australia.

Our latest offering is the DKN Smart Training Concept: a collection of 9 machines designed to take strength training to the next level, with the help of built-in AI. It’s the ultimate addition to your commercial gym – an offering that allows any member, no matter their fitness level, expertise or membership tier, to enjoy training that is precisely customised and calibrated to their needs in real time.

Get in touch with our friendly team today to learn more about how DKN’s smart gym machines could transform your business.