How Gyms Can Turn Dead Space Into Profit With Connected Fitness Equipment

Echelon can turn any unused or unoccupied area into an asset for both gym operators and fitness enthusiasts

Most operators see dead space as an unfortunate but inevitable byproduct all gyms and fitness facilities have to deal with. Echelon sees it as an opportunity. 

As a worldwide supplier of connected fitness equipment, the brand knows better than most how to make exercise efficient, smart and safe. When Echelon’s innovative products are applied to a gym’s vacant, unused areas, it turns dead weight into profit. 

“We want to help commercial fitness facilities have alternate revenue streams,” said Echelon Fitness Regional Sales Director Adam Maloney. “That is the goal and there’s multiple technologies that we’re exploring.”

Use All of Your Gym Floor

Echelon’s Commercial Studio lies at the heart of its efforts to help gyms better utilize their space. The fitness platform grants users access to Echelon’s always-expanding live and on-demand library of private or group fitness classes — now reaching over a thousand videos. 

Along with an 8-foot HDMI cable, power supply, and mounts, the studio comes with a 24-inch touchscreen to make the classes accessible. It’s easy to set up and turns any gym area into a fully equipped fitness space at a variety of levels. 

“When you talk about maximizing space, it’s the Commercial Studio,” said Maloney. “It takes a space that could be multi-use, maybe it is a Group X room that has a schedule where a live trainer goes in there and leads people through an exercise – but trainers aren’t often doing that 24/7, so in those in-between hours, something like the Commercial Studio can be utilized to run a class with an on-demand library that has thousands of different classes.” 

“We make 40 to 60 live classes a week that get rolled up into this platform, and this is just on a 24-inch tablet that gets connected to a screen,” Maloney added. “It’s very cost-effective and easy to put into a space.”

Create Unique Experiences for Premium Members

For gyms, these once-empty spaces become avenues for new revenue. 

“Some of our partners are utilizing separate spaces that have a higher membership access point to get access to something like a black card or some kind of higher membership cost,” explained Maloney. “This is a space where they can come in and get that connected fitness experience, but only that upgraded membership gets access. Those facilities are seeing a big return and high usage.” 

“The beauty of connected fitness is that you can literally dial up whatever you want, whenever you want and that’s key to maximizing space,” added Shane Lehto, Director of Fitness Development with Y Purchasing, an organization that helps YMCAs purchase equipment and services. “It’s a way to turn a small space into a complete studio environment for members.”

Capitalize on Understaffed Hours

Echelon’s smart equipment makes use of understaffed time just as well as it does unused real estate. With the Commercial Studio, anyone can access safe workout instructions and guidance without the presence of another individual. 

Echelon believes the appetite for this type of exercise of this sort has never been higher.

“(Younger) generations want to get the training experience and be engaged without actually talking to anybody,” said Maloney. “It’s similar to the success of self-checkout at grocery stores. To capitalize on the opportunities with this next generation, a product that can offer that engagement to some degree without an actual person is exactly what many people are looking for.” 

Lehto adds that he’s seen a “major increase in members of all ages following app-based training programs.”

“Some have shared that they work with a trainer via an app or they follow a particular influencer or subscribe to one of the many great fitness content providers out there that are providing the programming,” he noted. “I’m certainly not suggesting personal training or small groups are declining by any means, but I am suggesting capitalizing on space by keeping it consistently active throughout the day.”

Echelon’s multimedia coaching platform feature essentially gives gym members a virtual trainer accessible through text, video messaging and live calls. This provides personalized workouts and nutrition guidance to help individuals reach their goals.  

Connected Fitness Never Stops

Looking forward, Echelon is excited about new connected fitness additions to its equipment lineup, including an upcoming slat treadmill and a stairmill.

“What I’m excited about with the stair mill is the content that we’ll bring on it,” said Maloney. “The stairmill market is extremely hot. The one thing it is missing, however, is really good content that could go with it. We’re going to have that coaching element on a stairmill as well as gamification.”