Fitness Brands Embrace Foreign Languages in International Expansion Push
Global growth for Runna, Peloton and iFIT isn’t just about new equipment and content. It’s also about language and the tech that makes workouts accessible everywhere
Forget new treadmills or boutique studios. The hottest new move in fitness might just be subtitles and multi-language options.
Runna, the U.K.-based running coaching app recently acquired by Strava, has announced its most ambitious expansion to date: the app is now available in seven new languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese. The update unlocks access to personalized training plans and coaching videos for millions of runners across Europe, Latin America and Asia, as interest in running continues to grow.
The app, which now operates in more than 180 countries, says the move advances its global mission and goes beyond language with imagery and content catering to each market.
“This means millions more runners worldwide can fully experience what we’ve built,” Runna co-founder and CEO Dom Maskell said. “This is about more than translation: it’s about inclusivity, accessibility and global ambition to make running more accessible, effective and enjoyable for everyone.”
What Runna is doing in running, Peloton is doing in connected fitness, breaking language barriers to make its content more accessible and scale its community. Captions are now available across live and on-demand classes on Peloton equipment, and can be enabled on the Peloton App for iOS and Android, on the web and on compatible TVs.
Subtitles in other languages are also rolling out across a growing library of on-demand classes, with a limited number of dubbed sessions already available in German and Spanish, following Peloton’s announcement of AI-powered subtitles in English, Spanish and German in its FY25 Q3 shareholder letter. The connected fitness company is now translating roughly 100 classes every day.
Language is also central to iFIT’s growth play. The connected fitness brand’s AI Coach beta launched this year in 19 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Mexico and the U.K., creating personalized training plans that adapt in real time while also customizing language support for each region.
“Expanding iFIT’s AI Coach into 19 countries marks an important step in our goal to make personal fitness more accessible around the globe,” iFIT’s vice president of marketing, Kirsten Spittel Sloan, tells Athletech News. “Local language, tailored content and real connection. Our vision: every athlete, everywhere, gets a training experience built just for them.”
According to the company, members who use AI Coach complete 2.4 times more workouts and are nearly 20% more likely to stick to their goals. Meanwhile, iFIT is also making its gamified workouts more global. Ergatta’s Races experience has been enhanced with support for nine languages, including Spanish, Mandarin and German, alongside new landscapes and treadmill workouts designed for walkers and hikers.
Sloan added that iFIT’s focus remains on expanding support and growing its content library so athletes receive a customized experience wherever they train.
Apple is also leaning into the trend. The new AirPods Pro 3 deliver live translation for face-to-face conversations, heart-rate tracking and support for more than 50 workout types through the Fitness app on iPhone. They also include a new photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to measure heart rate and calories burned, plus Workout Buddy, an AI-powered coaching feature delivered through audio.