ATN Week in Review: Fitness & Pharma Are Growing Closer

This week, we break down why Pvolve’s recent partnership with Weight Watchers is so important amid the rise of GLP-1s, as well as the rise of “sweat-jetting” fitness travel

If you watched the Super Bowl last weekend, you probably noticed a couple of things: we’re officially in the AI era, and the business of GLP-1s is booming.

Telehealth giants took up an inordinate amount of Super Bowl advertising airtime to push the benefits of weight-loss injections and pills. For fitness, there’s a big opportunity: as more and more people take GLP-1s, they’ll need to eat healthier and lift weights to maintain a healthy body composition.

This idea is nothing new — it’s been floating around in industry circles for two years now, at least. But the “fitness-x-pharma” economy is finally starting to take shape.

This week, Pvolve inked a partnership with Weight Watchers to make its low-impact workouts available on the weight-loss platform.

Pvolve’s deal with Weight Watchers is the biggest tie-up yet between a fitness brand and GLP-1 provider, but it follows in the footsteps of Club Pilates and Pure Barre partnering with Midi Health, and F45 Training linking up with Joi + Blokes.

Whatever your thoughts are on big pharma and GLP-1s (and there are legitimate reasons to be skeptical), there’s no denying that the movement represents a big opportunity for the fitness industry to position itself more squarely in the healthcare conversation.

The ‘Sweat-Jetting’ Movement Presents Another Opportunity for Fitness

Wellness tourism is booming, and there’s plenty of room for fitness to get in on the action.

In a new travel trends report, Tripadvisor coined the term “Sweat Jetting,” a phenomenon where travelers are booking trips around race weekends like marathons and athletic experiences like Hyrox.

The trend is growing fast, per Tripadvisor, and it’s good news for fitness brands.

Many fitness brands are already making moves on this front. The aforementioned Hyrox is launching a cruise, joining brands including Zumba, Under Armour and Club Pilates in taking to the high seas. The next big thing in wellness travel? It might be fitness resorts, like Zamaya in Tulum, Mexico, which offers a running track wrapped around its main building and recovery amenities like saunas, ice baths and a flotation chamber.

More News & Notes

• Apple is said to be scaling back its plans to launch an AI health coach, an interesting move as competition heats up in the wearables space.
• Sweat It Out: In a new study, exercise was shown to be just as effective as talk therapy in reducing depression and anxiety.
• Stride Fitness, the former Xponential brand, is leaning big into strength training as it plots a comeback under Shaun Grove.
• Skelcore keeps growing, hiring the creator of Cybex Eagle and one of the founding members of Freemotion.
• Luxury ski resorts are investing in premium recovery amenities amid the wellness travel boom.