As Meta winds down its VR fitness studio, iFIT is expanding its AI-generated content
With participation in marathons on the rise — leading to a boom in “runcations” — and walking ranking as the second-most popular activity in Strava’s 2025 “Year in Sport” report, more people are spending time on treadmills to train and decompress.
iFIT, the company behind NordicTrack, is leaning into that reality with a new workout format designed to make indoor miles feel less repetitive, using immersive, dreamy environments built with generative AI and paired with custom music scores.
It comes in the form of “Realms You Can’t Reach,” a series of five 20-30 minute, first-person treadmill workouts built in partnership with design and technology firm Huge and powered by Google’s Veo 3.
The title of the series is fitting. The workouts move runners and joggers through several settings that would be impossible to film in the real world.
“We didn’t use AI to replace what already works, we used it to unlock what’s never been possible before,” iFIT chief subscription and content officer Jeremy McCarty said. “By designing worlds specifically for training, we’re delivering experiences that feel cinematic, intentional and built for performance.”
There’s a prehistoric landscape populated by roaming dinosaurs, a solar-system journey that glides past planets and a re-created version of Ancient Rome. Other runs take place in a floating “City of the Gods,” built among sky gardens and marble structures, and in an underwater interpretation of Atlantis, depicted as a submerged city of glowing ruins and coral.
iFIT has shared a short preview clip of the experience.
“These new treadmill-based immersive runs showcase how AI can be used as a serious production tool, one that unlocks entirely new creative territory,” Huge creative director Eric Vienna said.
AI Fitness Rises, VR Fitness Falls
As iFIT expands its investment in immersive fitness, Meta has stepped back from it. The tech giant recently placed its VR fitness app, Supernatural, into permanent maintenance mode, leaving a vocal user base unsettled and wondering where to turn next.
Beyond its push into immersive fitness, iFIT is also moving into boutique fitness through a new partnership with F45 Training.
Under the deal, iFIT will license and feature a curated collection of F45’s high-intensity functional training workouts on its streaming platform for at-home use. The two companies will also co-produce new digital fitness content, combining F45’s signature programming with iFIT’s production capabilities and global distribution.
