Zing Coach and Les Mills are partnering in what could be a test case for whether AI fitness apps can become a pipeline to the gym floor
Les Mills built its empire on the energy of group fitness crowds with thumping music and programming that pushes you right to the max before giving you a brief reprieve.
Now it’s going personal, partnering with Palta-backed Zing Coach to bring its programs to Zing Coach app users who have become accustomed to the app’s adaptive AI, which offers real-time form tracking and body composition analysis among its features.
Zing Coach raised $10 million in equity and debt financing in a Series A funding round in 2024.
The move represents somewhat uncharted territory. Although AI partnerships have become common among fitness hardware brands, such as Echelon’s deal with AWS to launch personalized workout experiences, a global group exercise brand aligning with an AI fitness platform may well be a first.
But the Zing Coach and Les Mills deal is meeting fitness consumers where they are. Despite the rise of AI fitness apps, most people are still breaking a sweat the old-fashioned way — at the gym, according to 62% of Zing Coach users, which happens to be where Les Mills generally lives. And according to Les Mills’ own 2026 Global Fitness Report, only 10% of consumers prefer an AI coach over a human one.
The data makes a case for hybrid training, too. Gen Z fitness fans who mix gym and home workouts log 67% more sessions than gym-only exercisers, according to Les Mills.
“By bringing Les Mills programs into Zing Coach, members get the motivation of human-led workouts and the flexibility of AI, the best of both worlds,” Les Mills chief digital distribution officer Marina Nola said.
Zing Coach CEO Anton Marchanka added that integrating Les Mills classes solves a consistency problem many fitness consumers face, as it changes how users train week to week.
“Les Mills’ structured strength, conditioning and progression-based workouts are empowered by Zing’s AI model, making them available in flexible formats that fit busy schedules, whether users train at home, in the gym, or alongside live classes, so consistency feels achievable instead of overwhelming,” he said.
The Les Mills deal is Zing Coach’s second major partnership this year, following one with Paris Saint-Germain in January to bring player-inspired workouts to the soccer club’s global fanbase.
