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Immersion: The great indoors
The fusion of technology, visions of nature and applied neuro-science is enabling health clubs to offer exciting, multi-sensory experiences, finds Julie Cramer
While many spa and wellness resorts benefit from being located in naturally-beautiful surroundings, the majority of health clubs are found in more built-up, and sometimes less inspiring urban environments.
However, with the rapid advancement of immersive technologies, using light, sound, scent and other elements to create heightened and highly-motivating workout experiences, every club now has the opportunity to bring the ‘awesome outdoors’, and other engaging environments, within its own four walls.
We talk to some of the tech creators and designers who are driving experiential new workout experiences about how they can benefit members and operators alike.
Wellscape specialises in creating fully immersive environments featuring full-spectrum lighting, atmospheric audio and ultra-high resolution LED screen technology. Our products enable any space to be transformed on demand or through a scheduling system, allowing for a seamless switch between various scenes and experiences tailored to each class type or application.
Screens can be used through fitness, health and wellness facilities, including studios, pools, saunas and reception areas, while also bringing light, movement and nature to any space without a window.
Truly immersive experiences can transform any space with dynamic lighting, atmospheric sound, and seamless scenic surround transitions. Imagine biking through the Swiss Alps today, the Tour de France tomorrow and along the California Coast the next day.
Members and guests enjoy custom-tailored journeys with each visit. This innovation eliminates the monotony of static scenes or wall-mounted TVs, surrounding them with ever-changing landscapes and destinations. We can also create touchless experiences through timed sequences, including movements of the sun, cloud, time of day, or seasons. This creates a self-guided experience without the need for attendants or staff.
They can enhance every area of a fitness, health and wellness facility. Whether it’s group exercise studios, meditation classes, or steam and sauna areas, these environments can transform typically enclosed spaces into outdoor escapes or any destination you desire.
More: www.wellscape.biz
We worked on Thermengruppe Josef Wund’s immersive wellness experience – called Forest Bathing: Lupuna – and launched at Therme Euskirchen in Germany, as well as playing a pivotal role in integrating sensory science and immersive technology to create a multi-sensory journey through the Amazon rainforest.
The project engages participants through scent, touch, sight, and sound, fostering a deep connection with nature, and is inspired by the Japanese practice of ‘Shinrin-yoku’ (forest bathing). Visitors step through a waterfall into a simulated tropical downpour, relax on vibroacoustic furniture, and observe the majestic lupuna tree.
Customers can benefit from enhanced mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. By integrating sensory elements, such as sound, light and visuals rooted in neuroscience, these environments promote relaxation, mindfulness, and deeper engagement, allowing participants to fully disconnect from external stressors. This leads to improved focus, mood, and overall workout effectiveness.
For operators, immersive wellness environments offer a competitive edge by attracting health-conscious consumers seeking transformational experiences. These environments also encourage longer visits and greater levels of customer retention, while fostering a reputation for innovation. Additionally, they can differentiate the brand by merging fitness, wellness, and cutting-edge technology.
Immersive natural elements integrate multi-sensory experiences inspired by nature, using soundscapes, lighting, and visuals to foster a sense of connection and rejuvenation.
Neuro-aesthetic design uses insights from neuroscience to craft environments that stimulate the senses and promote mental clarity, engaging participants in a deeper, more mindful workout, while expert collaboration involves wellness specialists and neuroscientists in the design process to create spaces that enhance both physical performance and emotional wellbeing.
Our current understanding of wellness offerings will evolve into spaces with seamless technology and natural elements, or ‘techno-sanctuaries’
Scientifically-validated experiential wellness will be used to create transformative health club spaces. We use the term ‘Experience as Medicine'.
More: www.whitemirror.studio
We were involved in transforming the spin studio at Grangemouth Sports Complex into a Les Mills immersive studio called The Trip. The highlight is a curved projection screen, illuminated by two, edge-blended Panasonic projectors, delivering seamless visuals for an immersive experience.
Dynamic lighting and audio are integrated and controlled via an iPad, allowing instructors to manage the environment, while bespoke FitBox automation integration allows for automatic class triggering without the need for staff attendance. The result is an engaging, immersive studio that receives great feedback from both staff and members, becoming a standout feature of the complex.
Visual engagement – seamless displays that immerse participants in the experience by occupying the full peripheral field of view; high-quality audio – a powerful, high-fidelity multi-channel sound system that creates an impressive soundscape with high levels of intelligibility for crisp and clear instruction and effect and; dynamic lighting – bespoke lighting effects tailored to the class content, and lighting design. Lighting can amplify immersion by extending the peripheral range of the display without becoming a distraction.
Customers experience more engaging and motivating workouts in immersive environments, which enhances satisfaction and loyalty. Shutting out the ‘outside world’, the immersive environment encourages participation and engagement, resulting in improved performance and enjoyment.
Operators can also benefit from increased retention, a competitive advantage through unique offerings, and more flexible class formats. These features help differentiate facilities, create social media buzz, maximise space usage and improve operational efficiency.
More: www.hutchi.tech
The team at Cactus designed Clmbr’s flagship immersive studio and retail space in Denver, Colorado, transforming the typically solitary activity of upright climbing into a memorable and social collective experience.
At the heart of our design approach is an interactive sculptural lighting system that was custom-designed and built for Clmbr studios. The light panels can be controlled by a tablet, allowing class instructors to have unparalleled control of the mood in the studio.
Strategically-placed mirrors and bespoke content creates the illusion of a fully encircling the ceiling, offering an immersive fitness experience with just a quarter of the space and hardware. This space was key in positioning the brand as more than just a piece of fitness hardware, but as a community-centric lifestyle brand.
Music has the power to improve our mood, deepen our sense of connection and increase our energy levels – all essential elements of a successful shared fitness experience.
It can trigger the release of dopamine – among other chemicals that bring us joy – and can also synchronise the heart rates of listeners.
When music is orchestrated to the movements and flow of a workout it can create a sense of collectivism that sparks social bonds and builds community.
Customers benefit through distraction and motivation, which leads to improved performance and outcomes. Well-orchestrated sensory triggers and gamification can lift members so they exceed their perceived limits. Operators benefit from having a more differentiated and compelling offering to market to their customers.
With the rise of extended reality technologies and AI tools, our ability to create hyper-personalised and immersive storytelling experiences has expanded exponentially. This new frontier has endless applications within the fitness, health and wellness market that will change the way we interact with our health and our bodies.
More: www.cactus.is
Studio owners are capitalising on immersive vibration experiences to differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Accomplish Fitness, Feel Good Fitness, and Leap Fit in the UK have all incorporated the technology into their class offerings, creating a unique blend of traditional fitness routines with the added advantage of high-tech, bio-hack enhancements.
Immersive fitness experiences are amplified by three key elements: sensory-rich audio and visual environments, interactivity through personalisation and real-time feedback. They also need diverse offerings that keep users engaged.
Additionally, by embracing vibration technology, boutique studios can differentiate by tapping into the rising demand for bio-hacking – fast, innovative and effective fitness solutions that align with today’s consumer focus on efficiency and performance.
These tech-enhanced experiences justify higher class prices, boosting revenue potential. Some operators are achieving remarkable results by using a combination of therapies. For example, Power Plate and red light therapy can be used together to accelerate recovery and fitness gains, as well as benefiting clients and members both physically and mentally.
The focus is less on fitness and more on ‘living well’. We believe that some of the key roles in shaping the wellness landscape are likely to be mental health and therapy, chronic pain management, rehabilitation and physiotherapy, preventative wellness, and social connection – all enhanced by maximising the human experience.
More: www.powerplate.com
We installed an immersive studio in Grosvenor’s headquarters in London. Regular yoga and pilates classes are held in the space, as well as virtual classes, sound baths and other wellness experiences. We’ve also completed designing two studios in a new seven-star hotel in central London, forming part of the wellness offering.
In both cases our integrated software and hardware platform, together with our own content, form the backbone of the immersive experience.
We focus on creating content that brings the outdoors indoors. When combined with vision, sound and scent, the user enjoys a biophilic experience with a sense of connection with nature right inside ImersU. This brings well-researched mental, physical and cognitive benefits, resulting in a reduction in stress and an increased sense of wellbeing.
Our content can be connected to hardware such as rowing machines, so users can be fully immersed in their environments in a connected way.
With our dynamic time-of-day and weather settings, users can enjoy a deeply connected experience. This also gives operators the chance to provide shared experiences with scientifically-proven benefits.
Content should be shown across three walls to provide an immersive visual experience with a 220-degree field of view – filling the extreme peripheral vision. This should be supported with sound and scent to cover the three key senses. Scent is important as it’s the fastest sense to reach the brain and is highly emotive.
Current technology is very exciting, as it enables the creation and capture of content that’s as close to the real-life experience as possible. Being in the right kind of nature delivers the best mental and physical experience, so if technology can recreate this experience indoors, this enhances the user experience. It also brings users into the spaces as this is where the experience will be at its best.
More: www.imersu.com
We transformed under-utilised space at Oak Park Active Living Centre in Walsall into a high-tech BOX12 studio, providing an engaging new fitness option for the local community.
Oak Park wanted a solution that could attract new members and energise existing ones without adding to the staff workload.
BOX12 was delivered as an all-in-one, automated training experience that enables a 24/7 offering with no downtime, no fixed schedules and minimal staff involvement. Virtual coaching screens guide a rolling 12-round circuit, so members can jump in at any time.
Within eight months, the installation was able to drive a 26 per cent increase in premium membership revenue at Oak Park.
Immersive fitness experiences are becoming essential in the increasingly competitive fitness landscape, driven in part by the growing popularity of hybrid fitness models that allow consumers to enjoy programmes that combine in-club and virtual training.
Firstly, the physical space must feel special and exciting. This includes visually stimulating design, such as bold branding, lighting, and sound to create an environment that energises and motivates.
Secondly is technology-driven programming, which should be reliable and repeatable, delivering the same high-quality workout with every session. By using virtual coaching screens and pre-programmed circuits, members can enjoy a premium, skill-based workout without any fluctuations in quality, no matter when they choose to train.
And finally, accessibility and flexibility: The experience must cater to a wide range of fitness levels and demographics, without members being bound by fixed schedules.
An immersive fitness environment boosts member engagement by creating an exciting space where workouts feel like an experience. Impactful visuals, virtual coaching, and skill-based programming keep members focused, motivated and coming back for more.
For operators, benefits include increased member retention, maximised space utilisation, and increased revenue. Under-utilised areas can be transformed into high-demand zones, and automation reduces staffing needs, delivering consistent, high-quality workouts while improving efficiency and ROI.
More: www.box12fitness.com
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