Personal Training Software Market

Market Overview

Personal Training Software is an innovative platform designed for personal trainers to manage, schedule, track, client appointments, and also customize their workout and nutrition plan. Various benefits of the software include branding and promotions of their services to a larger fitness enthusiast audience, client engagement and management tools, use of the database to track and record the progress of the client, and seamless payment transaction, among others. The booming fitness industry has encouraged many individuals to choose personal training as their career, thereby driving the growth of the personal training software market. 

Market Dynamics

Government Initiatives Encouraging Health and Wellness Awareness

The sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, and stressful work atmosphere have curtailed a healthy and fit lifestyle of the youth and the middle-aged population. Increasing health and wellness awareness has led them to incorporate healthy habits into their daily chores. Additionally, government initiatives have aided the awareness of health and fitness programs. For instance, on June 25, 2019, the government of Mexico signed an order to set up a fitness and wellness program for the state government workers as a means of stimulating work and life balance and for a healthy lifestyle. The need for professional guidance from certified trainers aids the growth of the market.

Physical Absence of Trainers Likely to Hamper the Market Growth

While working out by dint of a digital medium, the physical absence of guidance can lead to incorrect techniques and poor postures, thus increasing the risk of injury. They can lead to small issues such as sprains and muscle pulls or severe issues such as fractures and other painful injuries. According to the National Safety Council, in 2017, there were approximately 526,000 injuries in personal exercises with or without equipment. The increasing number of injuries has, however, restrained the incorporation of personal training software.  

Integrating Technology for Enhanced Experience

The integration of technology such as Artificial Intelligence and 3D animation has led to the advent of a different level of personal training. The AI-based trainers are similar to the human trainers due to their instant availability to interact with the client, schedule the workout plan, and keep track of the exercise routine. Furthermore, the incorporation of 3D animated exercise videos of the personal trainer enhances the virtual training experience. In May 2019, Aaptiv, a workout application, launched Coach — an AI-based personal trainer that allows the members to measure their progress using AI. 

Regional Analysis

Presence of Obese Population and their High Risk of Diseases in North America

North America accounted for the largest market share for the personal training software on account of the rising number of fitness trainers and instructors and the high adoption of fitness applications. According to Ourworldindata.org, the United States accounts for 36% of the obese adults; hence, increasing the risk of diseases such as osteoarthritis, heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes, among others. Additionally, technological advancement has allowed the North America region to be the early adopter of the software. On June 25, 2019, the government of Mexico signed an order to set up a fitness and wellness program for the state government workers as a means of stimulating work and life balance and for a healthy lifestyle. The U.S. government passed the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act on June 25, 2018, allowing the Americans to use tax-free accounts to pay for club memberships, qualified fitness experts, youth sports fees, and sports safety equipment.

Asia-Pacific’s Favorable Government Initiatives

Asia-Pacific accounts for a substantial share of the personal training software market. The rising government initiatives by the countries of the region, such as China, India, Australia, and Japan, among others, have bolstered the market growth. For instance, the Government of China launched a strategic plan for improving the region’s physical fitness and health levels. The government of India launched the Fit India movement on August 29, 2019, thus urging the people to stay fit. According to the “Asia Pacific Health Club Report, 2018 by International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association (IHRSA)”, there are 22 million fitness enthusiasts across 25,000 fitness clubs in this region.

Segmental Analysis

The Burgeoning Number of Fitness Trainers

The fitness training segment is anticipated to snowball than the other segments. According to Statistia, the fitness application market grew from USD 3343 million in 2017 to USD 3698 million in 2019, thus boosting the fitness training segment growth. The U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics reported approximately 356,900 jobs of fitness trainers and instructors with a 13% rise in the forecast year. The burgeoning fitness trainers and instructors, on the other hand, is expected to propel the segment growth. Additionally, in the 2018 Food and Health Survey, 77% of the Americans were observed of limiting the sugar intake. They follow various types of diets that comprise 16% of the low carb diets and intermittent fasting.

Figure: Types of the eating pattern followed by Americans

Software’s Gamut of Benefits for Gyms, Fitness Studios, Wellness Centres, Among Others

Most of the companies provide software that is specially designed for personal training. It imparts an experience that entails fitness training, nutritional support, and continuous guidance. The multiple benefits such as client engagement and management, easy branding and marketing of the trainer, integrated tools for easy calculation of nutrients and body analysis, and affordable prices, among others, have increased its usage among the fitness trainers. The software is highly beneficial for businesses such as gyms, fitness studios, wellness centers, and group fitness classes, among others. The benefits include complete business management, online group training, easy app integrations, and boot camps and classes. Companies such as Trainerize - TSR Gym Technik Ltd, Virtuagym, MINDBODY, Inc., and FitSW Ltd, among others, offer software for businesses.  

Impact of covid-19

The pandemic has resulted in the lockdown across almost all the countries of the world. It has led to a shutdown of all the gyms, fitness studios, group classes, and wellness centers, among others. As a consequence, there was a significant rise seen in the fitness application as the preference to online fitness. Personal training, as well as other facilities of the software such as exercise videos, fitness tracking, and nutrition support, among others, led to the continuity of the fitness regime of the fitness enthusiast. The companies started offering free workout videos and live sessions for the members to ensure their engagement. Thus, the COVID-19 outbreak has been beneficial for the personal training software management market.

Recent Developments

• On August 15, 2017, Trainerize announced its strategic partnership with MINDBODY. The partnership has offered better business solutions to the Gyms and studios for applications such as fitness, wellness, nutrition, and beauty, among others.
• On February 26, 2018, Virtuagym partnered with Perkville – a leading customer reward platform in the health and fitness industry. This partnership has enabled the members of the Virtuagym software to provide referral and rewards programs to their clients, thus increasing the sales.