Technology for Virtual Fitness

TRANSFORMING FROM GROUP EXERCISE TO VIDEO PRODUCTION

By Matt Eckstein, CTS-D, AE Design & Robert McDonald, NCARB, LEED AP, CEO/Architect, OLC

Recreation centers have traditionally served as places of connection for a community, combining social activities with fitness and recreation to strengthen community ties and improve the lifestyles of millions

of Americans. Most of these centers include some sort of group exercise studios that were designed to host groups of people all exercising together, but like many markets they have had a sudden disruption to a core tenant of the service: the ability to meet in groups in person. For now, many recreation centers have hastily arranged digital events, Zoom workouts, group/simultaneous runs using whatever means available to them, with the results varying from amateurish to semiprofessional. But some are looking further into the future than the current crisis and planning for a renaissance following the pandemic age. While it is important to open back up to in-person workouts as soon as possible, future-proofing an in-person and online hybrid model is critical to long term success. If we can create events and workouts that can work both in-person and on-line, we can also reach community members who may not have been able have some of this equipment installed in to visit in-person due to their schedule, your space. geography, or physical limitations. To further increase production value, Livestreaming, conferencing, and instantconsider automatic camera controllers feedback technology will only continue that allow multiple camera angles based to be integral to the way that we live, on where the teacher is in the room, and work, and recreate. The upside is it’s a video capture card. This allows for also becoming cheaper and easier to flexible room setups and plug-and-play live implement into already existing spaces, streaming. And don’t forget your audio and the quality can go up with just a capture and mixing. For hybrid classes few upgrades. with music, allowing for the soundtrack in the room to be streamed over the Technology Upgrades internet live stream, but ducked under the instructor’s voice is a small but powerful All of this technology doesn’t mean feature that can take your class to a more hiring a full-time production crew, but professional level. can be designed and set-up by a skilled technology designer to be user friendly through the use of presets, scenes, and simple user interfaces. This person should be able to assess your needs, work with your budget to find the needed hardware, and to customize the software as needed. Soft codec-based live streams (the technical term for services like Zoom) could come with a small class fee; just as you would for a virtual class through a university. As the revenue stream from these classes increases, you can use some of the funds to continue to improve the technology and your production value. Huddly IQ A quick way to upgrade your digital presence include a computer, a camera such as a Huddly or Vaddio USB camera, a reliable internet connection, and a small microphone system, such as a Shure SLX-D wireless system with a headset microphone, or a Fitness Audio microphone system. It’s likely that you may even As you ramp up your technology offerings, do consider your content. The days of broadcasting to a passive audience are quickly coming to an end, and interactivity and participation are critical. Capitalizing on technology that allows participants to share their progress and experience can make anyone feel included no matter where they are. One of the exciting things in a spin class is the competition on the leaderboard. Peloton, a popular home-cycling system, and other similar products use technology that reports back to the instructor’s dashboard about their class’s progress/statistics, but that concept can be applied to recreation center clients with simple technology like Wahoo Fitness sensors which can report stats back to the live instructor.

Don’t forget to add some lightheartedness and novelty. Goat yoga is unusually popular, and a fun new internet trend is for goats to join web conferences with the appropriately named GoatToMeeting. Why not combine the two, and offer a

live-stream of a class to accommodate the people in person, as well as to include those following along at home with a branded goat filter on Snapchat or Instagram? If you’re not interested in livestock on your yoga mats, offer themed nights – yoga in your PJs, or yoga in a onesie – and curate a digital space for people to share their outfits online through hashtags or a newsletter. Really consider the digital and in-person hybrid, including what tools someone might need to join in. Art classes are being held digitally, with a popular trend of a participant receiving a painting kit at home, who then joins into a virtual class, with an instructor who teaches them how to use these items. For those who can’t be on site, consider sending a “workout package” - weights, a yoga mat, a jump rope – directly to the participants. This could all be part of a recreation center’s fee for those classes.

Effects on Building and Space Design

As we move forward into the digital space, opportunities will appear to create spaces that are more flexible as hybrid digital and physical spaces. We are already considering the technological additions to bring video streaming into the space, but there are certainly considerations for how to set up a room so that it is successful as both a space for in-person activities, and for streaming digital activities. Any time video- and audio-conferencing technology is deployed, acoustics, lighting, and wiring concerns are worthy of discussion. Think of your Aerobics Studio as a Video Production Studio, and you get the gist. Like technology upgrades, just a few upgrades to your physical spaces can take an otherwise banal production to new heights of professional quality and improved user experience. Acoustics can be a huge challenge. Applying some sound absorptive wall panels, ceiling panels, floor mats, etc. will help “deaden” the space. Marrying the room acoustics to the microphone technology being used will make for a more successful deployment. If the room has less-than-ideal acoustics for streaming or audio reinforcement, consider a head-worn wireless microphone. Area microphones are less expensive but require a more ideal acoustical environment.

Lighting is also important. Recreation centers are typically well lit, but you now have to consider in-person task lighting as well as lighting for your cameras. You do not want to end up transmitting a silhouette like your instructors are broadcasting from the witness protection program. Lighting for video conferencing

often involves front light (key and fill lights) and backlight. Use the key light to illuminate the subject on camera, the fill light to “fill in” shadows, and the backlight to help the subject stand out from the background. However, too much backlight can create silhouettes, and too much front light can create unattractive shadows or wash out the subject. Daylighting is great for in-person workouts but can be difficult to control during a broadcast. If you don’t currently have window coverings or shades, consider adding these to exterior or even interior windows so you can let in the sun or block it out depending upon your needs. Behind the scenes, consider the infrastructure for internet and power. To eliminate trip hazards and unattractive sight lines, the ability to hide the wiring within the walls/floors is always helpful. There are also some wireless streaming devices, such as Teradek that don’t need power or data that can help to retrofit spaces that are underserved by data and power. Digital programming via the internet is here to stay. So if you want to get it right and make sure that people can really see and hear that goat doing yoga or whatever you decide to broadcast, take the time to upgrade your studio and technology. It will be well worth it in the long run.

If you want to get it right and make sure that people can really see and hear that goat doing yoga or whatever you decide to broadcast, take the time to upgrade your studio and technology.