Technology encourages training

"It's a fun and quick way to improve your fitness. You simply place your personal card in the machine, start your exercise, and the machine automatically adjusts itself to your training program," explain energetic duo Tarja Ylitalo and Pirjo Kylmänen. They've just completed one of the three to four 30-minute sessions they take at the HealthEx gym every week during their lunch break. HealthEx gyms offer resistance exercise based on a background system that registers and analyses data such as heart rate. "The program also monitors progress and automatically increases resistance to make exercising as effective and motivating as possible. We´ve applied for a patent for this real-time system for updating exercise programs. Technology can be a personal trainer for people who want to look after their well-being," says Jouni Herranen, Managing Director of HealthEx.

Potential for growth

HealthEx is operated by the company Healthy Exercise Holding Oy, which is also involved in a TEKES (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) project entitled LIVE, which develops solutions for managing and processing information flows at sports and fitness facilities. Technology is a great tool for the HealthEx concept, which is being driven forward by an expanding and growing business. Herranen´s own assessment is that the company´s effective, technology-based concept has substantial international business potential. "For us, technology is a value innovation for our business, more than anything else. Technology helps us lower costs and improve our operations. At HealthEx gyms, the personnel can focus on customer service and the customers on easy, fun and effective training," says Herranen.

New kind of gym

In the HealthEx exercise-for-health concept the purpose of exercise is well-being, whereas conventional gym and fitness training have more competitive goals. "Health exercise is fun and effective because it focuses on the personal exercise needs and goals of each user, such as weight loss. The idea is to distinguish ourselves from other exercise services by going after a new and large target group. 60 percent of all people are potential customers for health exercise," Herranen says, commenting on the market potential of the concept. Currently there are eight HealthEx gyms in Finland and the number is increasing, as is the number of users. The HealthEx concept is the fruit of Herranen's extensive experience in developing the exercise service business. He has been active in the business for a good 20 years. He founded the first commercial gym in northern Finland and created the nationwide Wellness chain of fitness centers, which today is part of an international chain and known as SATS.