68 I Fitnessy induction to Third Space gym in
London’s Soho involves standing on a
futuristic-looking weighing machine
and gripping two metal prongs while
an electric current passes through me
(thankfully, I can’t feel it). On the screen, the outline
of a figure begins to fill in, and readings show what
percentage water, protein, mineral and fat I am. I won’t
share the numbers, but it was certainly enlightening.
Weight is a crude reading of one’s physical make-up,
while BMI (body mass index), derived from your weight
divided by your height, is not much better. Using this
calculation, someone muscular could be considered
obese because muscle is heavier than fat.
The InBody Analysis machine is more scientific,
giving comprehensive readings of your entire
physiology – whether your skeletal muscle mass is
normal, how much visceral fat you have around your
internal organs (not too much, hopefully), how much
water is in your system (both intra- and extra-cellular),
and the distribution of lean mass versus fat around
your arms, trunk and legs.
A typical gym induction might include a
questionnaire about your lifestyle, the taking of a few
vital statistics, and some advice on how to use the
machines. At Third Space (thirdspace.london), which
has four clubs in London, you won’t start training until
your data has been analysed. The body scanner will
also provide a meaningful map of your progress – work
hard, and after a month you’ll see an increase in muscle
and a decrease in fat.
Third Space’s free “Out/Set” biometric assessment
was developed by personal trainer Luke Worthington.
For £150 (US$195), you can also take a DNA test
to find out your genetic strengths and weaknesses.
Worthington sets a series of exercises so he can see
your movement capabilities – so if you don’t have
perfect form when it comes to a hip hinge (effectively
bending down to pick something up), he won’t put any
deadlifts in your regime.
“The purpose is to get as much information as
possible about people before setting them loose in
the gym,” he says. “I come from a professional sport
background so my idea was to bring some of what
we did in that world to the public. The industry is
very goal-oriented – get the beach body, run the 10k,
get to point B, but without any conception of what
point A is. That was where we were going wrong.
Not all beginners are rubbish at everything, and even
someone very advanced will have weak spots.”M
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
As the demand for personal training continues, we can
expect more gyms to offer data-based programmes –
and more body scanning machines in reception. Fit3D
scanners have recently been installed in high-end gyms
such as Equinox, which has dozens of locations in the
US, UK and Canada, while Styku 3D scanners are now
available in more than 25 countries.
The technology is seen to be effective not only at
getting people off the couch, but in motivating them
to continue exercising as they see their body change.
It also pairs well with wearable fitness trackers for
real-time readings. In 2016, more than 50 million
fitness trackers (not including smartwatches) were sold,
according to research company CCS Insight. By 2020,
they are expected to exceed 165 million.
Keen triathloner Gemma Taylor uses cycling and
running app Strava. “It tracks all my activities so I
can quickly see an overview of all the training I have
completed over many weeks at a time,” she says. “This
helps me to push harder and further. I am training for a
marathon so I’ll use it to track my weekly mileage and
make sure I’m hitting my targets.”
David Howaston, master trainer for fitness
equipment manufacturer Technogym, says: “Apps and
tracking devices have changed the way we approach
exercise, making users more self-aware of their habitual
movement. Technogym helps people to track their
workouts via Mywellness.com. This [cloud-based
platform] allows users to log in to their own workout
anywhere in the world, be it outdoors or in a hotel gym
with Technogym Unity screens. When travelling, you
can use the My Running Logbook to re-create your
favourite outdoor run on a treadmill.”GENETIC EFFECT
The final piece in the puzzle is the role your genes play,
and the good news is DNA testing has finally become
affordable and easy (see “All in the genes”, June 2017
issue). In 2013, UK fitness trainer Matt Roberts began
offering personalised training based on your genetic
response to nutrition and exercise.
He partners with DNAFit (dnafit.com), which
interprets 30 genes and their variants. Anyone can
order one online and a saliva sample will, for example,
highlight the ACTN3 “power gene”, which is common
in Olympic athletes, and the FTO “fat gene”, which
determines how likely your body is to store saturated
fat. Other sensors indicate sports injury resilience and
whether you are better suited to power or enduranceOCTOBER 2017 businesstraveller.com