Fitness center visitors were forced to train online during the pandemic. However, even after quarantine easing, a significant users’ percentage preferred home training. The statistics published by Run Repeat in 2021 show that American adults considered ‘at-home fitness equipment (up 218.3%) and online fitness (up 134.7%) as the best way to achieve fitness goals in 2021‘. These’s obviously a need for some innovative fitness system to fit modern needs.
Due to the existence of a growing number of sports YouTube channels, online fitness courses, and classes, home training routine occupies a great field in the modern fitness business. Yet, despite saving time, money, and effort, online training has brought its negative consequences. One of them is lack of professional supervision, which became the foremost online training ‘pain’. The most serious is bone and muscle tissue injury as a result of improper exercising or uneven body load.
So, how can this issue be solved without returning to the gym during the growth of new pandemic waves? The effective solution to check the correctness of the exercises and prevent mistakes in 2021 is an AI-powered intelligent and innovative fitness system we’re about to discuss here.
How can AI trainer help?
Human performance tracking and pose estimation tools allow recognizing the body, its parts and the movement patterns. Having a database of previously analyzed trainer videos, we can use them as a reference. User selects an exercise, gets in front of a webcam, the system analyzes movements, and compares them with the reference. When the moves are repeated, AI examines the number of correct and incorrect repetitions and reports on mistakes.
For instance, the most common mistake during squatting is incorrect knee and back position. It creates a significant load and may damage the joints. By applying AI and computer vision tools, improper execution of knee exercises at home can be prevented, since the system evaluates the knees’ angle bending and the posture correctness. It’s like having a personal trainer at home, a portable gym or a mirror workout system with a fitness AI behind. This can also be a great addition to the existing home gym equipment.
The model relies on a dataset with over a thousand exercise videos taken from real professional trainers.
Previously, we have mentioned the general applications of human pose estimation and computer vision, including smart home gym environments: https://deepxhub.com/2021/06/30/deepx-pose-estimation-technology/
AI for Fitness centers
The transition to home training program also opens up new opportunities for fitness centers. Fitness businesses can benefit from trying themselves in a new digital format and retain their customer base by providing a digital gym opportunity for those willing to stay isolated.The software platform provided by DeepX is based on an intelligent fitness AI / ML system, specifically tailored to solve the problem of remote and automated fitness training. The customer only needs a laptop or a mobile phone with a webcam, the rest is done automatically by the system. It can track the physical activity of the subscriber, analyze multiple exercising parameters and give immediate feedback. This is one of the numerous applications of computer vision and machine learning fitness industry can greatly benefit from.
All in one trainer
The model is trained on various exercise samples selected by a physiotherapist or a fitness instructor. The system compares the user’s video feed to the one recorded by the professional, in real time. Then, it detects significant deviations and gives feedback on incorrect activities or positions, plus the average user’s exercising accuracy over time. The database records will also allow fitness workers to check and compare users progress and exercising improvement.
The intelligent fitness platform can also have additional functionality of messaging and push notifications to remind users about session times or messages from their couches (all in one trainer).
Also, one more extra opportunity can be the conduction of online fitness sessions. It will allow communicating with customers in real time during their training. For instance, DeepX video streaming system relies on AI-powered WebRTC calls, where we can set up realtime video chat between users and trainers embedded into a web interface or a mobile app. The trainer will have access to all the analytics produced by AI in real time.
A significant advantage of the system is the ability to control several workouts at once since the system will analyze the correctness of performance and inform about the mistakes. The coach will be able to select the training format and give instructions live.
You can find a more detailed description of the solution here: https://deepxhub.com/2021/08/02/webrtc-video-streaming-and-ai-powered-calls/
Innovative fitness system advantages in a nutshell
Taking into account everything discussed above, we can come to the following advantages of using the fitness AI system:
• Exercise techniques monitoring and evaluation
• Identification of mistakes and injuries prevention
• Time saving due to the possibility of using the system anywhere (portable gym)
• New business opportunities for fitness centers
• Ability to contact the coach and receive feedback with AI-powered calls technology
Conclusion
The transition to an innovative fitness format will enhance the development of the fitness business. Most importantly, it will allow keeping pace with modern trends and the global situation, reducing economic damage to the industry.
The technological strategy of DeepX combines many years of experience in computer vision software development and an individual approach to each of the clients.
Do not hesitate to contact us, and we will accompany you at every stage on the way to the technological future.
