The opportunity is to view that space as multi-purpose: a functional training floor, yes, but also a space that can very easily play host to group fitness sessions, for example.

And the way to do this cost-effectively, ensuring world-class workouts are on-tap at whatever hour of the day your students need them, is to install a Wexer Virtual system: a Wexer kiosk, a big screen and a sound system.

Whether you schedule Virtual classes or allow students to select from the 1,600+ workouts on offer through Wexer Virtual, you then know three things.

First, your students are in great hands, with every class led by one of the world’s top instructors.

Second, whatever your user base is interested in fitness class-wise, they’ll be catered for, with the huge Wexer Virtual library bringing together many of the leading names in fitness programming, from Zumba to CYBEROBICS to Daily Burn and many, many more besides.

And third, you will be maximizing the usage – and with it the ROI – of your space… and your equipment. You’ll be giving students more reasons to use it, more of the time. And with all that fantastic functional kit to hand, they really will get the most out of every Virtual workout; some classes need no more than body weight, but others do require some equipment.

You’ll also very likely find you attract new users – people who might not normally be drawn to a fitness facility, but who might be tempted to try a dance workout, for example, or a mind-body or meditation session to decompress from their studies. In fact, we have extensive data from around the world that shows Virtual to be an important tool in attracting new users, not least because it’s seen as a judgement-free way to get the basics of a workout mastered, build confidence and go on to do more.

All of a sudden, your functional training space becomes so much more. It becomes a space for dance, stretching, yoga, HIIT, barre, pilates and more besides. A space where students come to move in whatever way they choose. A space with far broader appeal. A space that really gets used, adding value to your students’ lives and huge perceived value to your rec center.

Find out more about Wexer Virtual and the buzz it can create in the (otherwise sometimes-empty) spaces on your fitness floor: taylor.moore@wexer.com

The post Why digital is the future for student recreation centers appeared first on Wexer.

Post-COVID, it’s also the case that today’s students – who’ve grown up surrounded by myriad fitness options and who, when compared with previous generations, have already demonstrated notably different priorities around health and wellness – are likely to place an even greater focus on their wellbeing, both physical and mental, moving forward.

Throw those two factors together – high levels of interest in fitness and wellbeing, combined with the ongoing challenges of social distancing, plus of course the ‘digital native’ status of the new student intake – and one obvious solution immediately to the fore. Online fitness.

Particularly after a year in which (if this wasn’t already the case) their phones became the portal to pretty much everything this generation wanted to do, today’s teenagers now expect everything to be accessible on an ‘any time, anywhere, click and consume’ basis – and that includes fitness.

It’s why every educational establishment preparing for the next academic year needs to be putting plans in place for a digital fitness offering, if one doesn’t yet exist. This isn’t just a nice-to-have. It will be expected.

Fitness in the palm of students’ hands

This is where Wexer comes in, with the Wexer Web Player a ‘go-to’ first step.

This world-class digital platform allows students to stream their choice of fitness and wellbeing content at any point in their 24-hour day, wherever they want to train, to any internet-enabled device.

There are hundreds of music licence-free, on-demand classes curated from Wexer’s global content partners – something for everyone, no matter what their interests or fitness experience.

If you’d also like to create and upload your own content, that’s possible too thanks to the live streaming section of the platform, which is unique to you. Think of it as your own TV channel. Whether you choose to live stream, pre-record and schedule or make content available on-demand – or all of the above – it allows you to bring high quality wellness content to your students 24/7, wherever they may be.

Whether it’s a cookery workshop for teens who may be away from home for the first time, a mindfulness session to help stressed students unwind, or workouts designed specially for the university sports teams, your content can sit alongside and complement our on-demand classes to even better serve students’ wellbeing needs – a great USP for your residence.

We white label the portal, too, so students perceive it as an added value offering that comes directly from you. It’s password-protected, so you can offer it exclusively to your residents. And if you want to monetise some or all of the content, that’s possible too through a series of paywall options.

Meanwhile, data gathered on usage patterns means you’re able to fine-tune the content, tailoring class collections and live streams to meet the specific demand at each of your locations.

Make your studios on-demand too

Meanwhile, for those students who do want to train in a dedicated space, you might like to consider creating a virtual group exercise studio – even if it will need to be marked out for social distancing for now.

These can be created in just about any space, whether that’s an existing exercise room or an under-used communal area: just add a large screen, a high-quality AV system for an inspirational environment, and a Wexer Player.

With over 1,600 different classes, all led by the world’s top instructors – from HIIT to mind-body, strength to dance, stretching to meditation to boxing and far more besides – Wexer Virtual caters for every possible student profile.

It also dovetails perfectly with the Web Player, whose curated selection of classes can all be found on the Wexer Virtual platform too. It means students can take part in their favourite class in their room, in the park or in your studio – a seamless experience that fits around them.

Wexer Virtual classes can be scheduled, or else you can leave it to students to choose their own class – or a mixture of both.

And all of this on a robust, commercial-grade platform which boasts 99.9 per cent up-time, supported by a tech team who are on-hand 24/7 to quickly address any issues that do arise.

It all comes together to make Wexer the perfect partner for a student accommodation development, where potential 24/7 usage by a tech-savvy, fitness-focused audience makes seamless reliability, class quality and variety of content key.

To find out more, please contact us at info@wexer.com

The post Does the fitness offering at your student accommodation resonate with digital natives? appeared first on Wexer.

Indeed, at some colleges, only first-year students are heading to campus; other years are continuing to study remotely. It’s all very far from college life as we know it.

The challenges are particularly marked for sports colleges, where fitness plays a pivotal role in students’ lives; students’ ability to condition for their sport is likely to be significantly and detrimentally impacted by gyms operating at limited capacity, or worse still, by gyms not yet re-opening at all. And that’s without even starting on those students who are still stuck at home with no access to their normal training routines.

But there are things you can do to mitigate this impact and keep students on-track with their training, even when they can’t make it to the gym because:

1. your (currently limited capacity) gym has had to adopt a reservation system, in which not all students will secure a convenient workout slot
2. local regulations and/or a COVID spike at college have forced your gym to close
3. they aren’t even back at college

The answer is digital fitness.

On-demand expectation

Today’s tech-savvy college students are naturally receptive to all things digital, and their online habits will have been further reinforced over the months of lockdown, with vast amounts of on-demand fitness content pumped onto the internet by everyone from social media influencers to global megabrands such as Barry’s and Peloton.

They will now be used to training from home or from the park, following all manner of online programs. The expectation of being able to ‘click and consume’ high-quality fitness content – any time, anywhere – is now more firmly embedded than ever.

And so, digital fitness presents itself as the solution to both sets of needs: your need to keep students on-course with their fitness, even if they can’t make it to the gym or training sessions, and students’ expectation of on-demand fitness content.

Fitness in the palm of students’ hands

This is where the Wexer Web Player comes in: a web-based portal that allows students to stream their choice of fitness and wellbeing content to any internet-enabled device, any time, anywhere.

The platform has always included access to hundreds of music license-free, on-demand classes curated from our global content partners – something for everyone, no matter what their interests or fitness experience. That remains the case, and will ensure your students enjoy strength in depth in every training discipline. You can even prescribe specific classes to different athletes, depending on their training needs.

But crucially for sports colleges, where students will be following specific programs based around their chosen sport, you can also create and upload your own content thanks to a new feature on the Web Player: Connect.

Connect effectively hands you your own TV channel through which you can live stream your own content, pre-record and schedule it, or make it available on-demand – or all of the above. It allows you to create targeted programs for students to follow, whether that’s plyometrics for your budding basketball stars, speed and agility training for the baseball team or strength and conditioning for the footballers.

You can also supplement these fitness drills with any other content you choose: technique tutorials and nutrition seminars, for example, or 10-minute bursts of stretching and flexibility that students can do in their room. But why stop there? Game strategy sessions and mindset training are other content you might consider creating, particularly in these times when live training sessions may be limited. Mindfulness workshops, too, to help players be in the moment.

Even live streams can then be saved into your on-demand library, meaning all content is available to students on-demand, 24/7, wherever they may be. And not a reservation requirement in sight!

It’s about offering personalized support for your athletes, even while you have to remain socially distanced.

We white label the portal, too, so students perceive it as an added value offering that comes directly from you. It’s password-protected, so you can offer it exclusively to your students. And data gathered on usage patterns means you’re able to fine-tune the content, tailoring class collections and Connect uploads to meet the specific and evolving demands of your athletes and teams.

And don’t forget about your staff – even non-sports and fitness staff. They can also benefit from Web Player, staying fit and healthy and boosting their immune system by being active.

24/7 communal fitness

Finally, to maximize workout options for those who are on campus, you might like to consider creating a virtual group exercise studio – a fitness offering that can run 24/7.

Virtual studios can be created in just about any space, whether that’s an existing exercise room or an under-used communal area: just add a large screen, a high-quality AV system for an inspirational environment, and a Wexer Player.

With over 1,500 different classes led by the world’s top instructors – from HIIT to mind-body, strength to dance, stretching to meditation – Wexer Virtual caters for every possible student profile.

It also dovetails perfectly with the Web Player, whose curated selection of classes can all be found on the Wexer Virtual platform too. It means students can take part in their favorite class in their room, in the park or in your studio – a seamless experience that fits around them.

Wexer Virtual classes can be scheduled, or else you can leave it to students to choose their own class – or a mixture of both.

And all of this on a robust, commercial-grade platform which boasts 99.9 per cent up-time, supported by a tech team who are on-hand 24/7 to quickly address any issues that do arise.

It all comes together to make Wexer the perfect partner for a sports college, catering for a tech-savvy audience who need to stay active for their sport. Even once a vaccine has been found, having bespoke training programs at the touch of a button is an invaluable asset, but right now – when in-person training is limited – digital fitness is an indispensable tool.

To find out more, please contact us at info@wexer.com

The post Athlete training in socially distanced times – here’s how your sports college can keep students on-track appeared first on Wexer.

Reports indicate that, as at 13 August, over 70% of private purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) beds had already been let for the new academic year. Yet even for developments that are already full, challenges remain – not least the need to adequately support students’ wellbeing in what is still an unsettled climate.

Fitness will be a key part of this – both from a physical and a mental health perspective – for a generation to whom being active and health-conscious has long been a lifestyle choice.

What does your fitness provision look like?

Gyms around the world are reporting that younger people are more readily returning to exercise in-club than the more COVID-fearful older generations, which means any communal fitness facilities you’ve got on-site are likely to be in demand from day one.

However, this already tech-savvy generation will also have had their online habits reinforced over the months of lockdown, with vast amounts of on-demand fitness content pumped onto the internet by everyone from Joe Wicks and the fitness influencers to global fitness megabrands such as Barry’s and Peloton.

The expectation of being able to ‘click and consume’ high-quality fitness content – any time, anywhere – is now more firmly embedded than ever.

So, how are you meeting this dual demand: for fitness provision but also, specifically, for a fitness offering that’s flexible, convenient – and yes, in spite of the self-perceived invincibility of youth, that’s safe and socially distanced?

For these digital natives, a digital solution is the only real answer, and this is where Wexer comes in.

Fitness in the palm of students’ hands

The Wexer Web Player is a great example: a web-based portal that allows students to stream their choice of fitness and wellbeing content to any internet-enabled device, any time, anywhere.

The platform has always included access to hundreds of music licence-free, on-demand classes curated from our global content partners – something for everyone, no matter what their interests or fitness experience. That remains the case.

But if you’d also like to create and upload your own content, that’s now possible too thanks to a new feature – Connect – which effectively hands you your own TV channel. Whether you choose to live stream, pre-record and schedule or make content available on-demand – or all of the above – Connect allows you to bring high quality wellness content to your students 24/7, wherever they may be.

Whether it’s a cookery workshop for the Freshers who may be away from home for the first time, or a mindfulness session to help students manage their stress, your content can sit alongside and complement our on-demand classes to even better serve students’ wellbeing needs – a great USP for your PBSA development.

We white label the portal, too, so students perceive it as an added value offering that comes directly from you. It’s password-protected, so you can offer it exclusively to your residents. And if you want to monetise some or all of the content, that’s possible too through a series of paywall options.

Meanwhile, data gathered on usage patterns means you’re able to fine-tune the content, tailoring class collections and Connect uploads to meet the specific demand at each of your locations.

Make your fitness studios on-demand too

Meanwhile, for those students who do want to train in a dedicated space, you might like to consider creating a virtual group exercise studio.

These can be created in just about any space, whether that’s an existing exercise room or an under-used communal area: just add a large screen, a high-quality AV system for an inspirational environment, and a Wexer Player.

With over 1,500 different classes led by the world’s top instructors – from HIIT to mind-body, strength to dance, stretching to meditation – Wexer Virtual caters for every possible student profile.

It also dovetails perfectly with the Web Player, whose curated selection of classes can all be found on the Wexer Virtual platform too. It means students can take part in their favourite class in their room, in the park or in your studio – a seamless experience that fits around them.

Wexer Virtual classes can be scheduled, or else you can leave it to students to choose their own class – or a mixture of both.

This combination makes Wexer the perfect partner for PBSA’s who are developing their student wellbeing strategy – where our seamless reliability, class quality and variety of content is a perfect fit for tech-savvy, fitness-focused students looking for a 24/7 solution.

To find out more, contact us me at info@wexer.com

The post More than ever before, students will expect fitness at the touch of a button. Are you geared up and ready? appeared first on Wexer.