As founder of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington has long been a thought leader and trailblazer. A recent Quartz article served to remind us of exactly this fact. Because it was way back in 2016 that Huffington created Thrive Global – a company that, as the home page of its website boldly states, is “on a mission to end the burnout epidemic”. Thrive Global’s is working to “debunk the collective delusion that burnout is the price we must pay for success”.

Indeed, in a recent Deloitte survey, 95% of executives agreed they should be responsible for employee wellbeing, while 83 per cent said they would increase their responsibility to it over the next two years.

Yet increase it they must, because there remains a significant gap between appreciation in principle of the value of employee wellbeing versus acting on ensuring wellbeing is embedded at the heart of a business.

Corporate Wellness Is In Everyone’s Best Interest 

The same Deloitte report found that around one in three employees and executives are constantly struggling with fatigue and poor mental health. That 57% of employees and 69%of executives are seriously considering quitting for a more supportive job. That on average 72% would be more likely to stay with their company if it better supported their wellbeing. And that 68% of employees and 81% of the C-suite see improving their wellbeing as more important than advancing their career.

Yet in spite of all this, obstacles still stand in the way of doing things that would help – taking micro-breaks during the day, finishing work at a reasonable hour, taking a proper lunch break and getting good quality sleep, for example. The most commonly quoted issues: having a heavy workload or stressful job (30 per cent) and/or not having enough time because of long working hours (27%).

It doesn’t help that C-suite executives consistently underestimate how much employees are actually struggling with their wellbeing, or that – while 91% of executives believe their employees look positively on their company’s wellbeing efforts – in fact only 56% of employees believe their employer cares about their wellbeing.

Companies must tune in far better to their workforces’ needs, then act on them.

And it really is in everyone’s best interests. Even as long ago as 2016 – before issues were compounded by the pandemic and the challenges of hybrid working – a study by Global Corporate Challenge found that employees may miss an average of four days annually, but that they’re unproductive for almost 58 days a year. This presenteeism was reported to cost businesses 10 times more than absenteeism.

As Huffington explains: “Employee wellbeing and mental health improve business metrics like retention, attrition, productivity and healthcare costs.”

How to Start Corporate Wellness

The 2022 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report by Wellable Labs highlights some interesting shifts in focus among organisations already striving to deliver corporate wellness.

• On-demand fitness is hot, appreciated for its flexibility and affordability, and is seeing a scaling up of investment
• On-site classes and reimbursement of gym membership are being dialled back
• Mental health is a top priority and an area where more resource is being added, including meditation, mindfulness and stress management
• Companies appreciate the importance of proper sleep, but have yet to find the resources they need to support their employees in this way

It almost reads like a who’s who of the Wexer offering, with our Mobile ecosystem putting world-class wellness content – covering all of these areas and more – in people’s hands wherever and whenever they need it, through any connected device.

Because it’s all very well encouraging micro-breaks and proper lunch hours, but you do also need to hand your employees the tools to turn these into wellness breaks.

That might be as simple as easing and re-mobilising their bodies after sitting at a desk all day. It might be achieving a moment of calm during their commute, re-energising during their lunch hour by getting their heart pumping, or winding down at the end of a busy day.

Whatever they need, they’ll find it in our ever-growing, market-leading corporate wellness library. We have a huge collection of mind-body and meditation classes. We have relaxation sessions and guided stretching. We’ve partnered with Sweat Factor to offer its fantastic Office Fit series, as well as Self-Care by Sweat Factor. Mind123 takes a holistic, educational approach to all facets and contributors to wellbeing. And we even plug the gap identified by Wellable Labs, providing content around sleep in the shape of Sweat Factor’s Sleep Stories.

And that’s without touching on the vast library of health and fitness content – from cardio and strength to dance, cycling, HIIT and far, far more besides – to get those endorphins flowing, stress released and mental focus regained.

Wexer is here to help you create a first-class corporate wellness for to improve employee wellbeing.

Read more here or get in touch at info@wexer.com

The post Corporate Wellness Strategies: How to Take the Leap to ‘Nailing It’ appeared first on Wexer.

The partnership will see Wexer Virtual technology harnessed to make Hanu’s world-class content available for on-demand, 24/7 use in gyms, hotels and residential developments across the American continent. End users will be able to enjoy more than 20 different training disciplines, all automatically programmed and customised for each location.

José Antonio Condell, CEO and co-founder of Hanu, says the company has identified strong opportunities within “off-peak hours in gyms, multi-purpose rooms within residential buildings and hotels, and hotel guestrooms”, with the Wexer-Hanu partnership now set to “enable and make profitable the spaces that are under-used for much of the day”.

Felipe Apablaza, Hanu Co-Founder and CEO of DMOOV Fitness Clubs & RFA Fitness Equipment, adds: “Our extensive research into the innovative, disruptive technologies within the health, fitness and wellness industry brought us to Wexer. We are delighted that this partnership will bring our platform and content to an even broader audience.”

“This unique solution for the Latin American market presents fantastic opportunities for both Wexer and Hanu,” confirms Robert Louw, Chief Growth Officer at Wexer. “Adding Hanu’s full range of high-quality content allows us to even better penetrate and serve Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking markets with content that immediately resonates with local audiences.

“Meanwhile, Hanu benefits from a new distribution channel that brings with it significant growth opportunities, both in terms of verticals and geographical territories.

“It is a win-win for both our companies, but also for gyms, hotels, residential developments and consumers alike as this fantastic content becomes available through our platform.”

For more information, get in touch at info@wexer.com

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You might think of it as a gentler side to fitness – the yin to HIIT’s yang – and it’s all about taking care of your body and mind. It’s about recovering from your workouts and creating some headspace in stressed times.

And it’s a huge growth area, with our Q3 data showing a significant rise in usage of our Stretch and Recover category. We’re seeing high levels of interest in all-round stretching sessions to relax the body, but also in targeted sessions for desk-sitters, for example, who need particular stretches and movements after spending a large portion of their day at the office.

Our Wellness category is also growing in popularity, including the broad range of meditation sessions we offer – a trending content genre. Most users prefer short meditations that provide a quick mental boost during the day or around bedtime, including using some of our dedicated bedtime meditations or sleep stories.

Look After Yourself In 30 minutes – or Less

When it comes to workout time, our data is clear and confirms previously observed trends: short workouts are trending. Indeed, 84% of all workouts selected on our Web Player have a duration of less than 30 minutes.

The most popular workout durations are 10–20 minutes and 20–30 minutes – but that may change soon, as usage of the 0–10-minute category is up almost 8% this quarter. The trend towards shorter and shorter workouts and sessions continues.

In turn, this is casting a spotlight on the value of Wexer’s large, varied workout library:

• You can always find something relevant, wherever you are and whenever you need to squeeze a workout into your busy schedule.
• It’s easier to experiment: You can try things you normally wouldn’t, as you aren’t committing yourself to a long workout.
• Stack and build: 30 minutes available to work out means you can stack 3 x 10-minute workouts to create precisely the session you want.

Top 25 Fitness and Wellness Options = Huge Diversity

As mentioned previously, one of the main advantages of Wexer’s digital library is the huge variety it offers. Certainly, when looking at our top 25 titles, it’s clear you can look after yourself by taking full advantage of the breadth and diversity of our library, with almost all training types and categories represented.

The top 25 includes six yoga classes or yoga-inspired stretch sessions. Another six classes focus on stretching, recovery practices or meditation, confirming the holistic fitness trend. The remainder of the top-ranking classes range from classic cardio workouts to dance moves to a lot of strength and conditioning sessions: HIIT-based, core-focused… you name it, it’s there in the list!

Find out more about Wexer’s unparalleled content library and how it could add value to your customers at info@wexer.com

The post It’s Cool To Look After Yourself With Fitness and Wellness Options appeared first on Wexer.

We thought it might be useful to move on from the why and look instead at the how of taking your business hybrid. We’ve stripped it back to five important steps.

Steps To Digital Transformation

#1 – Have a clear Digital strategy

Before you act, ensure you have a strong digital strategy in the first stages to digital transformation.

Acknowledge and embrace the change that’s happening, recognise your strengths and weaknesses, and develop a strategy you can execute.

Remember that your digital offering will be your extension of your brand. If you have loyal members at your club, and you create an online offering that’s relevant to them, the big brands – the Apples and influencers of this world – become less of a threat.

So, who are your members, your demographic, and what do they want?

What would a digital extension of your offering and your brand look like?

This isn’t about copying others. It’s about complementing your unique in-club experience with a digital one that’s equally unique and relevant to your customers. It’s about creating a seamless journey that allows your members to step into your brand more often.

It’s also about choosing your digital partner wisely: one with relevant and reliable technology, content that suits your model, an option to monetise should you wish, scope to own and personalise the experience. A partner who will be with you every step of the way, taking the headache out of getting things up and running and providing ongoing support and expertise.

#2 – Understand what hybrid is

Digital isn’t, or certainly shouldn’t be, an add-on. To bust a common misconception, hybrid categorically doesn’t mean ‘in-club over here, digital over there’.

What hybrid actually means is embracing digital and in-person equally, enabling an omnichannel approach where a seamless series of touchpoints allows every single customer to consume your product in the way that best suits them on any given day.

As Garrett Marshall of Xponential Fitness observed in a recent edition of The Wexer Podcast, it’s then about understanding the consumer value of these different facets of your brand experience. His advice: it’s OK to acknowledge that the in-studio or in-club experience remains the pinnacle, while all the while selling digital too.

Because in-person will always be your all-singing, all-dancing sensory experience: the lights, the scent, the community, the atmosphere. But for the role it plays – allowing people to still participate when time or geography doesn’t allow for in-person, or indeed complementing in-person with stretching, meditation and recovery for example – the experiential step down doesn’t in any way diminish the relevance, importance or value of digital.

Digital must be viewed as a critical business unit that receives the same level of attention as your physical space.

#3 – Create a content plan

In a hybrid world, members need to be able to dive straight in to a familiar experience wherever they are; health clubs must deliver exactly the same user experience across all digital and physical touchpoints.

And of course, where equipment is essentially anchored to the gym, content can be perfectly replicated and disseminated across all channels. Content is therefore the key to omnichannel delivery of the club experience, so your next step must be to create a content plan.

We’re talking your own content: the content that features your own loyalty-driving superstars, that you must make available not only in-club but also digitally, via every possible channel and touchpoint, to enable omnichannel delivery of your signature club experience.

But we’re also talking third-party content, which should also be made available via every possible channel and touchpoint to ensure strength in depth of your content offering at all times: all levels, all interests, all catered for, all the time.

These dual strands of content are equally important: our data shows the variety of Wexer’s global content library is what draws people to on-demand in the first place, but the locally-produced content plays a major role in keeping them there.

#4 – Secure team buy-in

Make it a team effort. Gather your talent, identify their skillsets and clearly assign who does what. To make hybrid a success, you need buy-in at all levels of the organisation, not just your leadership.

Ensure that your whole team can talk about what you’re doing with genuine understanding and passion. And show them how they can bring value to digital as well as physical themselves, highlighting how this can, in turn, enhance their own visibility and careers.

Get your superstars contributing content digitally as well as in-person, incentivising and rewarding them for doing so. Empower and incentivise them to promote this content among their followers, too. Help them grow their profile at the same time as rewarding them for their role in your success, to ensure their ongoing loyalty to your brand even as their reach and appeal grows.

But remember it isn’t just about your superstars. Every single member of your team needs to be involved in the steps to digital transformation. Everyone needs to understand how the in-person experiences they deliver fit into the ecosystem of your now omnichannel business, as well as looking for ways to add to the digital experience too.

#5 – Critique your content plan

You created a content plan already in #3 of your stages to digital transformation,  now you need to keep evolving it, fine-tuning it, bespoking it around your members’ very specific needs and behaviours.

To get your content just right, you have to regularly dig into the data, analysing both in-club and at-home usage, then crafting your offering around your findings.

Because this is the great thing about taking the steps to digital transformation in your business model: you can very clearly track exactly what members are doing, what content they’re consuming, which instructors they’re loving and which types of classes are most popular.

Take your content lead from this. Be ready to pivot. Be ready to respond. Create more of what your members want, then place this content at the heart of your marketing.

If you’d like to chat about hybrid and how we can help you take the all-important next – or even first – step, please get in touch at info@wexer.com

The post 5 Steps to Digital Transformation: The ‘How To’ Of Hybrid appeared first on Wexer.

CITYROW started life in 2014 as a New York City-based boutique fitness studio–one that specialised in total-body, high-intensity, low-impact workouts using a water-based rowing machine alongside strength training exercises.

It has since grown and become a digital fitness platform offering group fitness experiences led by its team of highly experienced, motivational instructors and perfected in the studio for on-demand use at home, in the gym or on the go.

With a basic premise of supporting sustainable, holistic fitness for anybody of any age and any level, its immersive workouts deliver cardio, strength training, endurance and mobility in every class.

As CITYROW joins Wexer with their unique virtual content, rowing meets the mat for a total, heart-pounding, results-based workout in as little as 20 minutes.

“Rowing works 86% of your muscles in every stroke for a true total body workout,” says Wexer’s Global Head of Content, Morten Andersen. “The result is an intense, efficient yet safe workout that delivers exceptional results without pounding your joints.”

Yet there’s more to CITYROW than rowing; not all workouts even require a rowing machine. There are Signature and Cardio+Core classes that feature high-intensity intervals on the rower combined with mat-based strength exercises, while Endurance, HIIT the Rower and Power Row use the rowing machine for a majority of the workout. But there are also dumbbell-based strength workouts and even bodyweight-only HIIT the Floor, Mat Pilates, Active Yoga and Restorative Yoga classes. In all cases, the content is fresh so you never get bored.

“I started CITYROW because I knew there had to be a better way to work out: sustainable and effective, high-intensity but low-impact,” says its CEO and founder Helaine Knapp. “Results today, body for life. For us, it’s more than a workout. It’s a mission.”

Find out more about CITYROW joins Wexer and all the other fantastic content partners in Wexer’s world-beating library: info@wexer.com

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“At Yogaia, we therefore go beyond yoga and fitness. Our vision is to inspire and guide every body and mind to build wellbeing and self-care into every day, and we offer simple tools and guided online classes to show you how.”

Founded in Finland in 2013, Yogaia was the brainchild of CEO Mikko Petäjä, who realised he was getting stressed by having rush to a studio for yoga class while also juggling a busy work and personal life. He searched for an online alternative that would offer the in-studio experience, but at the time was unable to find one. So he founded one.

The result is a studio that comes to you, on-demand, 24/7, to put wellbeing at your fingertips. Offering all the guided classes your body and mind need – fitness, yoga and mental practice – there are also tried and tested self-care tools that guarantee ‘aha’ moments and that make minutes matter.

And it’s all now available on the Wexer platform.

“We are thrilled to work with Wexer, whose platform provides an amazing opportunity to reach so many people who are interested in wellbeing,” confirms Petäjä.

Go small, feel better

Yogaia believes people often underestimate how much they can improve their wellbeing in five to 10 minutes, meaning they tend to do nothing if they don’t have a longer period of time available.

Its 10 Minutes or Less class collection addresses exactly this issue, proving that minutes do matter when a class is well-designed. Bringing together a selection of all-time favourites, there are options here whether you want to break a sweat or just gently refresh your mind and body. Across all classes, Yogaia’s expert instructors pack a huge amount of goodness into a short amount of time – all without the class feeling rushed.

“If you could feel better in minutes, would you click ‘play’ and follow along?” asks Soininen. “Because with Yogaia, that’s all it takes. It’s why we talk about Yogaia as ‘the smallest thing you can do to feel better today’.”

Another great collection available now on Wexer is Relax and Restore, where classes have been designed to recharge our batteries, balancing out active lifestyles with dedicated time for relaxation and the restoration of mind and body. Most classes involve soothing, mindful movement, but there are also deep relaxation classes and mindfulness sessions.

Try our favourites!

With new live and on-demand classes streamed daily from Yogaia’s studios in London, Los Angeles and Finland – catering for three levels, from beginner to advanced – there’s always a fresh new workout to enjoy. Some of our favourites include…

Deep Relaxation – Yoga Nidra

Deep relaxation practice is gaining more and more popularity as a way to soothe the mind and restore the body.

This simple yet effective meditation practice is instructor-guided, meaning no previous experience is required. Practised while laying down in a comfortable position, the idea is to enter a state of complete physical and mental relaxation by reaching a stage where you’re physiologically asleep but still maintaining internal and external awareness.

Benefits include lower stress levels, improved sleep quality, reduced cognitive and physiological symptoms of anxiety, and improved self-regulation – clarity of thought, control over anger, self-confidence and so on.

Refresh & Reset In 5

This simple mindful movement class always delivers what it promises. It’s the perfect pick-me-up to do in the morning – or, indeed, at any time of day when you need some refreshment for the mind and body!

Find out more about Yogaia and Wexer’s other fantastic global content partners at info@wexer.com

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We’ve crunched all the Web Player usage data from the first half of 2022, across all our customers around the world, and there are some interesting themes emerging…

Strength is strong

Looking across all the different genres of workout available on our platform, strength has emerged as a clear favourite for the first half of this year, accounting for a quarter (25.5%) of all content streamed.

While cardio comes in as the second most popular genre, it accounts for only 13.8% of streams, suggesting that many people still look to the larger equipment of the gym – or perhaps going for a run or bike ride – for their cardio workouts.

Strength workouts, however – often done using smaller pieces of kit or even bodyweight only – are seen as achievable, non gym-based workouts. On a similar vein, bootcamps accounted for 12.1% of streams.

We thought it would be interesting to break the strength data down further, and we found that full-body strength workouts dominated: 42.5% of all strength workouts done through our Web Player platform were full-body. This was closely followed by core workouts, which accounted for 32.5% of the strength workouts selected by our global users.

Complementing in-club

Continuing on the theme of complementing rather than duplicating in-club workouts, we’re still seeing recovery and low impact styles of workout coming through as popular choices on the Web Player.

Yoga alone accounted for 12.3% of all Web Player workouts in H1 2022; if you add together the usage of our yoga, pilates, meditation and stretch & recover content, you get to a nice round 30%.

That’s almost one in three at-home workouts incorporating a good degree of stretching, flexibility and mind-body connection.

We’re hearing a lot of clubs anecdotally reporting that members are doing different workouts at home from what they do in-club, whereby home is seen as a great space for recovery and club for the more high-impact, high-energy workouts. Our data supports this.

Stack it up

There’s a really interesting trend in terms of length of workout selected, too, whereby the most popular class length is 20–30 minutes (38.6%), followed by 10–20 minutes (29.4%).

Class durations of under 10 minutes account for 15.3% of streams, and 30–40 minutes for 12.5%. Anything longer than 40 minutes drops almost off the radar.

However – and here’s the big learning – in almost half of all sessions (47.9%), the actual stream time was less than 10 minutes. Meanwhile, 25.5% of streams lasted 10–20 minutes, and 19.2% 20–30 minutes.

Put another way, while a large proportion of users are selecting workouts that have been recorded as 20- to 30-minute sessions, not everyone is completing those workouts.

What the data suggests they are doing instead is taking the ‘meat’ of those workouts, then switching to a separate, dedicated stretch class for example – for a more comprehensive, extended stretch – rather than using the cool-down of the main workout.

The learning? Digital users want stackable content delivered in bite-sized chunks so they can mix and match at home, building a jam-packed session that fits their mood and needs that day, as well as the time they have available.

Keep it fresh

A final observation, which is a point we’ve made before but which is still absolutely key: members want a steady stream of fresh content, so they always have something new to try and don’t get bored doing the same-old virtual workout from home.

The evidence? We’re seeing significantly more usage on our platform for the content providers who are really active, launching new content on their channels on a regular basis, than for those who upload a class collection and then leave it untouched for months.

For more guidance on the content trends that can help you shape your digital business, get in touch now: info@wexer.com

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And when it comes to recovery, of course, there’s nothing better than sleep. Sleep gives our bodies time to repair, rest and recover from our efforts and turn our hard work into tangible physical progress.

It doesn’t stop there, either, with research revealing the critical role that sleep plays in our every waking moment and every aspect of our health – from recovery, muscle repair and protein synthesis to weight management, diabetes, immunity and brain health.

Sleep is the new king of wellness!

Sleep-specific content

Yet in today’s fast-paced, always-connected world, a good night’s sleep often eludes us – even though that very same, high-pressure world makes sleep more important now than ever.

Wexer is therefore proud to launch a new sleep channel on its Web Player and mobile platforms, in collaboration with long-term partner Sweat Factor – a company headed up by Mike Donavanik, widely regarded as one of the most innovative, productive personalities in virtual fitness.

“In 2021, we launched Self Care by Sweat Factor – a predominantly audio guide-based series of self-care programmes designed to reset, refuel and restore both body and mind,” Donavanik explains.

“We felt it was important to now build on this with content specifically designed to improve people’s sleep, as the ultimate contributor to our holistic wellbeing.”

The channel – Sleep Stories by Sweat Factor – goes live across all Web Players from 1 June 2022. Featuring more than 15 videos to help you relax and fall asleep, the content falls into two categories:

Sleep Stories
These short, spoken stories are designed to calm a busy mind and help you relax, promoting your transition towards a peaceful sleep. Every story is narrated by a soothing voice and touches on various topics while also guiding you into a relaxed, sleepy state.

Soundscapes
Think of all those calming, sleep-inducing background noises that always help your mind feel at rest, from falling rain to the sound of a campfire. Sweat Factor has put together a collection of these soundscapes for you to listen to, to help your mind switch off.

“Whether you choose a sleep story or a relaxing soundscape, it’s all about getting to sleep faster, sleeping more soundly and recovering more efficiently,” says Donavanik.

Holistic wellbeing support

“Quite simply, sleep is the fuel for peak performance in every aspect of life,” says Morten Andersen, Global Head of Content at Wexer. “If we want to live life to the fullest, whether at the gym, at work or with family and friends, we need good quality sleep.”

He adds: “So many people struggle to switch off at night, and I see great potential in using Sleep Stories by Sweat Factor to help overcome this. I’m thrilled to be adding this fantastic new channel to our growing collection of wellness content on the Wexer Web Player.

“We’re committed to supporting our users in every aspect of their fitness and wellbeing journeys, not only through a huge variety of workouts but also by providing world-class content that supports broader wellbeing, recovery and mental health.”

Find out more about Sleep Stories and the Wexer Web Player, contact us at info@wexer.com

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SH1FT stands for Smart High Intensity & Functional Training, and its workouts are designed to deliver maximum results in minimum time – all of which may sound rather similar to a lot of fitness content out there.

But in fact, SH1FT Fitness does things quite differently…

Waging war on the stereotypical, unrealistic images of what fitness is “meant” to look like, SH1FT Fitness focuses not on how you look but on how you feel – and importantly, how you can continue to feel amazing as you age, in the body you’re in, still doing all the things you love.

Indeed, its mission is to build a global community that strives for ‘Fitness for Life’ – and that gets a big thumbs-up from us.

Principles worth sticking to

In line with this mission, every SH1FT Fitness workout is designed around four key principles:

Fitness for life, not just for summer!

SH1FT believes fitness is about feeling great in your own skin… for the long term.

Train smarter, not harder

Hard work doesn’t have to be hard on your body, says the team at SH1FT Fitness. “Let’s face it – it’s great to be able to do a tuck-jump right now, but it’s more important to be able to pick yourself up off the floor when you’re in your 70s. That’s why our workouts focus on functional movements that make you feel great now while also allowing you to stay ‘fit for life’.”

Smart, safe, simple progressions ensure all workouts are scalable and suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

For anybody, with any body

Workouts are designed to be non-intimidating, simple, inclusive – and dare we say it, fun.

Out go the fitness models and the beachbody-ready before and afters, in come workout videos featuring real people – of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds and fitness levels – and instructors who are inspiring and motivational but who, in spite of being world-leading, also know how to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously.

There’s also a strong emphasis on working at your own level and using modifications: “It’s not about being the best, it’s about doing your best.”

Have fun!

The unique workouts have themes like 80s aerobics, gridiron, tennis and surfing “because enjoyment and fun are just as important as the physical benefits of exercise. If you’re looking to improve your health and fitness while having fun and maybe even letting out a few laughs, then our classes are the right choice for you.”

A segmented approach

At Wexer, we also love the way SH1FT segments its workouts into distinct, identifiable concepts. As online workout content continues to proliferate, we believe this sort of clarity is key, helping exercisers get exactly what they want, every single time.

In the case of SH1FT Fitness, that means:

SH1FT (HIIT)

Smart HIIT and functional training workouts that use bodyweight as a tool to develop speed, balance, agility and overall athletic fitness. Each unique class takes its theme from the world of sport and movement, including track and field, football and Winter Olympics, alongside some classic bodyweight HIIT and impact-free options.

Who’s it for: Perfect for those who want to get started with exercise at home but lack experience or equipment. All workouts contain modified / low-impact options for beginners, with options to progress and work harder for regular exercisers.

Recommended class: Ultimate HIIT Cardio Ladder Challenge  

Prepare to get a serious sweat on as you race yourself to the finish line in LADDER RACING! With no need for any equipment, this workout stacks six moves in a series of ladders to challenge your cardio fitness, coordination and memory and keep neuromuscular connections firing on all cylinders.

L1FT (strength & conditioning)

Training with weights to build a strong, healthy body, sculpting lean muscle and turning you into a fat-burning machine long after the workout is over. Each session uses smart, safe, progressive movements to ensure no fitness level is left behind, and training protocols that ensure you never get bored.

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants to stay strong and healthy, with programming designed around hand weights to easily accommodate home workouts. Expect simple movement patterns programmed in smart and unique ways, so you get the most out of your workout time but without complex or intimidating lifts.

Recommended class: FULL BODY Strength Challenge

Feel like a challenge? In this full body strength and conditioning workout, you get to compete against the only person that matters: yourself.

R1ZE (Step)

A modern take on a classic piece of kit, in these workouts the step can act as anything from a jump box to an exercise bench to an obstacle, with multi-dimensional functional movements that deliver a full-body interval blast. Forget everything you think you know about the stepper!

Who’s it for: Workouts cover all bases of fitness and are perfect if you like working with bodyweight but want to avoid repetitive impact. The most varied of all SH1FT Fitness formats, workouts range from no-impact strength to speed and agility – but as always, there’s no requirement to move to any beat but your own!

Recommended class: 12 Minute Co-ordination

R1DE (indoor cycling)

A 30-minute, beat-based cardio workout on a bike – any bike – that’s high-intensity but low-impact. Blending the best of boutique cycle and performance riding into a single class, these workouts feature specially created (royalty-free/rights-included) music to simultaneously drive intensity and encourage play.

Who’s it for: Perfect for those who want to lose themselves on the bike for 30 minutes (or less). Every minute is designed to maximise effort, sweat and connection with the music and is a great no-impact way to get in 30 minutes of cardio fitness.

Recommended class: 30 Minute Ride #5

Blend power and pace in this 30-minute HIIT ride, designed to deliver maximum results in minimum time.

M1ND (mind-body)

Designed to complement an active lifestyle, M1ND draws its inspiration from sports, yoga, calisthenics and rehabilitation, with each unique session including elements from one or more of these disciplines – but with a central theme of connection between mind and movement.

Who’s it for: As zero impact workouts, these classes are the ideal entry point for older populations or those brand new to working out. Meanwhile, for regular exercisers, M1ND workouts are perfect for recovery days and to complement other workouts and forms of exercise, making you more mobile and functional.

Recommended class: 30 Minute Mobilise, Stretch & Strengthen

This signature M1ND workout begins with a heat-building mobility section that introduces movement to the muscles and joints, followed by stability work to build confidence and proprioception, and finishes with a relaxing stretch and lengthen.

To find out more about SH1FT Fitness, Wexer, and the many other world-class content providers available through our ecosystem, contact us at info@wexer.com

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That’s a momentous reinvention to sum up in just one paragraph, but at the same time, it’s already been discussed at length. Rather than continuing to reflect on what’s happened and why, we’re keen to now look ahead to what comes next. And at Wexer, our view is unequivocally this: 2022 must see a new, renewed emphasis on content to ensure clubs are delivering a true hybrid experience, not just hybrid technology.

Why content specifically? Because in a hybrid world, where physical and digital are equally important, members need to be able to dive straight in to a familiar experience wherever they are. Clubs must deliver exactly the same user experience across all touchpoints. And of course, where equipment is essentially anchored to the gym, content can be perfectly replicated and disseminated across all channels.

As such, content creation is no longer an adjunct to the business of running a club. It is the cornerstone of hybrid success, underpinning omnichannel delivery of the club experience.

And it isn’t hard to do. Run a live class, film it at the same time, then make it available through your app, to your members’ smart TVs, on-demand in your virtual class studio… All of a sudden, the content you’re already creating has new life, new power, new reach. You can quickly hit the critical mass needed to service member demand.

[And of course, we have all the technology and expertise to help you do this, from the Wexer API to Wexer Connect – the space on our platform where you can stream your own self-produced content, launched originally on our ‘any time, anywhere, any device’ web product and imminently launching on our in-club Wexer Virtual platform too. In short, we can help you get your content everywhere, without giving it away for free via social media platforms.]

In turn, the power of your instructor team skyrockets. Always key drivers of loyalty in-club, your own rockstars are now your USP in a crowded digital fitness marketplace. It is these familiar faces who will help you connect with and retain your members wherever they are, as well as exponentially growing your reach.

But it will only happen if you recognise and reward the value they now represent. Empower and incentivise your superstars to promote the content they create with you. Pay them more for content that drives high usage. Help them grow their profile at the same time as rewarding them for their role in your success, to ensure their ongoing loyalty to your brand even as their reach and appeal grows.

In short, recognise that their success is your success, but work hard to ensure they know the flip side is also true: that they will do better with you than on their own.

This is the virtuous circle that sits at the heart of what we’re calling the Content Marketplace Flywheel, and it will be key to success in 2022 and beyond.

Find out more about the content marketplace, and how Wexer can help your business harness its full power to thrive in a world of digital superstars: info@wexer.com

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