Fitness sales rise as people become more health conscious

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta

s more and more people become involved in sports and fitness, the number of fitness club and gym memberships has climbed, as have the sales of home fitness equipment.

Take Raisa Aqilla, 35, who considers slapping on a pair of shoes and shorts and putting in some time on the treadmill a requirement in the evening.

"It's an excellent way to lose weight and to get in great cardiovascular shape. I never thought about exercising on a treadmill until I found the flab on my arms and thighs."

Raisa bought a folding treadmill for convenient storage in her bedroom last year. It has a large running surface, a durable, powerful 2.0 horsepower Leeson motor and large, three-quarter- inch rubber cushion mounts, which when combined with the one-inch deck, provide more cushioning than most other folding treadmills. It is completed with an accessory tray and reading rack and a variety of preprogrammed workouts and telemetry heart rate monitor.

Many affluent Indonesians have become more sports conscious thanks to rigorous campaigns on the importance of a healthy lifestyle. A young executive, Danny, goes to a fitness center twice a week. He believes that working out on all the different types of equipment at the gym will improve his blood circulation.

"I realize that obesity and smoking have become major global threats, so I need to get some exercise."

Indeed, the growing concern over staying healthy and fit has affected the sales of fitness and exercise equipment from the world's leading sports equipment manufacturers. Rohan McKenna, a technical adviser for PrimaFit, has seen a substantial increase in demand over the last two years.

"There is clearly a growing awareness of the need to incorporate more regular exercise into our lifestyles. Of concern is the growing number of overweight kids -- we need to address this problem," he said. "Fitness levels of our population, and related issues like weight control, is going to be one of the most important and costly issues facing public health in the coming generation."

PrimaFit is the sole supplier in Indonesia of Life Fitness, Life Fitness Sport, Hammer Strength, Parabody and Polar-brand products and services for commercial and consumer use. Most of the products are used by commercial fitness centers, hotels, resorts, country clubs, apartment buildings and progressive companies who are concerned with the health and performance of their staff.

The commercial equipment offered by PrimaFit includes 12 treadmill options ranging in price from US$6,650 to $15,000, and five cross-trainer options ranging in price from S$5,530 to $10,750.

"Clearly, value for money is very important. This however is very different from a cheap price," McKenna said. He said that when choosing commercial equipment, it is necessary to consider a club's target market, competitors and budget.

The equipment needs to be long lasting and have a good warranty, and the supplier should have a great reputation for after-sales service. The equipment also needs to be easy to use and should allow instructors to create progressive programs to help members.

"It must feel great and help in the sales presentation (to get club members)," McKenna said. "Once again, price must be considered in a full context. There would be nothing worse than buying a cheap machine, only to find you didn't like it (or worse still, it broke down and you couldn't get it fixed) and it acted like a clothes hanger in the corner of your room."

When choosing home fitness equipment, it is also important to consider whether the supplier will be around to help after the sale.

PrimaFit has just been recognized as the Life Fitness distributor of the year and awarded "X-ellent Distributor" status for maintaining, among other things, after-sales service standards.

A great product for home use is the Polar Heart Rate Monitor, which when put on the wrist enables people to set their heart rate limits and keep themselves informed with the displayed fitness bullets.

The latest models of commercial cross-trainers are the 95Xi and 90X, which have an increased stride length, a new ellipse position, refined arm motion and improved knee clearance for taller users. The pedal position also enhances user comfort.

At 2.8 inches apart -- the closest of any elliptical trainer in the industry among machines that comply with TUV (an international standard of quality) -- the pedal placement reduces lower back stress by minimizing lateral shifting of the hips.

For monitoring and maintaining heart rates, the 95Xi and 90X come with a Polar telemetry heart rate monitoring, while the 95Xi also includes interactive digital heart rate monitoring technology with Lifepulse heart rate sensors conveniently located on the moving arms.

To make it easier for fitness centers and clubs to bring entertainment to exercisers, the 95Xi also can come with Life Fitness' new integrated LCD console (model 95Xe; "e" stands for entertainment), while all units can be equipped with Life Fitness' attachable LCD entertainment system.

Incorporating advanced technology, both options allow exercisers to select live TV programs while working out.

The integrated LCD console's sophisticated touch-screen controls provide simple navigation between entertainment program options and workout data. The add-on LCD entertainment system mounts securely to a machine just above the existing console and lets the user select and view TV programs, while workout data is displayed throughout the console.