Are We Ready for Wii?

Successful personal trainers get creative with accessories to keep clients' workouts interesting. Yet, sometimes the best fitness accessories aren't actually fitness equipment at all - like the Nintendo Wii video game system.

Though it's designed for home use, with a little imagination and a lot of foresight, Wii could spark dragging personal training sessions, and fire up your membership with innovative tournaments and competitions.

Wii Leader

Studeo 55, Vancouver, Canada, was the first club in North America to integrate the Wii system into a fitness facility. "We are all about making fitness about the experience and having fun with it," says Matt Reid, general manager of Studeo 55. "The Wii at Studeo 55 is a benefit to our members. We do not charge for it, and it is definitely not used as a profit center. It is a way to increase the experience of our personal training clients. We see using the Wii system as a 'value added' [amenity] for our members."

Studeo 55 offers Wii not as a workout replacement, but as a workout enhancement. "Our goal is to have our members look forward to their training session, not dread it," Reid says. "We have used the Wii as a way to warm up, or [as] a fun interlude mid-workout. We have not suggested it to anyone as an alternative to traditional workout routines, [but] only as a fun way to elevate the heart rate."

Wii introduces a competitive aspect that gives a new dimension to personal training sessions. "We often use sports or games to help get more out of our clients," says Reid. "Often, someone is more likely to work harder if there is a level of competition. The clients love any way to compete with their trainer. Using the Wii is another opportunity to accomplish this."

Wii "is a unique way to keep our facility fun, and it is a great way to generate word-of-mouth [attention]," says Reid. "People will go back to their offices and talk about how much fun they had at the gym today."

Who's On Board?

Though Wii gets a lot of press - especially since its new, fitness-focused game called Wii Fit was released - not many fitness centers have invested in the video game system. However, that may soon change. "I do think [Wii] would be a good fit [for fitness centers]," says Onome Ojo, general manager of the Millennium SportsClub in Vallejo, Calif. "It's an attraction that is great for tournaments, club socials and health fairs. It's also important that our programming stay current and innovative. Given its Internet capabilities, why not envision club-wide Wii tournaments?"

Millennium SportsClub doesn't yet offer the Wii to members, but that may change soon. "We, in fact, purchased the Wii for [an] event, and have since considered making it a part of our regular offerings," Ojo says. "I haven't purchased the Wii Fit yet, but I have researched it; its applications could be useful for us. I have even considered making a Wii Fit room."

Wii Fit

Nintendo has recognized Wii's potential as a fitness accessory, and has capitalized on that potential by creating Wii Fit. The game has about 40 different yoga, strength, balance and cardio training activities. The Wii Balance Board measures a user's weight and center of gravity, and then calculates body mass index (BMI) when told the user's height. Wii Fit tracks a user's "Wii Fitness Age" by testing the user's current age, weight and athletic ability. The user's personalized avatar, called a "Mii," changes its shape as actual user weight increases or decreases. It's a unique form of motivation: As users get thinner, so does their Mii.

Wii Marketing

Don't count on the Wii's mainstream popularity to be an immediate draw for new members. It may be difficult for people to envision how a home video gaming system can help them get a great workout at your fitness center, so it's your job to show them. Make the Wii station a mandatory stop on your facility tour, and consider hosting an open house event to showcase the Wii in action. Ojo introduced Wii to a group of potential members by adding a Wii tournament to the Vallejo Health Fair, which he organized. "The event was a great success," says Ojo. "It was a theme-park-style event called SilverLand, geared toward [older adults]. The Wii was a fun addition to our fair. Persons who had never been exposed to the Wii, let alone video games, were able to bat, bowl and pitch with ease."

It's also important to adjust your target market. Many fitness gaming options focus on snagging and keeping the interest of a young demographic. Wii's audience, however, skews older. "What is most surprising is how much adults enjoy the Wii," says Ojo. "While Nintendo has had the most success with younger video-gamers, the Wii is enjoyed just as well by adults."

Limitations

There are limitations to what a fitness facility can accomplish with Wii. It's best used as an add-on to a fitness routine, and requires creative, enthusiastic and knowledgeable trainers to make the most of its technology. There are also other challenges to overcome, such as finding space to house the system. "Our Wii is set up in our Spin Studio, [which] has a large open area and a 48-square-foot projection screen," says Reid.

Mitigating risk is another concern. To minimize member injury and equipment damage, "we make sure the system is only used under direct supervision," says Reid. If your facility does decide to invest in a Wii, it's a good idea to check with a lawyer to be sure your liability waivers and insurance coverage are sufficient.

You won't see Wii on any trade show floor, and that's because it's designed for home use rather than in a commercial setting. Therefore, equipment maintenance is a significant concern. Because the Wii is not designed for clubs, there is a good chance it will suffer some overuse damage if installed in a fitness facility. And, though Nintendo does have tech support available, it likely can't offer the help you're used to getting when traditional fitness equipment is on the fritz. In fact, Ojo believes a commercial-grade unit is a necessary upgrade for the Wii Fit to find a permanent home in the industry. "The Wii Fit, if it should ever become a mainstay in clubs, would need a more durable format to withstand substantial use," he says.

This didn't phase Studeo 55 managers, however, when making the decision to buy a Wii system. "Consumer vs. commercial product did not come into the decision," says Reid. "We saw the system as a way to increase the members' experience, so we went for it." So far, the facility hasn't had any problems. "The Wii has done fine in terms of wear and tear," says Reid. "That being said, an employee is the one who sets up the games."

A New Kind Of Amenity

No matter how impressive a video game's technology is, it can't replace a personal trainer or a gym workout. "Fun workouts and great experiences develop an outstanding culture and result in great retention," says Reid. That's one reason he believed in Wii enough to take a chance and purchase it for commercial use. Whether more fitness centers will follow his lead depends on many factors. Still, no one can deny that the possibilities of this kind of equipment are exciting. "I believe health clubs should not only follow the trends, but create them," says Ojo. "The Wii's place in our industry is limited only by our imagination."