Despite already having 2 German design awards under its belt, Technogym has added to the trophy cabinet by winning the prestigious German Design Council award. The sleek and attractive Technogym Bench was the piece of equipment that won the German Innovation Award 2023 in the “Excellence in Business to Consumer” category.
This aesthetically pleasing and minimalistic home fitness station allows for a multitude of exercises to be performed in even the most limited of workout spaces. It was the compact and thoughtful design of the Technogym Bench that caught the eye of the judges and make it a stand out when it comes to versatile home fitness set-ups.
What are the German Innovation Awards?
Managed by the German Design Council – Germany’s leading authority on design and brands – The German Innovation Awards honour products that offer solutions with a focus on being user-centric and adding greater value that those that may have come before them. The Design Council celebrate their 70th anniversary this year and aim to promote society’s awareness of design and support companies on all matters relating to brand and design development.
What is the Technogym Bench?
Beautifully designed and compact, the Technogym Bench resembles a piece of modern furniture more than a piece of exercise equipment. Encasing a variety of dumbbells, weights, and resistance bands, the bench and its accompanying training mat allow the user to perform a huge range of workouts in the privacy of their own home.
Image courtesy of Technogym Australia.
The next generation of home fitness equipment design:
As populations grow and more people are living in units and smaller spaces rather than the stereotypical Aussie 3-bedroom house, home exercise equipment designers are having to reinvent the wheel. The large rigs and Smith Machine-style apparatus of years gone by that would dominate a garage or spare bedroom are no longer functional for many users. For renters in particular, an easily transportable and space-efficient option is highly desirable.
The Technogym Bench is an example of the next generation of home fitness equipment, with an emphasis on creating maximum functionality in minimal space. Some other new additions to the home fitness market that are worth paying attention to include:
The Fitillion Elite Home Gym:
A cleverly designed, functional training system, the Fitillion Elite allows for thousands of different exercises to be performed using only a few adaptive pieces of equipment. Fitillion’s point of difference is the seamless integration of technology across multiple platforms, creating a ultra personalised training environment for the user.
Available in two levels and price points, users can choose from:
The Fitillion Elite Pro, which consists of;
- The Universal Bench- an adjustable and robust workout bench offering the versatility of both flat or upright positions;
- The Universal Bands resistance band system that works in conjunction with the bench to provide various resistance-based movements;
- Ultrabands in various sizes for added versatility;
- Modular (adjustable) dumbbells (25kgs each) and pushbells (1.5kg each)
- Accessories including a foam roller, mat, tripod and phone holder and any necessary connection cables;
- The Fitillion Elite storage system – housing all of the smaller pieces of equipment in a stylish and compact unit that would fit neatly into any home décor.
- The 27” Touch Screen and Stand
- Fitillion’s own Smart Scale and Heart Rate Monitor for goal tracking.
Fitillion membership also offers users Personalised and goal-based workouts as well as nutrition support with shopping lists, recipes and even home-delivered meals.
There is a lower level package available too, The Fitillion Elite Starter, which includes everything except the 27” Touch Screen, Dumbells and Pushbells.
What makes Fitillion’s Home Gym so unique?
With the Fitillion Elite system, you can work out in a small space, to a customised training program that caters to your individual fitness goals. You can see yourself (mirrored from your phone camera) training alongside the virtual personal trainer on your TV or screen, with live feedback displayed about your heart rate and Fitillion’s own “Effort Points” metric. You can connect your Garmin or similar smart watch with the app and even sync your Spotify account so you get some banging tunes that will work seamlessly with the voice of the trainer.
The tech side of Fitillion definitely adds a level of gamification to your workout and encourages you to sync up with a friend to engage in some friendly competition on the leader board for Effort Points.
After your workout, the Fitillion Elite home gym packs up neatly and can be easily integrated into a home with limited storage space.
The Vitruvian Trainer+:
The Vitruvian Trainer + is an impressive and ultra minimalistic piece of home gym equipment. Using patented technology that loads the optimum resistance level for you, this entire home gym can provide up to 200kg of digital weights using a variety of lightweight handles, and ankle straps!
The seemingly innocuous Vitruvian Trainer + is so sleek and compact that you can store in under a bed when not in use and the guided workouts and progress tracking mean you’ll feel like you have your own personal trainer at home. It features adaptive weights to adjust to your ability as needed and multiple training modes including Pump, under Tension, Old School and Eccentric Only.
Though the Trainer+ is an exceptional home gym set-up on it’s own, if you do have room and want to add extra versatility to your workouts, there are 2 premium accessory packages available.
Image courtesy of Vitruvian Form.
Nordictrack Fusion CST:
Another example of evolving home fitness equipment design is the Nordictrack Fusion CST.
Though not as space efficient as the other home gym set-ups mentioned here, the Fusion CST is a definite step up from its more chunky predecessors. Using magnetic resistance, this piece of gear can provide up to 45kgs of weight resistance – more than enough for most home fitness enthusiasts. The benefit of magnetic resistance is that it’s silent, so for home gyms where housemates or neighbours are only a wall away, this is a good investment.
NordicTrack’s iFit membership offers you the experience of having a personal trainer in your home and the iFit workout can automatically adjust your resistance level from the 20 different levels available to create the optimum workout for you! Built in to the NordicTrack Fusion CST is a 10” screen so it’s easy to follow along with your virtual trainer.
This piece of home gym equipment certainly isn’t going to tuck away under the bed or into the corner when not in use, but it’s come a long way from the heavy duty home exercise set ups of the past.
NordicTrack Vault
Not only is the Nordictrack Vault a major player when it comes to the design and minimalistic trend of home gym equipment, it’s embraced the smart technology aspect of home fitness wholeheartedly.
Featuring a 6-foot, full length HD touchscreen that transforms to a mirror when not in use, the Vault’s smart mirror enables the user to monitor and correct their form, whilst following along with the preprogramed workout, similar to the Fitillion mirroring feature, but in life size format and at a bigger price point. Using NordicTrack’s iFit program, users can access both live and on-demand workout options.
The front of the Vault opens (hence the name) to reveal the equipment storage unit, which includes;
- Exercise Mat
- Yoga Blocks
- 3 Loop Bands
- 3 Super Resistance Bands
- 5-30 Lb Dumbbells
- 20 Lb & 30 Lb Kettlebells
What's next for home fitness equipment design?
It’s predicted that the VR fitness space is the next big growth area for the home fitness market. As VR headsets become less clunky and the workout variety advances, this is likely to be a pretty exciting area to watch. The merging of fitness and gaming could be great for the more reluctant couch potatoes among us, although it’s certainly not for everyone.
Aside from gaming, VR advancements can allow for specific personal training to be accessed by people in more remote locations and for highly specialised training expertise to be accessed globally by those who seek it.
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