With space at a premium, and changing city infrastructures, there is potential to build downwards and create underground biodomes designed with perfect environmental conditions to mimic all the health benefits of fresh air and sunshine. A whole ecosystem can be created using vitamin D lighting and AR (Augmented Reality) technology that allows us to have a full adventure every time we visit. A health club membership of the future could include a 40-minute hike in the mountains, with all the benefits of the great outdoors in a city centre.
The Future of Wellness at David Lloyd Clubs
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, David Lloyd Clubs assembled a Wellness Council to forecast fitness and wellness trends over the next 40 years and published a report on their findings. Predictions include personalised sleep pods and hyper-personalisation becoming the norm, underground biodomes, and the entire concept of ageing could cease to exist.
Far More than the Gym Floor
Leaving Age in the Past
The entire health and wellness experience will be based on personalisation, with sensors and trackers inbuilt into our lives, meaning that from the moment a member joins a health club their programme will be completely personalised and automated to their needs. The ability to use this data to make constant corrections to everything from vitamin levels to the way our brain interprets signals, means the health club could become a central hub to eliminate all of the physical and mental signs of ageing as we know them today.
Virtual Solutions, Rooted in Bricks and Mortar
AI (Artificial Intelligence), AR and the metaverse mean we will be able to work out in a group wherever and whenever we want. A class with friends from around the world, taking place at the top of a mountain all from your own living room without the need to wear clunky VR headgear will become the norm, and a part of your standard club subscription. This will mean leaving your home and going to your club will no longer be primarily skewed towards physical activity but a place to connect, to seek rest and to nurture your mental wellbeing through community and connection with everyone from other members to licensed therapists, all designed to nurture body and soul.
Rest, Work and Play
The idea of health being hard work is set to die by the 2060s – no longer an obligation or a challenge the focus will be on escapism and fun and the benefits of rest. Our bodies will always need exercise, but as the working week changes shape around our obligations, the health club offering will see more gamification, more focus on disconnecting and resting and on a holistic approach to mental and physical health.
Additionally, as technology develops, individual sleep pods within health clubs could allow people with the perfect personalised environment to rest and recharge their bodies.