Two ambitious young Israelis set out to solve a problem people grapple with all year long: staying fit.
Due to weather, cost and just plain inertia, going to the gym can be dull. Working out inside can be boring (and the inertia battle remains).
In come co-founders Guy Bar and Dan Strik, who declare that an exercise mechanism will never collect dust in the basement. The product is called the Hyfit Wearable Gym, a portable smart workout ecosystem incorporating IoT technologies, the first in a line of related products.
The Bluetooth-compatible suspension-training system, which looks a little like a TRX suspension trainer, builds full-body strength and core stability using a system of ropes and webbing that works against gravity and one’s own body weight. There are 250 possible exercises that can be performed with the Wearable Gym, which is constructed of waterproof materials and comes with a wireless charger.
Embedded sensors send live motivational feedback to individuals and their trainers (if they have one) about your workout results such as repetitions accomplished, resistance used and calories burned. A companion app uses that data to plan the next routine so users don’t get stuck in a boring rut.
Though the patented Wearable Gym is still in pre-order phase—with the first batch expected to ship in March—Bar and Strik have raised about $880,000 and aim to be no less than the next Apple of fitness.
Seven years ago, they were selling imported TRX suspension-training equipment to Israeli army bases. After a while, they recognized a need for more advanced gear that would motivate people to keep up their fitness routine, work out wherever and whenever they wanted, and track their performance.
They started developing the Wearable Gym three years ago, despite having no capital or business connections. They chose to headquarter Hyfit in Los Angeles because of its proximity to Santa Monica, Calif., the unofficial “capital of fitness.”
The company’s software developers are based in Tel Aviv, along with COO Elad Elkalai and Itai Segev, international sales and business-development manager. Elkalai is heading to China shortly to oversee production.
The founders have also been to the Far East to discuss a possible distribution deal in Asia with consumer electronics maker Xiaomi. Industry forecasters predict the workout-equipment market in the Asia-Pacific will grow rapidly in the coming years, especially in India and China.
Segev notes “a successful campaign on Kickstarter for our first product, the Wearable Gym, in April to May 2018. We had $120,000 in pre-order sales from the first month only.”
And, he adds, Forbes magazine “named us one of the most promising startups in the world.”
Full article at Israel21c.
