Gym Force champions a return to time-tested fitness practices like yoga, martial arts, and functional/strength training, arguing that these enduring methods outshine modern high-tech solutions. Using innovation and AI, the brand aims to reconnect people with authentic, effective health practices that prioritize community and real results over fleeting tech and/or gimmicky fads.
At Gym Force, our big innovation is actually counterintuitive. We’re using technology to go back in time.
There's plenty of innovation in the future of fitness, from GLP-1s to futuristic machines and other equipment such as wearables. Advances in technology will surely prove beneficial to some people. But they’re not the true foundation of real health. And they're definitely not a scalable option that will appeal to the masses, particularly those who don't already exercise.
What actually works always has and always will.
No tech, no problem.
You can run a great fitness class anywhere with nothing more than a few dumbbells or other objects lying around the house. Jiu Jitsu only requires a patch of grass and a few training partners. Yoga today looks almost the same as it did a thousand years ago. These practices have stood the test of time because they produce actual results.
This is also true when it comes to the food we eat. As it turns out, most Americans would do well to get on a diet based on the meals our grandparents used to make, including the lasagna and apple pie.
History has taught us the same lesson many times over the years. Shiny new ideas often come with hidden costs nicely packaged in the "too good to be true" category so many of us are so willing to ignore. Processed foods looked like progress until they started making us sick. High-tech gym machines may look impressive but do little to build real, functional strength, in many cases even doing more harm than good.
This is also the case when it comes to elite athletic performance. How else do you explain Rocky Balboa's defeat of Ivan Drago?
Disclaimer
As a rule, doing anything is better than doing nothing. That said, if there's something you enjoy, you're probably better off doing the version that most resembles the earliest application as nature intended. If you like running, run outside. If you like biking, ride an actual bike, not some contraption with pedals and handles that don't move while staring at some fitness model you'll never meet.
Treadmills and stationary bikes may seem like innovations that allow us to do things we enjoy that we are otherwise unable to do (weather, schedule, etc.). I'd argue they are actually products that have been cleverly marketed and created to optimize sales by convincing people to do something completely unnatural.
You can't fake riding a bike any more than you can fake a long walk on the beach.
There are signs everywhere, and momentum is growing. What's old is new again, and not just with regard to physical fitness. People are meditating again. Brick (dumb) phones and flip phones are also gaining in popularity. Manual lawn mowers are also making a comeback. In-person bookstores and old-timey barber shops never went away but dwindled in numbers. As we collectively come to our senses, they too are enjoying a bit of a renaissance.
When something lasts, it’s usually because it fills a need that never goes away. Bookstores are not simply a place to purchase books. They are a part of our culture.
This is known as the Lindy effect: the longer something has been around, the more likely it is to last. This is also the case when it comes to business and tech.
Yoga will be here far longer than us. Martial arts and strength training aren't going anywhere either. Humans have always tested themselves with feats of strength, gymnastics, and combat. These things are Lindy. Along with community, they are also at the core of what we hope to represent with the Gym Force brand.
AI is here to stay, and it will change everything. But it won’t do your pull-ups for you. It won’t make you stronger. It won’t teach you to defend yourself and will never be able to truly bond with you or truly share in your struggles or successes. And it definitely doesn't know what it feels like to endure a rough CrossFit workout.
So embrace the future. But don’t forget the things that got us where we are: our practices that have proven so effective over time that they are endlessly studied and passed down for the benefit of generations to come.
This is why we continue to practice yoga. It's also why we should do our best to replicate Grandma's lasagna.