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Forget jump-rope and sit-ups — fitness trade show unveils high-tech innovations

(TNS) ORLANDO, Fla. — Johnny G, who invented the indoor-cycling craze called Spinning, was stretching outdoors in Brazil when he hit on a new way to build strength and improve flexibility.

His revelation became the In-Trinity elevated fitness board, one of the innovations in exercise at last week's 2016 International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association trade show.

"The industry has grown to such a remarkable place," said G, 60, a former professional cyclist whose full last name is Goldberg.

That was apparent from the dizzying array of machines, weights and accessories on display during the two-day show at the Orange County Convention Center.

Much is at stake in a business that has U.S. revenues of more than $24 billion, according to the association.

More than 380 exhibitors tried to capture a piece of that market.

Some tried to reinvent the free weight by making it round and bright green or transforming it into a sand-filled, ravioli-shaped beanbag. Others took the familiar treadmill, curved it upward on both ends and removed all mechanical elements, allowing runners to vary their pace from step to step. One manufacturer stocked a version of a foam-roller muscle relaxer that looked like the melding of an umbrella stand and a medieval cudgel.

The overarching theme, though, was technology. One of the exhibitors, Orangetheory Fitness, has built its 6-year-old business on data, expanding to 386 clubs, including 69 in Florida. Members see their heart rates, calories burned and other performance numbers on screens throughout their 60-minute group workouts, letting them assess their progress and compare it with others'.

"I took the science of the human body and put it together in a nice package with a bow on it," said Ellen Latham, 60, founder and partner at the South Florida-based Orangetheory, one of several fitness-world celebrities at the show.

At least two exhibitors were selling three-dimensional scanners that let exercisers track their body measurements with a computer-generated avatar. One, Styku, started marketing the product for use in clothing alterations but realized that fitness had bigger possibilities, Chief Operating Officer Jason Delevan said.

The system, which uses infrared light and the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor originally intended for Xbox video games, includes body-fat and body-shape analysis, fat-loss calculations and caloric expenditure.

"We're becoming such a data-driven society," said Delevan, whose company is based in Los Angeles. "Fitness is being gameified."

Lisa Galasso, a spokeswoman for prototype abdominal-exercise machine Ab Turn, said the company is planning to add more digital bells and whistles, including a connection with a personal activity tracker such as the Fitbit, before marketing the Hula-Hoop-inspired belt. It was developed by a drone maker.

"We've come a long way," she said.

No more are a pair of sneakers, a jump-rope and sit-ups enough. The trade show featured bicycles designed to be pedaled in a swimming pool, vibrating platforms that purportedly boost circulation and muscle contractions, rowers with a water flywheel, a bicycle camera that doubles as a GPS and a speedometer, and several virtual-exercise systems.

It also showcased lower-tech fare such as weightlifting demonstrations by national champion Mattie Rogers of Apopka and Olympic champion Aleksey Torokhtiy, Zumba and trampoline classes and recumbent cross-trainers designed to accommodate disabled people.

Tom Hoatlin, 52, whose legs were paralyzed in 1991 when he was shot during a robbery at the hotel he managed, is an advocate for disabled people, a wheelchair athlete and a consultant to NuStep, the Ann Arbor, Mich., company that makes the machines. He lamented that few health clubs had equipment he could access after his injury.

"When I go into the gym, this is one of the only features I can use," he said, demonstrating how the seat swivels 360 degrees to allow him to transfer from his wheelchair. "I want to work out like everybody else."

Among the show attendees was Aubrey Grund, 25, who was shopping for equipment for her Orlando gym, Perfect Movement Fitness. She tried out the latest TRX suspension-training straps, which were invented by Randy Hetrick, a former Navy SEAL. He was at the show, too.

"I love to be able to trial-run these pieces of equipment and talk to the people who make them," Grund said. "It's not the same online or in a magazine."

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©2016 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

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