Skip to main content

Best Buy focuses on fitness with new range of high-tech gym equipment

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Getting fit may be the last thing on your mind when you’re wandering aimlessly around a Best Buy store, but the big-box retailer is hoping to change all that with the launch of a new collection of connected fitness equipment in dedicated sections inside 100 of its U.S. stores.

The new fitness spaces will launch this year and include products such as exercise bikes and rowing machines from various equipment makers.

With many fitness equipment purchases quickly becoming little more than dust-gathering ornaments, Best Buy has decided to select items that virtually connect you with “world-class fitness trainers” to help you “stay motivated, have fun, and get the most out of [your] workout.”

Within the new collection, you’ll find, for example, the Flywheel Home Bike from Flywheel Sports, which offers an indoor cycling experience with livestreamed, on-demand classes from qualified instructors based around the country.

NormaTec, meanwhile, offers the Pulse 2.0 Recovery System, described as a “dynamic compression recovery system trusted by more than 97 percent of professional sports teams and elite athletes.” The attachment, which is worn on the arms or legs, works to increase blood circulation and reduce pain and soreness, thereby helping athletes to warm up for activities and recover when they’re done.

Hydrow has a connected rowing machine “that brings a real-life rowing experience to the living room,” while NordicTrack offers various connected treadmills and studio cycles that come with iFit, an interactive and personalized training system that aims to help you stay motivated.

Finally, from Hyperice you’ll find various tech-driven recovery products — among them percussion devices and fitness rollers — designed to speed up muscle recovery and enhance mobility.

To give its new in-store fitness spaces the best chance of succeeding, Best Buy is staffing them with specially trained advisers to answer questions and aid purchasing decisions.

“We know there’s a growing intersection between fitness and technology, and no one knows tech like we do,” Jason Bonfig, Best Buy’s chief merchandising officer, said in a release. “We’ve promised our customers we’ll help enrich their lives, including their health and wellness, by using technology.”

Customers who can’t make it to a Best Buy store can also buy the products from its online store, the company said.

If Best Buy’s new push into fitness has your withering muscles twitching in excitement at the idea of embarking on a new (possibly your first ever) fitness regime, then be sure to also check out Digital Trends’ carefully considered suggestions for other smart fitness gadgets.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
ClipDart is an on-demand barber app aimed at people of color
ClipDart founder, Kyle Parker.

It’s funny how we can take certain things for granted, like haircuts. Over the course of more than 50 years of living in different cities, different neighborhoods, or even visiting different countries, not once have I ever worried about whether I could find someone who could cut my hair the way I liked. Then again, I’m white.

But if you’re a person of color, it can be an entirely different experience. That’s what Kyle Parker discovered when he left his hometown of Chicago in 2013 to attend Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, population 9,031. While 24% of Grinnell College’s students identify themselves as people of color, fewer than 10% of residents of the city of Grinnell would say the same of themselves.

Read more
Circular confirms its $259 smart ring is coming to the U.S.
best wearables of ces 2022 circular ring

The Circular smart ring is finally going to be available for pre-order on Sunday, February 27, via the Circular website and will cost $259. The wearable tech will be available for presale in European countries (France, Germany, the U.K., and Italy,) the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Pre-orders will go live at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 27. Those who pre-order the smart ring should expect delivery between April and June 2022, according to a Circular press release.

Circular doesn't clarify what ring sizes will be available when presales go live, however, the company has said that seven sizes for both men and women will be available. Digital Trends has reached out for clarification on the available sizes, and will update this article when we hear back. The Circular smart ring also comes in four different colors that can be switched out with replaceable outer shells: Black, rose gold, silver, and gold.

Read more
How to take an ECG with your Apple Watch and see irregular heart notifications
ecg app apple watch

The ECG app is one of the most vital features of the Apple Watch, allowing you to see an electrocardiogram of your heart whenever you want. Along with this, the Apple Watch can notify you of irregular heart rhythms.

Read more