BODYCRAFT Eyes Connectivity, Freedom With Next-Gen Cardio Consoles

BODYCRAFT is giving the traditional cardio experience a serious upgrade with a series of new consoles and tech updates

BODYCRAFT, the strength and cardio fitness supplier, knows how important first impressions are.

When it comes to connected cardio equipment, a machine’s user interface (UI) is often the first thing that greets a new exerciser. BODYCRAFT stands above the rest on that front, upgrading its UI on a variety of touchscreen consoles to offer a marquee exercise experience.

At their core, the UI innovations are based on granting users more freedom.

“We have designed fitness equipment consoles for the last 20 to 30 years,” said Anita Miller, BODYCRAFT Product Manager. “There was a frustration with the difficulty of the last generation consoles — the touch screen, lack of connectivity, communication between other brand equipment and most importantly the lack of users’ choice. That’s why we came up with a different approach.”

Optionality Like No Other

BODYCRAFT’s new approach to interface and console design bestows limitless opportunities upon users. Its Connect-22 console, the brand’s most advanced model, is essentially a smart tablet attached to your exercise machine. Linked to the Google Play store, the Connect-22 makes all Android applications available to users while also collecting and displaying the necessary fitness information needed for a workout.

“We’re not going to lock you down to one app or one subscription,” explained Miller. “That’s the openness and the freedom of the Connect-22. We provide you with options. We provide you with the freedom to decide what you would like to do with this piece of equipment.”

The Connect-22 also includes pre-installed workout instructions and direct access to workout videos. Further, it’s able to access, sync, and process data from the equipment to deliver exercise experiences unique to each user.

“We took an outside-of-the-box approach,” said Miller. “We took ourselves out of our own shoes and put ourselves in those of our users. We put the options we would like to see in a console and then we designed it from that standpoint, made it simple to use and logical.”

While the Connect-22’s versatility makes it a headliner for BODYCRAFT, the brand still provides for those who want a more traditional exercise experience. BODYCRAFT’s LCD Display console option keeps things simple by monitoring speed, time, incline and more while offering different cardio programs.

“You can choose the fancy console or you can choose the LCD,” said Miller. “This is how we walk a line that will give you options. You can have things be a bit more complex or have everything as simple as the LCD console.”

Welcoming Others Into the Fold

BODYCRAFT doesn’t let anything stand in its way while giving users everything they need to get a satisfying workout in, even itself. As an equipment manufacturer, the brand knows it cannot direct all its attention toward app design. For that reason, it welcomes third-party fitness and entertainment apps onto its consoles.

“We specialize in fitness equipment,” said Miller. “We cannot keep up with ever-changing technologies and use the resources to design different apps, so we leave that to the third party.”

BODYCRAFT relies on these third-party partnerships to generate maps on its consoles, outdoor displays and more.

“Once again, it’s coming back to you,” noted Miller. “You get to choose. That’s how we design all our products.”

Ease of Use Is Paramount

With BODYCRAFT putting so much into its consoles’ UI design, the brand made sure not to lose track of what’s arguably the most important part of the user experience — ease of use.

“Everything is right there on your screen and we don’t have a fancy background or anything so that makes it look crisp and clean,” said Miller. “We use fun graphics and it’s just easy to use.

A big part of designing interfaces that users enjoy comes from listening to them. BODYCRAFT doesn’t shy away from criticism or assessment, it thrives on it.

“We encourage and have gotten feedback from our end users, customers, dealers and even competitors,” said Miller. “Now the console is very easy to use, to navigate, fun and user friendly. We definitely want to continue listening to our customers and our leaders, and continue to take that feedback.”

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