ABC Fitness’ latest report reveals a rise in AI adoption led by Gen Z, but trust issues and privacy concerns could stall momentum. Here’s what the fitness tech company uncovered and what it recommends for fitness operators 

Something unexpected is happening inside gyms this summer, and it’s not just the spike in foot traffic. Amid the AI frenzy, not everyone’s sold.

ABC Fitness’ new Summer 2025 Wellness Watch Report reveals how consumers are engaging with AI, who’s still skeptical and what fitness operators can do to keep up.

Drawing on data from 40 million members, more than 30,000 gyms, over 500,000 fitness professionals and third-party research from ClubIntel, the report outlines where growth and engagement opportunities are emerging.

Here’s what the fitness technology company found:

Summer Slump? Not This Year

Although summer usually draws fitness consumers to the beach or barbecues instead of the gym, ABC Fitness is reporting an 8.3% year-over-year increase in check-ins and a 27% jump in new memberships across gyms and studios driven largely by HVLP-loving Gen Z and Millennials. The fitness tech company also found members average seven studio visits per month, with gym check-ins up 15% monthly.

As ABC Fitness notes, opportunity lies in tech and AI, with new tools and data emerging that can help boost both retention and acquisition.

“AI is becoming an integral part of the member lifecycle, from the moment someone walks in the door to long after they’ve joined,” ABC Fitness vice president of AI Robert Jackson said. “It’s helping fitness businesses personalize experiences, predict behavior and automate engagement in ways that were never possible before. The future belongs to those who use AI not just as a tool but as a core part of how they operate and grow.”

Boomers Aren’t Sold (Yet) on AI

One key finding from ABC Fitness: while 26% of active consumers say they’re “very familiar” with AI-powered fitness and wellness tools, that number plummets to just 6% among Boomers. Likewise, only 12% of Boomers “strongly agree” that AI can support their personal health and fitness goals, compared to 33% of Gen Z and 38% of Millennials.

Among users who have engaged with AI, 61% use it for fitness tracking and 49% rely on it for nutrition. Additionally, 36% use AI for virtual fitness training or generating workouts and 37% use mental wellness apps. Gen Z shows the highest engagement overall, with 64% saying they’ve used an AI fitness and wellness app, compared to 59% of Millennials, 41% of Gen X and just 17% of Boomers.

Nearly half of respondents (49%) say they use AI-powered tools daily for fitness and wellness, compared to 30% who use them weekly, 18% occasionally and just 4% rarely.

Privacy, Cost & Confusion Fuel Skepticism

Despite rising usage, trust remains a barrier. Nearly half of consumers report running into inaccurate data from AI tools. Only 17% of Boomers completely trust AI-driven fitness apps, while 43% of Millennials and 33% of Gen Z express full confidence.

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Top concerns include data and privacy (55%) and lack of awareness or understanding (38%), followed closely by worries about over-reliance on technology and cost (both at 37%), lack of personalization (35%) and difficulty understanding or using AI tools (24%).

The Opportunity

With Boomers still on the fence and privacy a growing concern, the fitness industry faces both a challenge and an opportunity for long-term engagement, especially as younger generations continue to set the pace.

To stay competitive, ABC Fitness urges operators to focus on personalization through adaptive coaching, tailored workout plans and real-time feedback, delivered via intuitive, user-friendly platforms that resonate across age groups.

The report also calls for stronger privacy safeguards, including transparent data policies and secure storage of personal health information. Enhanced connectivity between wearables and apps is another priority, to ensure accurate tracking of performance, recovery and health metrics.

Gamification features like leaderboards, achievement badges and interactive challenges can also drive engagement, ABC Fitness points out. Other recommendations include on-demand AI workouts, virtual coaching, digital communities and biometric-driven recovery tips to help users balance effort with rest.

In sports, even the smallest detail can make a big difference. For Indian athletes trying to compete at the highest level, training harder is important. But training smarter is what sets the best apart. That’s where wearable devices are stepping in. From fitness bands to smartwatches and skin sensors, these tools are quietly changing how Indian athletes manage their health and performance.

They are now being used to track three very important things like hydration, sleep, and stress. These may sound simple, but they have a big impact on how an athlete performs, recovers, and stays injury-free.

Why Hydration, Sleep, and Stress Matter

Hydration

Water is not just something athletes drink after a workout. It plays a key role in how muscles move, how quickly a person recovers, and how focused the brain stays. In hot Indian weather, especially during outdoor sports like athletics, cricket, and kabaddi, losing too much fluid can cause cramps, fatigue, and even dizziness.

Sleep

Sleep helps the body repair itself. Athletes need quality sleep to recover from heavy training, heal small muscle tears, and feel fresh for the next session. Poor sleep means slower reaction times, poor focus, and higher chances of getting injured.

Stress

Every athlete, from beginners to Olympians, deals with pressure. It could be the stress of competition, fear of failure, or personal issues. If ignored, stress can affect physical health, mood, and overall performance. Learning to monitor and manage stress is just as important as any workout.

How Wearables Are Helping Indian Athletes

Tracking Hydration in Real-Time

New wearable patches can now track how much an athlete sweats and how many salts they lose during training. Some smart bottles and bands even remind athletes when they need to drink water.

For example, wrestlers and hockey players training in the heat use these devices to keep track of their hydration levels. Coaches then adjust their water intake or suggest drinks that restore lost minerals.

Monitoring Sleep Quality

Fitness trackers like Fitbit, Garmin, and even some budget-friendly smartwatches can measure how long and how well an athlete sleeps. They break down sleep into light, deep, and REM cycles. This helps athletes understand whether they are getting enough rest to recover fully.

In Khelo India camps, young athletes are being guided on how to read their sleep data. Based on these readings, coaches help them set sleep routines, reduce screen time before bed, and avoid late-night training if needed.

Measuring Stress Levels

Many wearables now include features that track heart rate variability, which can be a sign of stress. These devices alert the athlete if their body is under more pressure than usual. They may also suggest simple steps like deep breathing, taking a short break, or meditating.

Take the example of a badminton player who sees a spike in stress levels before an important match. Instead of ignoring it, her coach can modify her warm-up and include calming activities to help her stay focused.

Making Sports Science Reach Everyone

Not long ago, only top athletes could afford such smart devices. But thanks to government programs like Khelo India and private sports academies, wearable technology is now reaching more young athletes across the country.

Sports startups are building cheaper devices that work well in Indian conditions. Training centres in cities like Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad are combining traditional sports knowledge with modern technology. This blend of science and skill is helping athletes get better, faster, and healthier.

The Challenges

There are still some hurdles to overcome.

• Many athletes in rural areas do not have access to smartphones or smart devices.

• Too much data can be confusing if there is no one to explain it properly.

• Data privacy is also a concern, especially when multiple apps and platforms are involved.

That is why support from coaches, sports scientists, and the government is important. Athletes should be taught not just how to use wearables, but how to use them wisely.

The Road Ahead

Wearables are not replacing human coaches. They are simply giving athletes better tools to understand their own bodies. They offer real-time information that can prevent injuries, improve focus, and build better habits.

For India, a country with so much young sporting talent, wearable technology can be the silent partner that helps turn potential into performance. As more athletes gain access to these tools, we can expect not just more medals but also healthier, more informed, and well-rounded sportspersons.

The journey has already begun, and with every heartbeat, step, and drop of sweat tracked correctly, the future of Indian sports looks stronger than ever.

When I first saw AMBelievable’s tennis racket dampener, I’ll be honest, I was skeptical. I was skeptical about its claims, questioned the product’s ability, and wondered what impact this technology could have.

Well, two years later, I have completely changed my opinion and fully believe this technology can revolutionize the tennis world.

AMBelievable’s Universal tennis racket dampener on a tennis racket.

AMBelievable is a startup from Torino, Italy, and was started in 2022. Its mission was simple: to use metamaterial technology to make tennis more enjoyable. And, after testing its product for three months now, I can attest that I am enjoying tennis more than I ever have.

AMBelievable’s dampener is made using selective laser sintering (SLS), a 3D printing process that fuses powdered TPU into precise shapes. What makes this so interesting is how they’ve used metamaterial-inspired lattice structures to control how the dampener responds to different vibrations. These internal geometries allow it to absorb specific frequencies while staying incredibly lightweight—something that simply couldn’t be done with traditional molding.

The technology is based on these metamaterial architectural structures, as seen below. They are designed to dissipate frequencies based on a player’s preference and give a person a truly customized feel. Additionally, they are not only tuned to a player’s “feel,” but are also designed to eliminate the vibrations associated with tennis elbow.

AMBelievable’s Metamaterial technology targets high, mid, and low frequency vibrations from the tennis racket.

HEAD acoustics, an independent lab, even corroborated AMBelievable’s claims with data from its own lab, and an interactive chart can be found on AMBelievable’s website for you to review the data yourself.

HEAD acoustic’s data from AMBelievable’s website shows the reduction of racket frame vibrations.

This is a large departure from traditional tennis racket dampeners that only target the mid (250-350 Hz) to high frequency (650-750 Hz) range produced by the strings, but leave the low frequencies (80-200 Hz) from the frame, which are linked to tennis elbow, unchecked.

I am excited to see where AMBelievable goes from here. While its CTO, Tomasso Becutti, sees their work staying in the sporting world and possibly venturing into other sports, I think meta materials like these have numerous applications outside that arena as well. Tomasso did mention Phononic-Vibes, another spin-off from the same parent company, which is exploring this technology for acoustic purposes. I think there are plenty of applications there too, like noise-cancelling headphones, soundproofing walls, and quieter car interiors.

I mean, imagine driving down the highway and not hearing the tires rolling down the road?! What bliss.

Simulation of the AMBelievable’s Universal tennis racket dampener.

Overall, I am extremely impressed by AMBelievable, and having the HEAD study quells my biggest criticism from my first article.

If you are interested in trying the dampener yourself, they are available for purchase on the AMBelievable website. I have been using the “Universal” model, but they also offer a “Tuned” model and can customize the dampener in the shape of a logo, too. However, be warned. Because once you try its dampener, you might ditch all your Agassi rubber band dampeners forever and become an AMBelievable like me.

Images courtesy of AMBelievable.

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Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) has partnered with Oakley to launch the Oakley Meta HSTN, a high-performance AI smart eyewear product blending advanced technology with athletic design. Targeting athletes and active users, the glasses feature Meta’s voice assistant, built-in camera, open-ear speakers, and IPX4 water resistance, making them ideal for outdoor and fitness-focused lifestyles.

With up to eight hours of continuous use, fast charging, and a high-capacity charging case, the Oakley Meta HSTN is engineered for all-day endurance. Users can capture 3K video and access real-time information hands-free—like surf updates or wind conditions—without reaching for their phone.

This launch builds on Meta’s previous success with the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, created through its ongoing collaboration with eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica. While the Ray-Ban version catered to lifestyle use, the Oakley Meta HSTN focuses on performance, seamlessly integrating AI with sport.

A global marketing campaign will showcase the product’s capabilities through elite athletes like Kylian Mbappé and Patrick Mahomes, emphasizing how the eyewear merges digital insight with real-world action.

The Oakley Meta HSTN will be available for preorder on July 11 at $499, with a wider launch priced at $399 later this summer. Initial availability includes North America, Europe, and Australia, with planned expansions to India, Mexico, and the UAE—highlighting Meta’s growing push into global wearable tech markets.

By combining wearable AI with sports innovation, Meta continues to advance its position at the intersection of fitness, fashion, and smart technology, where eyewear not only looks sharp but functions as a digital companion.

Puma and Meta have collaborated on a new mixed reality shopping experience that is live in Meta Quest headsets now.

The experience is accessible through the Meta Quest web browser WebXR (as opposed to a downloadable app) and will initially focus on Puma’s recently released All-Pro Nitro shoe. Within the browser, users can purchase the sneaker as well as size their feet by placing their hand controllers at the tips of their toe and heel.

Ivan Dashkov, Puma’s Head/Emerging Marketing Tech, told SBJ that Puma and Meta believe this activation is the first shopping experience in WebXR.

“It’s a little bit of a demo,” he said. “[Meta] can showcase to other brands what they can do in these experiences.”

Meta’s Director of Engineering Mike Halloran called the project a “proof of concept for the broader retail industry,” in a note to SBJ.

“The ability to virtually size products, examine them in your own space, and customize them in real-time addresses some of the biggest pain points in online shopping,” he said. “We’ve been pleased with initial customer feedback from this new experience, and we’ll continue to innovate to make this a great mixed reality experience.”

Indeed, the foot sizing feature is the experience’s most innovative capability. Dashkov said it was born out of Puma’s e-commerce team reporting that customers often purchase multiple pairs of shoes, then return sizes that don’t fit.

“That’s been a little bit of a pain point for us,” Dashkov said. “We’re hoping this is accurate enough to reduce people’s need to buy multiple pairs of different size.”

Puma has invested in immersive methods of customer engagement in the past. In 2022, it launched a desktop-accessible metaverse retail platform called Blackstation, then expanded that in 2023, allowing users to explore virtual worlds and redeem digital collectibles for Puma sneakers. Puma also recently partnered with Manchester City and generative artificial intelligence provider DeepObjects on an AI jersey creation tool and fan contest.

In terms of its relationship with Meta, Puma was the first sportswear brand to integrate into Meta’s avatar store and last year staged a mixed-reality activation using Meta Quest headsets at store locations in Germany, during which users sampled various fitness experiences in a 2×2 meter space.

Dashkov said early returns on the WebXR shopping experience, which formally launched last week, have exceeded expectations in both number of visitors and time spent by those visitors. Projects like these are not yet viewed internally as a significant sales driver, he added, but more of a “test and learn” initiative that will make the business agile as headsets and smart glasses proliferate further. Meta already sells AI-enabled Ray-Bans, and Google is expected to release Android XR glasses that include Gemini AI features next year.

“A lot of people are predicting that [smart glasses] will eventually replace the smartphone in general, and people will have these kinds of glasses to interact with the world and interact with different brands and different websites,” he said. “For us, it’s future-proofing the company and getting ready for that future.”