We read your recent article on new regulations for data portability with interest – the fact that gym members will be able to ask their club to transfer all their personal data to another gym when they leave, and not keep a record of this data (see HCM May 16, p54).

As a digital fitness company, any regulations affecting data processing are of great importance to us, and we’re excited about the General Data Protection Regulation. Operating across numerous European markets as we do, we’re in favour of homogeneous European data protection standards.

We’re also in favour of a data protection regime that strengthens the rights of members. Only when people feel comfortable with the handling of their personal data will they be willing to share their information. Trust is key.

Finally, the new standards affect not only end users and club members, but also eGym’s direct customers – fitness clubs. Our experience to date is that many clubs aren’t sufficiently familiar with data privacy requirements. With this new strengthening of consumer rights, health clubs will rely even more heavily on extensive consultation. That will put all enterprises providing services and products to clubs that include data processing and storage into the role of consultants.

Businesses that are able to support clubs in their obligations – for example, transferring personal data or implementing the ‘right to be forgotten’ – will finally bring the digital revolution to clubs. Because data is the currency of the new digital health and fitness experience.

I was interested to read the recent news coverage on newly published studies which have shown how strength training and maintaining a high level of muscle mass are connected to living alonger, healthier life.

With so much science now backing up the benefits of strength training, particularly as we age, members’ understanding of these connections should grow – and ultimately lead to improved retention rates across the sector.

The industry as a whole should be doing all it can to dispel the myth that weights are for bodybuilders. We must encourage all exercisers to incorporate strength work into their routines by producing intuitively designed machines – but also by bringing knowledgeable staff onto the gym floor to advise and support members in this important area.

The issue for us at Precor has always been how we can make strength training more attractive and user-friendly, particularly to women, older people and those new to exercise – groups who might not traditionally have seen strength training as being ‘for them’.

Initial orientation, on-the-spot guidance and drop-in workshops, along with demonstration videos and easy to understand instruction placards on the equipment, all help to build knowledge and confidence.