FROM GETTING TO work via flying car to 3D-printing your dinner, there are a lot of ways that tech could change your life in the future. But how likely would you be to adopt these tech advances, and to make them a part of your daily routines?

In a new series, Future Real, we’re partnering with Volkswagen to spotlight technologies of the future, with a different theme each time. As you read, we’ll ask you to rate how likely you’d really be to give each piece of tech a try. 

This week: what’s in store for the future of fitness?

Staying active is not always easy when trying to balance work, a social life and any other hobbies or interests that might take up your time. 

Finding an hour to head to the gym or go for a run isn’t always possible. Even when you do find the time, it can often be a struggle to get motivated or figure out the right exercise to suit your needs. 

In the future, there could be more ways than ever to work out from the comfort of your home as well as clothes and wearable devices to boost your performance and ensure you’re getting the most from your routine.  

1. Bye-bye personal trainers, hello AI coaching

If you don’t like the gym and don’t want to spend thousands on fitness equipment for your home, artificial intelligence (AI) could be here to save the day.

Digital health company Aaptiv announced an AI-based coach project earlier this year, using information on goals and habits submitted by the user – along with information from a wearable device such as a Fitbit – to create personalised fitness and lifestyle plans.

Although this seems like something a fitness trainer can already do, using AI could potentially result in quicker, more accurate development of workout plans, deeply personalised for each user.

Now that your workout plan is sorted, how about using AI to help you correct your weightlifting or running form – and finally beat your PB? An app called Onyx currently uses a 3D motion capture system on your phone camera to watch as users exercise.

It tracks reps and uses AI technology to advise when to correct a person’s movements, much like a trainer. In short, it’s a personal training session without a potentially much lower cost.

2. Wearables that decode your sweat (and help you avoid fatigue)

There are already plenty of ways to track your fitness and health goals, with everything from step counters on your phone to fitness watches. 

Earlier this year, Berkeley News reported that engineers in the University of California had begun working on a sensor to measure different substances in human sweat. The sensor takes information about skin temperature and can alert the wearer to problems such as fatigue and high temperature. 

Aside from sweat, your breath could also provide useful information on your fitness performance. Diagnostic equipment company COSMED created a device called the K5 which measures the amount of oxygen consumed by a person and their heart rate. 

Right now, you’d need a lot of wrist or head space available to use all of the above-mentioned wearables at once, but as with most tech devices 

3. Muscle-boosting gym wear

When it comes to fitness technology at the moment, workout gear would not normally be the first gadget that comes to mind. Exercise clothes are generally practical, lightweight and comfortably suited to the preferred method of exercise.  

However, some tech fitness clothing already exists, albeit as quite a high cost in most cases. US brand Athos currently sells tops and shorts that read your heart and breathing rates along with telling you how different muscles are working.

This data can then be analysed through their app to assess different aspects of the workout. However, with prices starting from $348 (€312), it’ll likely be a while before everybody has access to such information. 

US company Under Armour currently has a patent on a piece of clothing that would allow a person to absorb magnesium through their skin while working out. Magnesium is believed to boost exercise performance and help move blood sugar into muscles. 

Although it could be a while before these options are affordable enough for the average gym-goer, they do give a sense of the possibilities for clothes aiding workouts in the future. 

4. Self-tying shoes that remember the shape of your foot

For people who don’t want to be bogged down with devices and gadgets while running and instead just want to throw on their gear and go, smart shoes of the future could aid your workout and monitor your technique without being weighed down.  

In 2012, Nike launched their version of a smart shoe that could record a host of data including distance travelled and the height of a jump. However, they never really took off and the hype died down pretty quickly after their release. 

Earlier this year, the company launched a new smart shoe which ties its own laces and remembers the shape of its owners’ foot. 

While these are useful tools for many people, if the shoes could also monitor foot landing and time spent on the ground in the future, this could help to identify if people are running in the correct way. 

There is an external monitoring device currently available from the brand Stryd which tracks running stress and can predict which part of your body will feel tired after the run, along with a variety of other details.

This is a clip-on product put on top of the shoe and it costs €229, which is quite a steep price to pay for many people on top of a functional pair of running shoes. 

Smart shoes could have a sensor in place to track average pace and stride length along with other helpful pieces of information for those training for a marathon or just trying to up their running skills. 

Although options do already exist, this is an area in which developments could thrive as runners are often on the lookout for the next best thing to increase their personal best.

The future is nearer than you think. The Volkswagen ID.3 brings electromobility to the masses. Learn more at Volkswagen.ie/ID.