Growing each year over the last decade, the fitness industry is becoming a trend for individuals of all ages, increasing quality of life, reducing mental health symptoms, and managing chronic illnesses. This industry is showing no signs of slowing, and the incorporation of evolving technology and digital innovations is propelling fitness programs down new pathways that help guide others to a healthier lifestyle. Bringing new services to their luxury wellness brand, Equinox recently announced their plan, Optimize by Equinox, a $ 40,000-a-year personalized longevity program.
Known largely as a luxury brand that comes with a hefty price tag, Equinox has always been recognized as a brand that is “known to anticipate consumer needs and to come up with programs to support them,” according to Julia Klim, vice president of strategic partnerships and business development for Equinox. This commitment to meeting their consumers’ needs is highlighted by Equinox’s development of Optimize, which was inspired by Equinox members themselves. Members are pursuing many pathways to personalize their fitness and nutrition routines, with some even sharing their blood test results with their trainers,
Optimize is joined by partner Function Health, a health-management platform that offers over 100 lab tests and insights based on your results. For Klim, “If we know the future of coaching and performance is personalized, then let’s partner with the best company and physicians out there,” This led Equinox to Function Health which was co-founded by Dr. Mark Hyman, an internationally known physician. According to Dr. Hyman, this partnership “redefines ‘fitness’ as what’s happening both outside and now inside the body, beyond the gains seen in the mirror.” Equinox and Function Health are bringing together various factors such as biology, nutrition, psychology, hormones, hydration, and even the environment to design personalized wellness programs for consumers.
Klim compares this new Equinox program to wellness approaches for top athletes, who often work with a whole team of people to help them achieve peak performance. Klim stated, “There’s a doctor, a nutritionist, a sleep coach, a mental performance coach, and they come together as a team… So, it’s data, but a human-led approach.” This approach is where Equinox is heading for their athletes, who you may not find on professional golf courses or basketball courses, but who are CEOs, musicians, and other individuals seeking to optimize their performance.
Equinox’s new program goes live in New York and Texas at the end of the month, with plans for future locations being added throughout the year. Optimize will include a personal “concierge” for members who will guide them through completing medical questionnaires, doing diagnostics around movement, nutrition, and sleep to establish baselines, on top of blood tests done by Function Health that will check on the heart, thyroid, kidney, liver, and more.
Additional benefits for members include personal training from expert Equinox trainers, nutritional and sleep coaching, their Oura Rest & Recovery Kit, and monthly massage therapy. Interested consumers will be required to make a six-month commitment that costs $3,000 a month, on top of the average $300 monthly base gym membership—totaling around $40,000 annually.
With fitness being the number one lifestyle choice that increases longevity in the health world, Klim states that Equinox will be a “gym-as-longevity-clinic.”
