Echelon brings fitness training in-house

Echelon is seeing huge growth as we focus on fitness at home.

The Echelon EX-3 fitness bike

Remote working is one of the new norms since the pandemic started. Remote training is a new and fast growing trend that takes home workouts to a new level. Owning exercise equipment at home is not unusual, nor is watching videos of exercise classes and following along. But when the equipment and the class come together for a live workout, you may not return to your local gym again.

Echelon is an American company based in Utah which has been selling connected fitness equipment and hosting classes well before the pandemic but is now seeing huge growth as we focus on wellbeing from home. Its equipment range in the US includes a treadmill, rower, bike and even a smart mirror. For Australians, the connected bike named the EX-3 is the first offering and I’ve been testing it and burning my COVID kilos in the process.

The Echelon EX-3 looks like a typical exercise bike with a silent weighted wheel with 32 levels of resistance. Large height adjustable bullhorn handlebars with a tablet holder and USB port sit comfortably in front of the rider, with an adjustable seat and weight rack. The magic begins when you open and connect the Echelon app to the bike.

The Echelon EX-3 bike

The Echelon Fit app uses Bluetooth to connect your Apple or Android tablet to the EX-3. The USB port helps keep the tablet charged. Inside the app you can connect your heart rate monitor and use the app to synchronise with Strava and Fitbit to keep track of your workouts. The Echelon Fit app has over 4000 on-demand classes and between 20-30 live classes per day.

Classes are not always focused on the bike with various strength, meditation, toning and even Zumba classes available. We found live classes to be the most engaging as it provides an immersive experience whereby you can see others who’ve joined the class and the instructor can see your data and will likely call you out if you’re lagging. It happened to me.

After ten bike classes I can confirm that an Echelon class is one that leaves an impact. From the beginning, the trainers stare down the barrel of the camera and appear to talk to you directly. The data from the bike appears on your app screen showing cadence, resistance, calories burned and more. A leaderboard on one side shows where you sit among other participants.

Dashboard

We found this motivating however all of these metrics can be hidden if they become distracting. With more than 30 trainers running classes in the app you will likely try a few before building a virtual bond with one. You can look for their classes, fit them into your diary and attend workouts without the commute to a gym. Given the equipment is from the same company creating the classes, your trainers will speak your language, understanding where your bike controls are and how it works.

Classes didn’t feel intimidating or rushed, allowing us to be comfortable with the bike and its controls before the ride got more serious. At this stage the resistance of the bike is still in your control. In the future, you may be able to opt in for a fully controlled session where the equipment is controlled by the trainer to push you further.

We also liked that the music used in the classes were from known artists and if you enjoyed a song or the entire playlist from a class you can import it into your own Spotify with a single tap. Given the experience is run on a tablet, you can easily hear the classes and music through Bluetooth headphones, wireless speakers or using the on-board tablet speakers.

A trainer keeps you motivated

If all you wanted was to ride at your own leisure, you can select scenic routes which lets you be a virtual tourist cycling the streets of Paris, Corsica, Singapore and more. This was a nice way to wind down at the end of the day or to cool down after a workout.

With the ability to engage in all forms of workouts, even off the bike, we appreciated that this is all included in the subscription adding variety to your home workouts. If you have an Apple TV or Google Chromecast you can mirror your app onto your home TV making those workouts easier to follow.

Connected fitness has come a long way over the years and with many of us still working from home, it presents an interesting option for the time poor. With classes ranging between 5 minutes and 2 hours I always found a way to fit a workout into the workday, even if I looked a bit sweaty in a Zoom meeting afterwards.

The Echelon EX-3 is available in Australia now with the value bundle including the bike and 12 months subscription costing $2,598.95.

Geoff Quattromani is a tech commentator across radio, print, online and television. Continue the conversation with Geoff on Twitter at @GQuattromani