My Wellness Experience at the Technogym Village

I have always taken fitness equipment for granted. As long as it works, it is safe and isn’t covered in someone else’s sweat, I will get on with my workout, focusing instead on my breath or form or each step rather than the gym equipment itself. One of the reasons that I can do this is because the people behind the equipment design and build it in such a way that I don’t even have to think about it. Technogym has been a pioneer in the gym and fitness equipment industry for over 30 years, making it possible for people like me to focus on our workouts and not have to worry about the equipment. Earlier in September, I was invited to vist the HQ, Technogym Village in Cesena, Italy to see for myself how Technogym live and breathe wellness.

The T Restaurant and Offices

After an early flight, we were welcomed into the Technogym Village and sat down to a delicious lunch at the onsite T Restaurant, one of the first examples of how wellness is at the forefront of everything Technogym do. The restaurant is free for all employees and offers a Special, a Vegetarian and an Organic option everyday in a buffet style. The ingredients and nutrients are carefully considered to make sure each meal is fresh and healthy and there is always plenty of fruit and veg available. When I eat pasta at home (which is very rarely) I always feel really bloated afterwards. However, whilst in Italy I ate bowls full of pasta on the side of meat and veg yet not once did I feel bloated! The food was so fresh and cooked well!

Next we had a tour of the incredible Technogym Village, whose design and architecture can rival that of Google’s offices. The offices were light and airy and all of the staff sat on Wellness Balls instead of chairs! In the ‘coffee break’ areas they had a couple of exercise bikes to allow colleagues to have an active break away from their desks. I’d love to break up my day at work with a few 5 minute cycles here and there! All employees have a Technogym mywellness Key, which tracks their movement each day and scores them with “Moves”. TVs in the coffee break areas show the number of Moves each employee has a achieved and there are regular competitions and prizes to encourage everyone to keep moving. Employees are encouraged to take up to 2 hour lunch breaks so that they can make time to workout. On site there is a beautiful gym showcasing the latest Technogym equipment. There is also a run and bike path, as well as basketball and volleyball courts. I was so impressed with everything Technogym does for their employees, it would be almost impossible not to live a healthy lifestyle with wellness being promoted throughout the business. For three years in a row the company has been named a ‘great place to work’ and I can see why!

The T Factory and Product Innovation

Technogym was founded by Nerio Alessandri when he was just 22 years old after he built a hack squat machine (pictured above) in his garage. The company has come a long way since then with a vast range of equipment. A big part of the Technogym Village is the T Factory and product testing and development. The huge factory is where the equipment is built and assembled, with factory staff testing the equipment and interfaces. It was so funny to see people running on treadmills in a factory. Technogym prides itself on being innovative too. They have their own lab where they are continually developing new ideas and ensuring it meets the needs of their users. They also heavily test their equipment, having huge robots run on treadmills for hours everyday to test the life of the treadmill belt and much more. Technogym really care about the quality of their machines. Now with internet access they have been able to make their machines send a notification when a part is nearing the end of its life, so that Technogym can send out a replacement before the machine even breaks down! Ever been in a gym and the only spare cross trainer is broken?! I’m hoping Technogym’s innovation can make this a thing of the past!

Working out with Technogym

During our visit with Technogym we tested out their different ranges. We started with ARKE, training outside by the lake. That’s the beauty of ARKE, it allows you to perform functional training anywhere. We did a circuit with squats, lunges, core twists, push ups, balancing and much more. The second day we started on the ARTIS range of cardio equipment where we could test out the mywellness app (more on that below). The ARTIS treadmill is the only one in the world that makes the surface softer for walkers and harder for runners! After working up a sweat we moved onto OMNIA which I loved simply because of all the possibilities. Strength training, speed, stability group training, you name it, you can probably do it with OMNIA. It’s almost impossible for me to fully explain what you can do with OMNIA, so I have found a video that demonstrates it in a fun way. After that we moved on to KINESIS for some free flowing strength training. KINESIS uses cables that can be pulled, pushed or twisted in any direction, giving you complete freedom over the movement. When I first started weight training, I stuck to the machines that offer a very direct movement with no flexibility, I then moved on to free weights because I loved being in complete control of the weight. KINESIS is like the machines & free weights combined. Madonna has a pimped up mirrored KINESIS in her home. Well, if it’s good enough for Madge…

mywellness App

Before we were let loose on the equipment we were given a demonstration on the mywellness app, created by Technogym to allow everyone to have the wellness experience in and out of the gym. You can download the app on your phone, then when you go to use a piece of Technogym equipment, you just scan the QR code on the machine using the app. That’s it! You do your workout on the machine and once you’ve finished it will automatically be recorded in the app and you will see your Moves score. I found it easy to switch between machines, just a quick scan and you’re good to go. If you have a personal trainer or your gym uses the coach’s version of the mywellness app, they can create tailored workouts for you and send it to your app. No more crumpled, scribbled on, tea stained paper training plans! If you have a creative trainer who invents a move that isn’t in the database, they can film themselves performing the move and add it to your workout. The thing I loved most was the mywellness key, as you can plug it into the machine to record your workouts, but then you can clip it to your clothes and use it as a pedometer to record your movement outside of the gym. I loved the idea of being encouraged to keep moving throughout the day and not just focus all your efforts at the gym. I’m terrible for staying at my desk all day, I’d score a good amount of Moves at the gym but would be terrible the rest of the time so I would definitely strive to improve on that!

My Wellness Experience

I loved my trip to the Technogym Village. I was so inspired by how they incorporate the wellness lifestyle into everything they do. I also learned that Technogym don’t just make fitness equipment, they have the Wellness Institute where they train gym owners, trainers, physiotherapists, hotel managers and more. I just loved the working environment at Technogym Village and it made me think about my own workplace. I will definitely start to take more active breaks to make sure I am moving throughout the day. I may not have exercise bikes that I can hop on for 5 minutes at work but I can go for walks around the building, always take the stairs, go to the toilets on another floor etc. I may not have the wonderful T Restaurant but I can ensure I take healthy meals to work with me so that I don’t reach for the vending machines. I will definitely remember how inspiring I found this trip and strive to incorporate the wellness lifestyle into my everyday life at home. I hope I could capture my wellness experience for you in this post! Now, hands up who would like to work at the Technogym Village?!

*Pictures are a mix of my own photos and Technogym’s photos.