Over the past ten years, the fitness industry has become a force to be reckoned with. Nowadays people are taking their health and physical wellness more seriously and the increase in specialist gyms such as CrossFit boxes and HIIT facilities are creating massive waves in what has become one of the world’s leading industries.
With technology at our fingertips, such as wearable fitness trackers like Fitbit and Apple watches, the trend towards combining cutting-edge technology and exercise is seeing a considerable increase.
BODYTEC has embraced these technological advances. It uses Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) to provide a time-efficient strength workout in a contemporary environment, making it easier to fit a workout into a busy schedule. The BODYTEC franchise has grown in just eight years from two company-owned studios in Cape Town to 38 studios throughout South Africa that employ 150 personal trainers.
BODYTEC was first brought to South Africa by Frankfurt-born Boris Leyck, who holds a degree in Sports and Economics from the University of Bayreuth. He discovered EMS in a small micro fitness studio in Munich in 2010 and was immediately blown away by the efficacy of the technology. He opened the first EMS studio in Cape Town in March 2011.
Most people have become accustomed to a busy lifestyle with many struggling to find the time to work out. With BODYTEC, Leyck presents a solution to this problem by providing an effective full-body strength training workout that can be achieved in just 20 minutes a week. BODYTEC’s EMS training uses an electric current to stimulate various muscle groups, causing them to contract, creating the same kind of resistance found in weight training.
During EMS training, up to 90% of muscles are simultaneously activated with the quality of the contractions higher and more intense than voluntary exertion. Clients can improve their strength, endurance, muscle growth, speed, responsiveness, agility and perceived physical wellbeing as well as stabilizing common muscular imbalances such as back pain.
After opening his first two studios, Leyck saw not only an increase in his client base but also interest in EMS and its benefits, resulting in his decision to franchise the concept and offer a simple price and membership system, without any hidden costs. According to Leyck, “People are looking more for interesting, niche concepts suited to their fitness needs.
In addition, the international industry states that the fitness market needs to adapt to millennials and other younger generations. In the future, we might see more fitness concepts moving more towards pay-as-you-go systems instead of long-term contracts.”
Many of the current franchise partners agree as they are former BODYTEC clients who gave up careers in fields such as accounting, marketing, HR, IT and insurance to become BODYTEC franchisees. As an avid cyclist and biker, Leyck says his business journey “has been like a fantastic, off-road motorbike trip without a final destination, but with a well-prepared road plan for each day.”
BODYTEC EMS studios can be found throughout South Africa with the opportunity for even more franchises to be created.
ABOUT BODYTEC
BODYTEC® is South Africa’s premier Electro Muscle Stimulation training franchise offering a time-efficient strength workout in a contemporary environment using innovative technology.
For more information visit www.bodytec.co.za or email info@bodytec.co.za.
