ICON and Quantum to promote fitness in Sri Lanka

In an age reigned by fast food and unhealthy lifestyles that have become the harbinger of unwelcome health issues, studies have shown that the South Asian region is increasingly becoming a hotspot for the diabetes epidemic.

In Sri Lanka, research has indicated that one in five adults are either diabetic or pre-diabetic. Hence, dire action is required to raise awareness of diabetes and obesity in Asian countries and to encourage young people to make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk. With this situation, fitness equipment, once considered luxury items, are gradually becoming a necessity with the current requirement for exercise.

“It has been proven medically that a minimum of three 40 minute workout sessions a week, both cardio and strength training, are incredibly important for anyone,” stated Taylor Price, Director – Asia for ICON Health and Fitness who was in Colombo recently for the launch of two of the world’s most reputed fitness brands in the country.

Partnering with Quantum Fitness, a well-known name for fitness equipment in Sri Lanka who pioneered airing fitness informercials on local television stations in the late 1990s, ICON Fitness introduced NordicTrack and PRO-FORM to Sri Lankans at an event held recently.

Having been the innovation leader in the industry since 1977, ICON Health and Fitness Inc., with nearly 2,000 employees and its presence in multiple locations around the globe, is the largest developer, manufacturer, and marketer of fitness products in the world.

ICON has been offering a range of state-of-the-art equipment for more than three decades which includes treadmills, incline trainers, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, home gyms, weight benches, yoga and pilates equipment, hand-held exercise and performance apparel.

“We are very happy to partner with Quantum to introduce some of the state-of-the-art ICON brands to Sri Lanka. We met Quantum several years ago and have been working with them on a small scale. With their strong direct response presence I think there will be a considerable growth opportunity for them in Sri Lanka in the future,” commented Price.

Having begun in 1998 as ‘Quantum Tele-Shopping,’ running half hour television infomercials on fitness equipment, Quantum Fitness has since then brought in a range of popular equipment such as the Ab Glider, the Belly Burner, Body Trainer and a series of unbeatable modern treadmills to Sri Lanka.

“The number one way to combat diabetes is through exercise and exercise is the best medicine. Quantum, with their informercials on TV helps raise the awareness among people in Sri Lanka and hopefully will make everybody healthier by encouraging them to make healthier decisions,” stated Price, adding that treadmills have become the most popular fitness equipment in the world with 10% of households in the United States having a treadmill.

The newly introduced NordicTrack is a groundbreaking innovation brought into the fitness arena by ICON to enhance user interest in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and to encourage regular exercise. Partnered with Google, NordicTrack treadmills are incorporated with the ifit Live technology, which enables the user to experience more interactive and interesting work-out sessions.

“These treadmills are very unique, in that they have a pattern technology that allows you to be connected to internet wirelessly and access Google maps. You can thereby choose and draw your own map and run in Mumbai, Paris or Washington DC. With the availability of street views you can run past the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower or the White House,” he elaborated. What is more, the treadmills are created with an intelligence to follow the topography of the area that one chooses to run.

“We developed the technology to make regular exercising more interactive and user-friendly. You now have the ability to download certain workouts that will control the speed and incline of your treadmill to help you accomplish your weight loss goals, there are even competitions that you can have with other ifit Live users that you can join through your ifit Live account on the website,” he stated.

It is at a most opportune moment that Quantum Fitness together with ICON Health and Fitness brought NordicTrack and PRO-FORM into the Sri Lankan market. “We don’t just sell treadmills we sell a healthy lifestyle, a whole culture that will lead to a healthier society,” said Price.