Wearable technology devices in the fitness industry are known as "activity trackers." They offer people physically training the ability to monitor progress by analyzing data such as distance traveled, weight lifted and heart rate achieved.

With the recent rumors of Apple following Google's lead into the new era of the smart watch, wearable technology may soon approach the ubiquitous status of the smartphone. If this turns out to be true, fitness institutions would do well to adjust their business models and policies to correctly adjust for the coming winds of change.

Keep with times

Fitness centers are most competitive when they maintain up-to-date equipment. Nothing screams "bush league" more than a fitness center with old and neglected equipment. Implementing the use of wearable technology into a center's training policies and practices can be a way to both stand out from competition and take advantage of a new and exciting trend.

When customers first sign contracts, their first instincts are to find exercise machines and quietly workout on their own, without interacting with the establishment. These are often the type of members who will slowly allow their subscription to fall into disuse.

It is important to engage new customers immediately. One method is to offer a physical assessment for new members. The assessment creates an immediate relationship with new members by encouraging them to open up about their health goals, and it also provides a plan for how those goals can be attained.

Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard convincing a new member to consider a physical assessment, especially when he or she may not see an immediate need. However, the novelty appeal of wearable fitness technology and the near-automatic physical analysis it offers may be enough to convince a new member on the fence to sick with his or her customized workout plan.

Fitness centers only need to invest in a handful of fitness bands to aid in assessments. Aside from being useful and beneficial, the attention to trends may go a long way toward helping the center appear relevant and contemporary.

Adjust center policies

Many fitness centers may be caught off guard and ill-prepared for the new wave of wearable technology because of their previous policies toward smartphones, cellphones and mobile devices in general. There was a time when gyms frowned upon the usage of cellphones by their members and even banned them.

The hesitation made sense at the time. People go to gyms and fitness centers for the purpose of losing themselves in their workouts, not to hear the annoying yammering of a one-sided cellphone conversation.

Also, there's the safety factor to consider. A room where people are routinely throwing about heavy plates of steel is probably not the best place to have one's nose buried in text messages.

Obviously, with the advent of the smartphone, this turned out to be a hopeless endeavor. Today, smartphones make everything more convenient — even working out.

With the development of exercise apps, smartphones make working out a breeze. For some individuals, smartphones are a necessity. Although this has led many fitness centers to simply give up on any notion of a smartphone ban, some still carry vestiges of these older policies.

Now that wearable fitness devices are being synced to smartphones, one would be doing his or her business a disservice by not making the gym or center as smartphone-friendly as possible.

Case in point, at this moment there is a war brewing between software companies and their smart watch technology, the results of which could greatly affect the fitness industry.

The Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch were recently released and are set to become the first devices running Google's new smart watch software, Android Wear. Apple and Microsoft are not far behind with both companies planning on releasing competing bands this autumn that will work as extensions of smartphones.

Along with making and updating the appropriate fitness center policies, providing smartphone docks and portals for treadmills and similar machines are a great way to accommodate the new trend.

Train center trainers

If a company does decide to incorporate wearable technology, it's important that personal trainers are aware and comfortable using it.

Fitness centers may wish to expand the use of the activity trackers and fitness devices beyond physical assessments. A center could choose to make the devices available to members who wish to enhance their workout. If this is the case, members will have questions, and center staff and personal trainers should be able to correctly answer them.

Also, from a safety standpoint, it's important that members are not left to figure out how to operate the devices on their own. As mentioned, gyms and fitness centers can be dangerous places when members are not focused entirely on their tasks at hand.

There is also the intimidation factor to be considered. New or complicated equipment can lead to some new members feeling overwhelmed and uneasy.

Centers can go a long way toward building and fostering strong relationships with their membership by helping individuals become acclimated with this new technology that soon may become ubiquitous in the physical training industry.