Precor Case Study: Arizona State University

Implementing a wellness program involving multiple partners and geographies was the challenge facing Arizona State University (ASU). Today, ASU boasts over 200 pieces of Precor networked cardio equipment - the largest networked installation in the world.

In a move to position itself as one of the healthiest universities in America, Arizona State University in 2013 completed an ambitious renovation of its fitness complexes across four separate campuses, including the introduction of Precor fitness equipment and software. This massive project constituted the largest-ever installation of Preva^®, the Precor networked fitness solution.

As a direct result of this undertaking, ASU drove up traffic across its fitness facilities by 15 to 20 percent. Moreover, the school was able to immediately begin launching university-wide promotional fitness programs across all four facilities, successfully enrolling more than 4,000 students in its first-ever such venture.

Previously, ASU’s health and wellness facilities were too cramped and outdated to accommodate its approximately 72,000 students and almost 4,500 staff members. As a result, ASU sought to revitalize its health and wellness offerings and resolved to drastically renovate its fitness complexes, hoping this would be the catalyst that transformed its geographically dispersed student body into a more united community.

“We wanted to encourage student health in a way that’s in keeping with the spirit, pride and traditions of ASU, while hopefully offering a more satisfying campus life for our students,” said Tamra Garstka, director of the Tempe Sun Devil Fitness complex. “We wanted something transparent and uniform, where students could go to any ASU fitness complex and get the same exact experience.”

ASU hoped to engender a greater sense of wellness within its academic community and ultimately position the school as among the healthiest in the country—no small goal, considering that college students do not always have the healthiest habits. It was also critical to find a fitness provider that offered exceedingly durable equipment in order to keep maintenance costs low.

ASU formed a committee to investigate possible fitness solutions. Committee members consulted with myriad vendors and their clients. “We talked to them about maintenance, we talked about their satisfaction levels. We did a lot a lot of homework because we wanted to ensure that the endeavor resulted in a positive experience for students,” added Garstka.

Precor has given ASU “cutting edge” cardio and strength training, durable, state-of-the-art, and Internet-enabled machines. Preva software enabled ASU to connect all of its machines across the four campuses into one fitness network. Such integration would allow students enrolled in the Preva program to track their workout data on each machine console or on their mobile devices.

It also enables them to register for university-wide promotions and fitness initiatives, receive fun motivational messages during their workouts and earn badges for reaching their workout goals.

“Obviously, students want the latest and greatest when it comes to fitness technology,” said Garstka. “They expect modern fitness programs and services, and we need to keep up with the trends.”


The Implementation

After selecting Precor as its fitness solution provider, ASU ordered 275 pieces of networked equipment, making this endeavor the largest ever Preva installation.

With construction on the new fitness centers underway, ASU began introducing the equipment in July 2012. The first new and improved campus facilities subsequently opened in January 2013 and the other two celebrated their openings in August 2013, just prior to the new academic year.

In anticipation of these openings, ASU also launched a new program designed to keep the student body healthier than ever before by promoting positive lifestyle choices. 

“We’re striving to incorporate a sense of wellness into the environment and culture of ASU,” explained Garstka. Ultimately, each fitness center expanded its square footage, offering not just new equipment but also basketball courts and other sports facilities, as well as services for those interested in yoga classes or smoking cessation classes, for example.

Uniting the Four Campuses

At the start of the 2013 academic calendar, ASU heavily promoted The Cardio Challenge—the first of what will be many Preva-networked wellness initiatives in the years to come. This challenge consisted of a competition to see which of the four campuses could accumulate the highest average of minutes per student on Preva-networked treadmills, ellipticals, bikes and other cardio equipment. At the end of the contest, ASU logged a total of 2 million exercise minutes across the campuses.

Satisfaction and activity levels on the rise

Ever since the influx of new Precor equipment reduced waiting times for machines, student satisfaction levels have clearly risen, and visitor count is climbing. ASU and its approximately 40 health and fitness-related organizations also appreciate how it can push messages supporting these clubs’ efforts to visitors on their equipment consoles.

The university also intends to leverage Preva back-end capabilities to monitor and analyze equipment usage trends. For example, by seeing how often certain clusters of equipment are being underused or overused, ASU can then fine-tune the physical layout of the facility in order to optimize equipment usage and lifespan.

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Source Amer Sports