Chapter 110 Smart Fitness Drying Rack

After finalizing the general research and development plan for the new phone, Chang You called Guo Licheng, the head of the gym, and Wang Xiaobin, the head of Shang Yang Games, and asked them to come to Otto Technology to discuss the smart fitness drying rack project together.

Originally, Ye Zhizhou was in charge of Shang Yang Games' new game development, but Ye Zhizhou had previously gone to Los Angeles on a business trip and had just finished his compensatory leave, and he would have to go to Los Angeles again later to make up for another vacation, so Wang Xiaobin was temporarily responsible for the research and development work of Shang Yang Games.

Although this smart fitness drying rack sounds a bit nonsensical, Chang You didn't dare to slack off at all.

After all, this was a key task personally assigned by President Pei, and it involved the linkage of three key departments. If it wasn't done well, he would be held responsible, and it might affect President Pei's future industrial layout.

With such fierce competition between various departments, Chang You didn't want Otto Technology to hold back, making him, the person in charge, lose face.

…

In the afternoon, Guo Licheng and Wang Xiaobin arrived.

Chang You led the two to the reception room and briefly explained what President Pei had previously instructed about the smart fitness drying rack.

Guo Licheng and Wang Xiaobin looked at each other, and they both saw confusion in each other's eyes.

What kind of bewildering product is this?

A drying rack with fitness functions?

And equipped with a special game?

If this was a silly and funny product, it would be okay. They could just produce a few for users who like novelty to play with, and put it on a silly news report. They would just lose some money.

But judging from President Pei's meaning, he seems to attach great importance to this!

That is to say, this drying rack is a serious commercial product? And they want to mass-produce it?

Since they want to mass-produce it, they have to think carefully about how to make money. Otherwise, three departments working together on a product, and it still loses money, how embarrassing would that be if it got out!

Chang You looked at Guo Licheng: "Coach Guo, you are a professional in fitness. Although this product requires the participation of our company and Shang Yang Games, it is still a fitness product in the end. Why don't you talk about your views first?"

Guo Licheng propped his chin with his thick arm. The sight of a muscular man thinking was a bit comical, but his expression was serious and earnest.

"Actually, in the fitness field, the 'drying rack' is a common meme. Whether it's a treadmill, a spinning bike, an elliptical machine, or a bench press, any fitness equipment placed at home often cannot escape the fate of becoming a drying rack."

"This is mainly because there is no fitness environment and atmosphere at home, and most people only have a three-minute burst of enthusiasm, so it is difficult to persevere. These things take up space when they are left there, so many people use them to hang clothes and dry sheets, but they don't want to exercise while drying the sheets. Over time, they enter a vicious cycle."

"If we use this meme as the name, it can actually arouse the goodwill of many fitness users and help our initial promotion."

"President Pei's contrarian thinking... I admire him very much. I think President Pei's design is actually using the user's rebellious psychology to achieve the purpose of urging users to exercise."

Chang You asked, "Then what do you think the general form of this product should be?"

So far, Chang You doesn't have a clear concept of this smart fitness drying rack. Should it be a stand, or should it be hung on the ceiling? Should it have folding and telescopic functions? Should we add a small fan or something to blow clothes and cool down the user?

Because the concept is too vague, and President Pei has not put forward some design details, it is difficult for Chang You to imagine the specific form of this product.

Guo Licheng is a professional fitness coach who has used a lot of fitness equipment and has a lot of experience in fitness. He should be able to sort out the clues from these messy functions and needs and find the most critical product elements.

Guo Licheng continued to think seriously: "President Pei has clearly stated that the main usage scenario of this smart fitness drying rack is still at home. That is to say, it is aimed at individual consumers, not commercial gyms..."

Wang Xiaobin said, "Uh, Coach Guo, that's not necessarily the case."

Shang Yang Games, like other departments, has also been assigned mandatory fitness quotas. As the person in charge, Wang Xiaobin must set an example, so he also has some understanding of fitness.

Guo Licheng didn't think that Wang Xiaobin was less professional than himself in fitness and ignored his opinion. Instead, he asked seriously, "What do you mean?"

Wang Xiaobin thought for a while and said, "I think President Pei's idea should be to take both into account, but with different priorities."

"As a fitness equipment, commercial gyms are definitely one of our target customers. However, commercial gyms update their equipment very slowly, and the market share of those big-brand fitness equipment is difficult to shake. If we want to sell our fitness equipment to commercial gyms from the beginning, we will definitely encounter huge difficulties and obstacles."

"Of course, excluding Tuguang Fitness, but after all, Tuguang Fitness' market share is still very, very low."

"Therefore, President Pei first focused on the 'home fitness' scenario. Ordinary people basically don't buy those large commercial fitness equipment because they don't have that much space at home. At most, they buy treadmills, elliptical machines, bench presses, and dumbbells. And there is currently no brand with high popularity and high market share for these."

"Assuming our smart fitness drying rack can win the favor of ordinary people and gain popularity, then we can naturally sell this equipment to those professional gyms."

Guo Licheng nodded: "Indeed. That is to say, President Pei is just using the home fitness scenario as a starting point. As a smart fitness equipment, as long as it becomes popular, it can still be sold to commercial gyms."

"But this does not affect my initial judgment. After all, the home fitness scenario is the foundation. If this is not satisfied, then the rest is just empty talk."

"If we are considering the home fitness scenario... I think the following points are very important."

"First, safety, stability, and reliability. There is no need to say more about this. Fitness equipment is made of steel wire and iron blocks. Careless use can lead to injury. Not only should the materials be solid and reliable, but the design should also avoid all possible safety hazards."

"Second, footprint."

"One of the important reasons why home fitness equipment doesn't sell well is that it takes up too much space. Most of the people who choose to buy fitness equipment are young people with relatively high requirements for their figure, but the economic conditions of these people are often not very good."

"That is to say, most of our target group does not have a large residential area, and it is difficult to free up a large space specifically for fitness equipment. This is also a key reason why many people use fitness equipment to dry clothes."

"Therefore, our smart fitness drying rack has to find a way to make it less space-consuming, preferably with some structures that can be folded and telescopic. It is best to regard the 'balcony' as the main usage scenario for this device."

"Third, sustainability and fun."

"Fitness is originally a difficult thing to stick to. One of the important reasons for the success of Tuguang Fitness is its mandatory nature. It forces users to reach a certain training time and eat nutritionally balanced fitness meals. It is precisely because Tuguang Fitness has achieved this kind of mandatory nature, allowing the remaining users to persevere, that it can have such a good fitness effect."

"But if you exercise at home, there is no one to supervise you, and it is easy to slack off. Moreover, the home environment inherently makes people want to rest. Once you lie on the sofa, you won't think about exercising anymore. Compared with the gym, it is more difficult to stick to it."

"Therefore, President Pei asked us to make it a smart device and have Shang Yang Games develop a special game. It should be to improve the sustainability and fun of exercising in the home scenario!"

Chang You and Wang Xiaobin listened carefully and nodded.

As expected of a professional fitness coach, he easily analyzed the deep meaning and basic principles behind President Pei's seemingly nonsensical "smart fitness drying rack" so thoroughly.

Chang You said, "Coach Guo, then what do you think the product form of this smart fitness drying rack would be like if you were to design it?"

Guo Licheng continued to think seriously: "Since it is home fitness and cannot take up too much space, we must achieve the integration of multiple equipment."

"And in terms of exercise goals and effects, strength training is definitely better than aerobic training, so our smart fitness drying rack must focus on strength training."

Guo Licheng briefly explained the principles, and Chang You and Wang Xiaobin were also into fitness, so they understood it immediately.

People with some common sense about fitness know that in most cases, fitness is done with strength training first and then aerobic training in order to achieve the best exercise results.

Strength training is simply lifting weights, while aerobic training is jogging, riding a spinning bike, and so on.

Of course, everyone's physical condition is different, and the training methods adopted will also be different. But overall, strength before aerobics is recognized as the best arrangement.

The main reason is that doing aerobics first will affect the effect of strength training, while doing strength first will help the effect of aerobic training.

After doing aerobic exercise for a long time and then doing strength training, because some glycogen has already been consumed, the subsequent strength training is likely to perform poorly and cannot fully stimulate the muscles; conversely, although doing strength training first also consumes glycogen, at this time it will stimulate the body to use fat to provide energy for aerobic training, achieving a better fat-reducing effect.

Many girls worry that strength training will increase muscle, so they only go to the treadmill every time. In fact, this training method is less efficient. If you are already thin and just want to maintain your figure in this way, it is okay, but if you want to lose weight and shape your body, the effect is far less than scientific strength training.

That's why Guo Licheng said that the smart fitness drying rack should focus on strength training.