Concept2 Takes Personalized Fitness to New Heights With ErgData

The next-gen edition of ErgData allows rowers to set up workouts, view customized stats, track progress and enjoy daily challenges all from their smartphone

While Concept2 launched the free ErgData virtual trainer app roughly a decade ago, the sport equipment manufacturer’s upgraded version of the software promises to blow the prior rendition away once showcased at IHRSA 2024. 

Connected to the Concept2 performance monitor, this next-gen edition of ErgData operates as a far more detailed virtual trainer than its predecessor. It allows users to set up workouts and view customized stats and info during workouts, track progress and enjoy daily challenges all from an iOS and Android device. 

ErgData holistically connects users to Concept2, which remains one of the fitness industry’s most diverse suppliers, featuring an abundance of rowing, skiing and biking exercise equipment — all of which allow users to partake in both power and cardio-based training. 

“This is the new version of ErgData,” explained Alex Dunne, a member of Concept2’s Technology Team. “It’s far superior to the initial app that we had. We’ve been running with it for about 18 months and every couple of months we add a new feature to it. It’s a platform we can build upon.”

Sharing Is Caring

Illustrating how ErgData makes workout information transferable is one of the application’s most exciting innovations and a key point that Concept2 plans to hit on at trade shows this spring. 

The application’s real-time tracking catalogs every move you make on a piece of Erg equipment. From there, you’re invited to share results and/or workout methods with other users or even trainers. Doing so builds a sense of community among all parties as users take meaningful steps forward in their fitness journey. 

“You can share it with anybody that you want to, be that one person or be that thousands of people,” Dunne said. “If you’re working with a group, to be able to set a training plan, program it and send it out to them so all they have to do is tap a button on their phone to load it in, that’s a real benefit. You’re making it easy for people. The coach can share it with the athlete. The athlete can share it back to the coach.”

The Concept2 team is eager to move past old methods of exchanging exercise information with ErgData. Gone are the days of jotting down notes or sharing photos of dashboards thanks to the app’s updated form. 

“Traditionally it’s been, you finish a training session, you take a picture of the monitor and you share that with your friends. We’re able to improve that experience,” Dunne said. “You don’t have to take photos, you can simply share the workout from the app, generate more statistics, show the information the way you want to show it and track challenges.” 

New Features Drive User Engagement

The Real Time Loop and Workout of the Day represent two of the ErgData app’s top features. The Loop allows you to work out on a live, virtual course with other Concept2 users. Enhanced with the app’s new data-sharing abilities, this feature also helps drive engagement on the equipment. 

“There are ways that you can quickly engage with a wider audience so that you’re not just completely alone in your basement,” Dunne said. “The Loop puts you out on a track with a bunch of other people, whether they’re overtaking you or you’re overtaking them. It’s just that element of community.”

The Workout of the Day feature offers a different exercise for users to partake in every 24 hours. Doing so bolsters engagement too by keeping things fresh. Then comes the data, which ErgData collects from workouts and updates on a leaderboard. This makes progress visual, fostering motivation and consequently retention. 

“You don’t get into a rut of doing the same thing each day,” Dunne said, noting that Workout of the Day provides “people with a workout that they can do and then they can see how they’ve stacked up against everybody else that’s done it on that day. Over time, they’ll get motivated by seeing a little bit of progression.”

More To Come

Despite these notable strides with ErgData, Concept2 intends to keep moving forward. While Dunne was unable to share any specific future updates for the app, he did express the company’s ongoing desire to make additions as it evolves.

The Concept2 team also plans to highlight ErgData’s upgrades at FIBO, another major showcase for fitness innovation based in Europe, a few weeks after IHRSA in April. 

“We’ve been gradually adding features to ErgData so that you can see the kind of data you want,” Dunne said. “We’re an engineering lead company. We’re always tinkering. We’re always thinking through new ideas. We’re always working on new features.”