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Health, fitness, and wellness of oneself and other people have always been part of human history. An interesting fact is that we can trace gymnasiums (gyms) back to the ancient Greeks. However, in the late 18th century the first industrial revolution took place. It was the start of a more sedentary lifestyle for the average worker. By the 1930s this inactive lifestyle introduced new common diseases. The need for physical exercise and good nutrition, in turn, created the health and fitness industry. This was a direct consequence of the industrial revolution. Today the fourth industrial revolution, named Industry 4.0, is taking place. As such, Industry 4.0, is a lively and exciting research topic in manufacturing environments. However, very little research exists on Industry 4.0 applied to other industries. This project studied the possibility of implementing Industry 4.0 in the Health and Fitness industry with a focus on gyms. The goal is to apply Industry 4.0 components and principles to a gym environment with the aim to create a smart gym. The project approaches the problem in six steps. The first step is to conduct a literature review to gain knowledge and insight into work relating to Industry 4.0, the fitness industry and the future of gyms. Step two looks at applying the Industry 4.0 design principles to a gym environment. In Step three we develop a smart gym model and also define a smart gym (since no definition currently exists). In Step four we design two concept model systems and show how to collect relevant data for gym owners and managers. In Step five we implement the two test systems at the Van der Stel gym in Stellenbosch. We do this to prove the concept systems in practice and show that it is possible to extract data and information from gym equipment. Step six lists the results and conveys the conclusions. We show that it is possible to apply the design principles of industry 4.0 to gym environments. The project provides evidence that it is possible to extract usable data and information from gym equipment. We were able to extract among other things the number of repetitions performed per set, the number of sets performed, the duration the gym machine was in use per workout session, the machine idle time and the number of times the machine was in use. We then prove the concept of the smart gym by analysing the data and obtaining encouraging results. Further to this, the study also shows that a system could be designed and built for a relatively low cost meaning it is practically viable for any standard gym. The conclusion is that the project reached all the proposed objectives. We further provide ample evidence in support of the goal that Industry 4.0 could be applied to a gym environment to develop a smart gym

Copyright © 2025 B.Rajender. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.