The standardization process of movement in the fitness industry: The experience design of Les Mills choreographies

Abstract

This article explores processes of standardizing movement in the fitness industry, using the Les Mills Fitness programmes as a case study. With licensees in 70 countries, the company has gained widespread recognition as the world’s biggest producer of branded fitness classes. Based on participant observation in fitness classes, the article examines what kind of intangible touchpoints are hidden in the fitness services to make them attractive to clients. While the global delivery system of fitness services aims at transcending the body, the phenomenological description of the lived body becomes a key factor in revealing the nature of standardization. Outlining fitness products as experience design, the purpose is to reach behind the managerial rhetoric. Reflecting on the global delivery system of fitness services and its effects on interaction between instructors and fitness clients, the article analyses how the global industry of fitness services standardizes bodily movements to make profit from them.