August 6, 2024 • 27 mins
Unlock the secrets to optimal mobility and injury prevention for those over 50 with Andrew Menter, the visionary CEO of Physmodo. Discover how a simple overhead squat assessment captured through your smartphone can revolutionize fitness routines by measuring and enhancing mobility, stability, posture, and symmetry. Andrew enlightens us on the concept of movement as a vital sign and the paramount importance of addressing asymmetry to stave off injuries. This conversation is brimming with actionable insights for both fitness enthusiasts and professionals eager to maximize their potential and well-being.
We also trace the fascinating evolution of motion tracking technology, from the cumbersome days of Xbox Kinect to today's sleek, software-driven solutions. Andrew shares how strategic partnerships with fitness pioneers like TRX and Stretch Lab helped refine Physmodo's cutting-edge technology, making it accessible for fitness chains and small gyms alike. The pandemic-driven shift from a hardware-software hybrid to a purely software approach is particularly noteworthy, demonstrating adaptability and innovation. Tune in to learn how the Physmodo app can be seamlessly integrated into your fitness regime or professional practice, and how it stands to transform the landscape of personal training and health optimization.
Online Resources
Physmodo
Andrew Menter on LinkedIn
Prime Fit Content – Engage the over-50 market
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jay Croft (00:00):
No doubt you've heard the old saying you can't
improve what you can't measure.
It's truism in business andfitness right In just about
everything, I suppose.
Well, my guest today has a newway to quickly and easily
measure and improve mobility,which is so important for
(00:20):
everyone trying to get fit orimprove their athletic
performance.
It's especially so for fitnessclients over 50.
And I wonder how many gyms andstudios out there take the time
to focus on this for theirincoming active adults and also
for their current clients.
Do you take the time?
Do you have a reliablemeasuring tool?
(00:43):
Can you bake it into yourfitness or physical therapy
offerings?
So it's a value to you and toyour clients?
Welcome to Optimal Aging, theshow about fitness, health and
well-being for people over 50.
Each week, we explore whathealthy living means for
millions of people in thislucrative yet underserved market
(01:04):
, with a focus on communications, content and making powerful
connections.
I'm your host, jay Croft ofPrime Fit Content, and my guest
this week is Andrew Mentor, thefounder and CEO of Physmodo.
Andrew's company has created aneasy-to-use smartphone app to
(01:25):
help improve workouts, mobilityand performance for your clients
and for you.
It's an extra way to engagewith your members and give them
meaningful results.
Andrew is a pioneer in fitnesstechnology, known for his
innovative approach to movementassessments and his commitment
to enhancing human performance.
(01:46):
He's a former successfulathlete himself in tennis, rugby
and Ironman triathlons, and herecently joined the Over 50 Demo
too.
Andrew has a law degree and anMBA and was an investment banker
before founding Physmodo.
We talk about the power andpotential of the Physmodo app,
(02:08):
how it came to be and theparticular opportunities for the
Fitness Over 50 community.
Modo's technology, which iseasy and fun to use on your
smartphone, improves mobility,stability, posture and symmetry
for active adults.
I know you'll enjoy myconversation with Andrew, mentor
of Physmodo here.
(02:29):
It is, andrew, nice to see you.
Thanks for joining me today.
Thank you, jay, great to behere.
Yeah, I'm really excited totalk about your app, Physmodo.
Just the name alone is a lot offun.
But it's not just fun.
It's also really importantbecause it helps fitness
consumers and fitnessprofessionals do more and better
(02:49):
assessments, which is soimportant for everybody, but
particularly, I think, for theover 50 market.
So tell us the basic backstoryof Physmodo and what it is and
where you're at right now andthe rollout of it.
Andrew Menter (03:04):
Sure, I always steal from one of the smartest
guys I've ever met, who was thesports scientist Chris Frankel
at TRX.
He's now moved on and he coinedthe phrase movement is a vital
sign.
And following that up with youyou can't manage movement if you
don't measure it.
So the third one is movement isthe forgotten component of
(03:27):
fitness.
Jay Croft (03:28):
And.
Andrew Menter (03:29):
I think the point is, I don't think that there's
a lack of understanding thatmovement is important.
I just think it's.
You know, unlike some of yourwearable devices where you can
wake up and see your HRV andsleep and oxidation and so forth
, it's more difficult to trackmovement.
So what we tried to do, theobjective, was hey, let's be
(03:51):
able to measure how you'removing quickly and then show you
where you have maybe some poormovement patterns and then give
you a couple correctiveprotocols, exercises to train
and fix.
So now we're able to see howyou're moving, where you have
some issues, and it becomes anice preventive tool to help
(04:15):
hopefully, reduce gettinginjured.
54% of Americans reportedmusculoskeletal healthcare
visits every year.
It's number one reason for ahealthcare visit 31% circulatory
, 28% respiratory, 13% diabetic.
But what about how you move?
Yeah, we wanted to make ascreen that's very scalable, and
(04:36):
that's what we started out within 2016.
Jay Croft (04:39):
Okay, and this is an app, and I downloaded the app
and I used it my own selfyesterday, which made me feel
very intelligent, I must say,and I didn't like my score.
We're going to talk about myscore here in a minute, but
basically tell the folks whatthis app does it basically?
Well, I'll tell them a littlebit.
It takes a little video of youdoing three squats overheads,
(05:04):
where you put your hands overyour head while you're squatting
.
You do it three times in frontof the camera and it assesses
your mobility, your posture,your stability and gives you
then a score on how well you didon this.
And then it gives you workoutsto improve your scores in those
categories.
Is that right?
(05:25):
Have I successfully describedit?
Andrew Menter (05:29):
Almost all of it.
The one domain that you missedas part of your overall score is
symmetry, and we want to seethat you're not necessarily
favoring one side or the other.
The number one cause for injuryis previous injury.
I can't help you there, but thenumber two cause of injury is
asymmetry.
Jay Croft (05:49):
Really.
Andrew Menter (05:49):
So we want you to be fairly even as you work up
between your left and your rightside and have more of that
balance because, as you'reprobably very well aware, if
you're falling and gettinginjured and breaking a hip after
you're 65, that's not good, no,at any age, but particularly as
(06:11):
you get older.
So let's try and prevent thatfrom happening.
Jay Croft (06:14):
So what's the value of doing these assessments?
What good is this information?
Andrew Menter (06:20):
Traditional way of training, at least when, or
personal training, when Istarted a long time ago, it's
like all right, let's come in,for this is leg day and this is,
you know, just an arm day orsomething like that.
And here's your prescribedprogramming and you know, from
week to week maybe I slightlyincrease it here and there.
But if you're giving mesomething like a deadlift on the
(06:41):
schedule, shouldn't you knowhow my lower body is feeling
that day?
So maybe my average score is a50 and we do have you know
average score is 50.
So we don't do grade schoolscoring, which is maybe why you
were upset with your score.
Jay Croft (06:58):
Maybe it wasn't that bad.
Yeah, I'll take it.
Andrew Menter (07:02):
So, yeah, exactly , it makes you feel better.
I don't.
I never break 50 cause mybody's a mess.
Okay so, but yeah.
So, if my, if, if my score is a50 and I, you know I rock in
one day and I'm getting a 34,while you, as the trainer, know
something is wrong.
So if I have poor hip mobility,my ankle dorsiflexion, whatever
it may be, you're going to, asa trainer, want to adjust my
(07:26):
workout.
I don't see how a trainer orcoach or anybody assigns
exercises, the weight associatedwith, without knowing how your
body's working.
So we establish a baseline forhow you're moving and then,
based on how you're doing, I canadjust your training for that
day.
Even if you're not training,it's good to know.
(07:46):
For example, let me back up.
So back, people have backproblems.
A lot of people have backproblems.
If you have one of three thingspoor hip mobility, hamstring,
flexibility or core, there's agreater likelihood that you're
going to have back problems.
So if I have hip mobilityissues, I may not have any back
(08:10):
issues today, but I will.
So let's highlight that.
Let's work on your hip mobilityand there's less chance you're
going to get a back injury.
So information for the trainercoach to know about the client
and adjust programming asnecessary based on that as
(08:31):
necessary.
Jay Croft (08:32):
Based on that and there's also the consumer app
which I downloaded I can do thiseven if I'm just at home and
I'm not going to work out today,I'm not going to see my trainer
today.
How useful is that to me, justas an ordinary person going
about my business, that my scoreis high or low?
Andrew Menter (08:44):
or what have you.
There's a couple of things,especially with more remote
training.
I think this is having theconsumer app is more and more
important because you aren't inthe gym doing your one-on-one
training in person.
I don't know what the numbersare exactly right now, but
they're significantly higher forremote.
You see some of these apps andthey have hundreds of thousands
(09:06):
of subscribers that are doingremote personal training and
they'll never even meet theircoach or trainer in person.
Whether you are doing thescreens at a gym or if you're in
front of a coach or remotely,your trainer is getting all of
your information, irrespectiveof where you do the screen.
So, yeah, if you're workingwith a trainer, then as a
(09:30):
trainer, I'd want to see howyou're moving every day.
So just spend 30 seconds, doyour screen every day and then
I'm tracking how you're doing.
And it's a great engagementtool because if I'm working with
you and I know you're, I'mmixing three share average.
To make you happy, jake, let'ssay your average is 65 and I
don't see you.
Or maybe it's completely remoteand I see one day that you got a
(09:51):
52.
Because something's going on.
I don't know if you had a toughworkout or you just got done
driving eight hours, but nowit's an engagement tool.
I can reach out to you and sayhey, jay, I see you're
struggling today.
What's going?
Jay Croft (10:03):
on.
I see a lot of potential inthis for gyms and trainers that
work with the older market andby older I just mean like 50 and
above.
But because mobility candiminish of course as we get
older and balance and postureand gait and back pain and all
these things can exacerbate withtime.
(10:24):
Am I correct in thinking thatthis could help trainers and gym
owners help their clients withthose kinds of issues?
Andrew Menter (10:32):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Some of the wearables out thereand the things that they're
measuring and you know thecoaches are getting.
There's an ability to share allyour information with a coach
or trainer and then, based onyour numbers, we can have
interventions as a coach.
So if you come in with anextremely low HRV, for instance.
I'm not going to give you anextremely difficult workout
(10:55):
because I know you're strugglingtoday, or at least your
wearable suggests so.
But again it's coming back towhat we talked about at the
beginning.
It's hard to.
You can't manage someone'smovement and how their body's
feeling if you're not measuringit.
So, yeah, we want you to have.
I want to know that yourshoulder is sore today because I
(11:15):
don't want to give yousomething a heavy push, press
and raise your chance of a slap,tear or a rotator cuff or
something with your shoulder.
So I keep mentioning thiswearable because it's not
dissimilar.
It's just we're looking atdifferent metrics.
We're looking at how yourbody's functioning muscles and
(11:37):
joints versus organs and nervoussystems and so forth.
Jay Croft (11:42):
A lot of people I know in the fitness industry who
work with older people aregoing to be really interested in
this because they want to getas much information as possible
about each person that they'redealing with.
Tell me about the evolution ofthe app or the company, because
you've been around a few yearsbut it has changed a little bit.
Yeah.
Andrew Menter (11:59):
Yeah, we started in 2016 and there was no chance
of doing anything on a mobiledevice at that time.
Jay Croft (12:08):
Nor was it as important.
Andrew Menter (12:09):
A lot of people were training, certainly at a
physical location.
Jay Croft (12:14):
You mean before COVID , when more people were actually
going to the gym or to thestudio rather than now.
Is that what you?
Andrew Menter (12:20):
mean, yeah, and actually now I think the numbers
for people going to the gym isback to pre-COVID levels, but
there's also been a much largerpopulation that are doing remote
training.
Jay Croft (12:35):
Yeah.
Andrew Menter (12:35):
But let's you know, backing up to 2016, most
people are familiar with theXbox and you know you could do
fun stuff.
So you have your dancing stuffand video games of I don't know,
baseball or tennis.
And they had the Kinect calledthe Kinect camera 3D camera that
(12:56):
where the Xbox was trackingdifferent joints.
So if I'm playing a baseballgame or tennis or dancing or
whatever it was, recognizing mywrist and my elbow and my
shoulder, just really mappingyour body through, kind of a
skeleton and that's the way thevideo games are able to operate.
So what we did and some othercompanies did was we took that
(13:20):
3d camera and applied it totrying to assess how you're
moving.
We want to track how you move,we want to do it quickly.
You want to do it quickly, wewant to do it objectively.
That's the way it's always been.
Now, the biggest challengeeight years ago was that, yeah,
we had this depth camera thatwas, by itself, the Kinect
(13:41):
camera.
Then we had a 24-inchtouchscreen Dell monitor.
Now it's separate from thedepth camera.
So then we had to put this in akiosk and look really, really
cool, but that kind of bulky, alittle cumbersome, not very
scalable.
We partnered with TRX and,starting in 2017, they sold they
(14:04):
sold a ton of this, you know,to gyms, um, where, with special
ops, we ended up going to theuniversity of Tennessee, uh, a
lot of places.
But you know it wasn't terriblyscalable when you have to send
a bunch of hardware to tolocations.
And, yeah, we were kind of ahybrid hardware software company
(14:28):
and, yeah, I think what's greatis that we got validation, that
people like the screen.
It got a lot of value out of itand, working with TRX, we got a
lot of brand recognition butalso recognition of what we do.
So even though we're notworking directly with TRX
anymore, people know what ourscreen is is.
(14:59):
As technology and the phone andthe all mobile devices got
better, we said, okay, let'stake the same concept we had and
make this a little simpler andbecome really a true software
company.
And so we a lot of the timeduring covid to transition from
this kiosk dev camera, dellmonitor into a single device and
there was a lot of developmentthat went around that we're as
(15:22):
accurate with the front cameraas we are with the true 3D
camera, and that was exciting.
Jay Croft (15:29):
Okay, I want to back up a minute.
You mentioned TRX, so tell usas much as you can about other
partnerships that you have andwho your main clients are,
because I downloaded this andpeople listening to this can
download the app, but you'realso still involved commercially
right With the app.
Andrew Menter (15:48):
Right now we're not targeting a B2C and the app
is not nearly as effective as ifyou are working as a client
with a trainer or a coach,there's just a lot of features
then, but, for instance, ifyou're downloading Jay's,
downloading the app, and you'renot working with anyone, it's
(16:08):
kind of cool.
You can track your movement, andI'm not discounting the value
of that at all, I'm just sayingif you were working with someone
, then you know that personcould then see your scores and
actually give you specificworkouts to deal with.
Okay, different things.
As far as partnerships, ourlargest one is with stretch lab,
(16:31):
which is part of Exponential,as many know, and they're
growing like crazy and they'reprobably approaching 500
locations at this point, and soit's a great engagement tool.
So anybody that has amembership can go in there and
do our screen and then theflexologists, as they call the
(16:53):
people stretching you there, canthen work with you on, maybe
what's going on, and that mayaffect how I want to stretch you
today.
So, yeah, jay, your shoulder'sa little worse today than usual,
so let's maybe do a little morefocus on there.
So I talked earlier about how,if your lower body's messed up,
you may want to change, not havea heavy deadlift to hair or
(17:16):
whatever the programming is, youknow, and same with situations
like whether it's just instretch lab or chiropractic or
it would be as it may, but we'rein.
We're in all their locations.
It's a great engagement tooland something that's included in
membership.
Jay Croft (17:32):
And are you in any businesses that focus on this
slightly older market?
Andrew Menter (17:39):
We are with a company called Exercise Coach
and it's great.
It's a strength workout andit's 20 minutes and they have
great technology that uses themachines you may see at a gym,
but it's using all this kind ofcool technology.
You go in there 20 minutes eachworkout, two or three times a
(18:01):
week and that's doing a lot foryour strength.
And whether or not they'retargeting the older demographic,
the fact is that's who it is.
I think it's people you don'twant to go in the gym for an
hour and be with bodybuildersand people doing heavy lifting,
maybe intimidating.
This is great.
It's one-on-one.
They're able to track yourstrength.
(18:23):
That's great technology.
And now, look, it's what I sayearlier movement is a forgotten
component of fitness.
Well, now they're addingmovement to it, and that is not
mutually exclusive from yourstrength training.
Look, I'm not going to tell youto go at 80% on your push press
today if your shoulder's jackedup Right Makes perfect sense.
Jay Croft (18:46):
Now, let's say I'm a mom and pop gym owner.
Would this be of use to me aswell, or do I need to be a part
of a big operation, a big chain?
Tell me about that.
Andrew Menter (18:58):
No, we're with a small group, for instance in
Canada, and they only have threelocations and they're trying,
like many gyms, trying to drivepersonal training business, and
so I think what a lot of gyms dois when a new member comes in,
they'll give a body count test.
And that's to say, okay, you'reat 22% body fat, come in and do
(19:22):
a bunch of sessions and we'lltry and get you to whatever 18,
18%.
And so that's great.
The thing is, it's going totake some time to see some
progression in getting your bodycount better.
Besides that, it's not just howmuch you're working out, that's
probably going to be dictatedyour body count, more so on your
(19:44):
nutrition.
That said, when you come as anew member, potential new member
, let's give you a movementscreen.
It's going to take 30 seconds,it's really not invasive at all
and, again, based on any issueyou have, I think there's an
ability to say, all right, youhave this, this and this issue.
Let's get a number of personaltraining sessions and improve
(20:07):
that and, frankly, you can getwhatever score you want.
Be interesting to do.
Whatever score you don't like,jay, do some of the X corrective
exercises and you can rescreenand get a better score in five
or 10 minutes.
Jay Croft (20:25):
Okay, I don't own a gym, I'm not a trainer.
I really get excited whenever Igo somewhere and they can
assess me or give me specific,real information about myself,
like the in-body exams that giveyou that body fat percentage
that you were talking about andthose kinds of things.
I think people like thatbecause it's fun and it's kind
of geeky and high tech andwhatnot, but it's also personal
and then it's motivating.
(20:45):
If I've been going to this gymfor a month and my bathroom
scale says I still weigh thesame and I go to this gym that
I've been going to for a monthand I'm frustrated and I want to
quit and they say, well, let'slook at your in-body.
Well, you're down threepercentage points in body fat or
whatever it might be.
Or let's look at your Physmodoscore Gosh, you have so much
(21:08):
more mobility and your balanceis better and all these things
can be really motivating to showactual progress, right.
Andrew Menter (21:16):
It is, and you'll see people that like to improve
on their own scores and also itbecomes pretty competitive.
So at IHRSA the biggest fitnessshow, I'd say, in the US the
first year when we were with TRX, in two days we did almost
1,000 screens and it was amulti-day expo and so we had
(21:40):
people that would come back andwant to see if they were better
for one day or the other.
We even had some people doing ascreen, then using some of the
TRX, using the strap, to do somecorrectives and come back and
re screen, and then we wouldhave people come back the next
day with a friend.
We had a year where we even hadleaderboard, so people were
(22:05):
trying to do I believe it wasthe 40 atomic pushups and one
other exercise and get scored50% of your scores.
That 50% was on your movementscore and people won stuff.
But yeah, it becomes, peoplewant to improve, people want to
compete and that's just whatwe've seen.
Jay Croft (22:22):
When I did mine yesterday the first time I did
it, I was mostly focused onreading the screen and making
sure I was standing in the rightposition and all of that, and I
just kind of did a I guess ashallow squat.
I wasn't really going for itand my score was so bad I
thought wait a second, can I dothis again?
And yes, you can.
And I did and it was muchbetter and I I felt like a much
(22:45):
more athletic person after thatsecond attempt.
Andrew Menter (22:50):
It's funny you said that I'll interject for a
second there.
Yeah, please.
People think that you know allthese athletic in shape, people
are getting at the best scoreand we see just the opposite.
Really, Get these superpowerful, strong folks that just
can't move and those are theones that are more susceptible
(23:12):
to injury because they'reworking really hard and it's
strong and powerful and fast,but you can't move.
You're in trouble.
Jay Croft (23:19):
Yeah, yeah, no kidding.
Or I have a friend who playstennis all the time.
She's 60, plays tennis two orthree times a week but he's so
stiff I don't think he can turnaround.
I don't think he can look overhis shoulder.
His mobility is so limited andhe's always in pain and I'm
always trying to get him to workon that.
(23:40):
Make it fun Anytime.
You can make it fun andcompetitive, I think you're
going to reach people.
So, speaking of being anathletic person, you are an
athletic person.
You used to play rugby and youracademic background is pretty
interesting.
You have a law degree and anMBA.
Tell me a little bit about yourstory and how and why you got
(24:02):
to develop this app to helppeople improve their mobility.
How active are you now?
You look like you're in goodshape, but you mentioned that
you have an injury here or there.
So what are you doing thesedays?
Andrew Menter (24:16):
I played college tennis and I played rugby
Actually, I did that as well incollege and then, after
ultimately ended up doing a lotof Ironman stuff and did
reasonably well, I got to Konaand did the world championships,
had a nice race and decided I'mgoing to call quits there.
(24:36):
But that messed up my body too.
I mean, hunched down on a bikefor 112 miles will do it.
So my lower body mobility was ajoke.
And then add some CrossFit tothat.
I ended up getting a slap tear,a ruptured bicep tendon, I tore
my Achilles.
I now tore my meniscus.
(24:57):
Ruptured bicep tendon I tore myAchilles.
I now tore my meniscus.
And I just think it's fromyears and years of beating up my
body.
I had a company before this thatwas working with college health
centers doing billing andsoftware, and it was an
interesting business that Iended up getting crushed on,
which was a very, very nicelesson not a nice lesson, but it
(25:19):
was a lesson and I just didn'thave a whole lot of passion for
that, which I think probably ledto me not performing as well.
My job is as I could have.
I have a lot of passion.
This is partly driven from myown experience, and then you
know the people like ChrisFrankl and the and the folks
that understand the importanceof movement and trying to
provide a tool for an obviousproblem.
Jay Croft (25:41):
Like I said, it's really fun, and I keep focusing
on fun, which I don't mean todiminish the value of it from a
layman's point of view.
It's very engaging, which isimportant, I think.
Hey tell the folks where theycan learn more about your app
and what you're working on.
Andrew Menter (25:59):
Yeah, I just recommend anyone going to our
website at com,p-h-y-s-m-o-d-ocom, and yeah, I
think everything's there comVery good.
Jay Croft (26:15):
Well, listen, thanks so much for explaining this with
me and sharing the app with me,and I'm going to show it to the
trainers at the gym I go to andsee what they have to say about
it.
It's a really cool tool.
So good luck with everythingand thanks again.
Yeah, Thank you, Jay, and Ihope you'll subscribe, tell a
(26:35):
friend and write a review.
All of that helps me grow myaudience.
You can learn more about me andmy content business at
primefitcontentcom.
You can send me an email at jayat primefitcontentcom.
That's jay J-A-Y atprimefitcontentcom.
I'm also on Facebook, LinkedInand Instagram, so you can find
(26:58):
me anywhere you like and be intouch.
No-transcript.
No doubt you've heard the old saying you can't
improve what you can't measure.
It's truism in business andfitness right In just about
everything, I suppose.
Well, my guest today has a newway to quickly and easily
measure and improve mobility,which is so important for
(00:20):
everyone trying to get fit orimprove their athletic
performance.
It's especially so for fitnessclients over 50.
And I wonder how many gyms andstudios out there take the time
to focus on this for theirincoming active adults and also
for their current clients.
Do you take the time?
Do you have a reliablemeasuring tool?
(00:43):
Can you bake it into yourfitness or physical therapy
offerings?
So it's a value to you and toyour clients?
Welcome to Optimal Aging, theshow about fitness, health and
well-being for people over 50.
Each week, we explore whathealthy living means for
millions of people in thislucrative yet underserved market
(01:04):
, with a focus on communications, content and making powerful
connections.
I'm your host, jay Croft ofPrime Fit Content, and my guest
this week is Andrew Mentor, thefounder and CEO of Physmodo.
Andrew's company has created aneasy-to-use smartphone app to
(01:25):
help improve workouts, mobilityand performance for your clients
and for you.
It's an extra way to engagewith your members and give them
meaningful results.
Andrew is a pioneer in fitnesstechnology, known for his
innovative approach to movementassessments and his commitment
to enhancing human performance.
(01:46):
He's a former successfulathlete himself in tennis, rugby
and Ironman triathlons, and herecently joined the Over 50 Demo
too.
Andrew has a law degree and anMBA and was an investment banker
before founding Physmodo.
We talk about the power andpotential of the Physmodo app,
(02:08):
how it came to be and theparticular opportunities for the
Fitness Over 50 community.
Modo's technology, which iseasy and fun to use on your
smartphone, improves mobility,stability, posture and symmetry
for active adults.
I know you'll enjoy myconversation with Andrew, mentor
of Physmodo here.
(02:29):
It is, andrew, nice to see you.
Thanks for joining me today.
Thank you, jay, great to behere.
Yeah, I'm really excited totalk about your app, Physmodo.
Just the name alone is a lot offun.
But it's not just fun.
It's also really importantbecause it helps fitness
consumers and fitnessprofessionals do more and better
(02:49):
assessments, which is soimportant for everybody, but
particularly, I think, for theover 50 market.
So tell us the basic backstoryof Physmodo and what it is and
where you're at right now andthe rollout of it.
Andrew Menter (03:04):
Sure, I always steal from one of the smartest
guys I've ever met, who was thesports scientist Chris Frankel
at TRX.
He's now moved on and he coinedthe phrase movement is a vital
sign.
And following that up with youyou can't manage movement if you
don't measure it.
So the third one is movement isthe forgotten component of
(03:27):
fitness.
Jay Croft (03:28):
And.
Andrew Menter (03:29):
I think the point is, I don't think that there's
a lack of understanding thatmovement is important.
I just think it's.
You know, unlike some of yourwearable devices where you can
wake up and see your HRV andsleep and oxidation and so forth
, it's more difficult to trackmovement.
So what we tried to do, theobjective, was hey, let's be
(03:51):
able to measure how you'removing quickly and then show you
where you have maybe some poormovement patterns and then give
you a couple correctiveprotocols, exercises to train
and fix.
So now we're able to see howyou're moving, where you have
some issues, and it becomes anice preventive tool to help
(04:15):
hopefully, reduce gettinginjured.
54% of Americans reportedmusculoskeletal healthcare
visits every year.
It's number one reason for ahealthcare visit 31% circulatory
, 28% respiratory, 13% diabetic.
But what about how you move?
Yeah, we wanted to make ascreen that's very scalable, and
(04:36):
that's what we started out within 2016.
Jay Croft (04:39):
Okay, and this is an app, and I downloaded the app
and I used it my own selfyesterday, which made me feel
very intelligent, I must say,and I didn't like my score.
We're going to talk about myscore here in a minute, but
basically tell the folks whatthis app does it basically?
Well, I'll tell them a littlebit.
It takes a little video of youdoing three squats overheads,
(05:04):
where you put your hands overyour head while you're squatting
.
You do it three times in frontof the camera and it assesses
your mobility, your posture,your stability and gives you
then a score on how well you didon this.
And then it gives you workoutsto improve your scores in those
categories.
Is that right?
(05:25):
Have I successfully describedit?
Andrew Menter (05:29):
Almost all of it.
The one domain that you missedas part of your overall score is
symmetry, and we want to seethat you're not necessarily
favoring one side or the other.
The number one cause for injuryis previous injury.
I can't help you there, but thenumber two cause of injury is
asymmetry.
Jay Croft (05:49):
Really.
Andrew Menter (05:49):
So we want you to be fairly even as you work up
between your left and your rightside and have more of that
balance because, as you'reprobably very well aware, if
you're falling and gettinginjured and breaking a hip after
you're 65, that's not good, no,at any age, but particularly as
(06:11):
you get older.
So let's try and prevent thatfrom happening.
Jay Croft (06:14):
So what's the value of doing these assessments?
What good is this information?
Andrew Menter (06:20):
Traditional way of training, at least when, or
personal training, when Istarted a long time ago, it's
like all right, let's come in,for this is leg day and this is,
you know, just an arm day orsomething like that.
And here's your prescribedprogramming and you know, from
week to week maybe I slightlyincrease it here and there.
But if you're giving mesomething like a deadlift on the
(06:41):
schedule, shouldn't you knowhow my lower body is feeling
that day?
So maybe my average score is a50 and we do have you know
average score is 50.
So we don't do grade schoolscoring, which is maybe why you
were upset with your score.
Jay Croft (06:58):
Maybe it wasn't that bad.
Yeah, I'll take it.
Andrew Menter (07:02):
So, yeah, exactly , it makes you feel better.
I don't.
I never break 50 cause mybody's a mess.
Okay so, but yeah.
So, if my, if, if my score is a50 and I, you know I rock in
one day and I'm getting a 34,while you, as the trainer, know
something is wrong.
So if I have poor hip mobility,my ankle dorsiflexion, whatever
it may be, you're going to, asa trainer, want to adjust my
(07:26):
workout.
I don't see how a trainer orcoach or anybody assigns
exercises, the weight associatedwith, without knowing how your
body's working.
So we establish a baseline forhow you're moving and then,
based on how you're doing, I canadjust your training for that
day.
Even if you're not training,it's good to know.
(07:46):
For example, let me back up.
So back, people have backproblems.
A lot of people have backproblems.
If you have one of three thingspoor hip mobility, hamstring,
flexibility or core, there's agreater likelihood that you're
going to have back problems.
So if I have hip mobilityissues, I may not have any back
(08:10):
issues today, but I will.
So let's highlight that.
Let's work on your hip mobilityand there's less chance you're
going to get a back injury.
So information for the trainercoach to know about the client
and adjust programming asnecessary based on that as
(08:31):
necessary.
Jay Croft (08:32):
Based on that and there's also the consumer app
which I downloaded I can do thiseven if I'm just at home and
I'm not going to work out today,I'm not going to see my trainer
today.
How useful is that to me, justas an ordinary person going
about my business, that my scoreis high or low?
Andrew Menter (08:44):
or what have you.
There's a couple of things,especially with more remote
training.
I think this is having theconsumer app is more and more
important because you aren't inthe gym doing your one-on-one
training in person.
I don't know what the numbersare exactly right now, but
they're significantly higher forremote.
You see some of these apps andthey have hundreds of thousands
(09:06):
of subscribers that are doingremote personal training and
they'll never even meet theircoach or trainer in person.
Whether you are doing thescreens at a gym or if you're in
front of a coach or remotely,your trainer is getting all of
your information, irrespectiveof where you do the screen.
So, yeah, if you're workingwith a trainer, then as a
(09:30):
trainer, I'd want to see howyou're moving every day.
So just spend 30 seconds, doyour screen every day and then
I'm tracking how you're doing.
And it's a great engagementtool because if I'm working with
you and I know you're, I'mmixing three share average.
To make you happy, jake, let'ssay your average is 65 and I
don't see you.
Or maybe it's completely remoteand I see one day that you got a
(09:51):
52.
Because something's going on.
I don't know if you had a toughworkout or you just got done
driving eight hours, but nowit's an engagement tool.
I can reach out to you and sayhey, jay, I see you're
struggling today.
What's going?
Jay Croft (10:03):
on.
I see a lot of potential inthis for gyms and trainers that
work with the older market andby older I just mean like 50 and
above.
But because mobility candiminish of course as we get
older and balance and postureand gait and back pain and all
these things can exacerbate withtime.
(10:24):
Am I correct in thinking thatthis could help trainers and gym
owners help their clients withthose kinds of issues?
Andrew Menter (10:32):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Some of the wearables out thereand the things that they're
measuring and you know thecoaches are getting.
There's an ability to share allyour information with a coach
or trainer and then, based onyour numbers, we can have
interventions as a coach.
So if you come in with anextremely low HRV, for instance.
I'm not going to give you anextremely difficult workout
(10:55):
because I know you're strugglingtoday, or at least your
wearable suggests so.
But again it's coming back towhat we talked about at the
beginning.
It's hard to.
You can't manage someone'smovement and how their body's
feeling if you're not measuringit.
So, yeah, we want you to have.
I want to know that yourshoulder is sore today because I
(11:15):
don't want to give yousomething a heavy push, press
and raise your chance of a slap,tear or a rotator cuff or
something with your shoulder.
So I keep mentioning thiswearable because it's not
dissimilar.
It's just we're looking atdifferent metrics.
We're looking at how yourbody's functioning muscles and
(11:37):
joints versus organs and nervoussystems and so forth.
Jay Croft (11:42):
A lot of people I know in the fitness industry who
work with older people aregoing to be really interested in
this because they want to getas much information as possible
about each person that they'redealing with.
Tell me about the evolution ofthe app or the company, because
you've been around a few yearsbut it has changed a little bit.
Yeah.
Andrew Menter (11:59):
Yeah, we started in 2016 and there was no chance
of doing anything on a mobiledevice at that time.
Jay Croft (12:08):
Nor was it as important.
Andrew Menter (12:09):
A lot of people were training, certainly at a
physical location.
Jay Croft (12:14):
You mean before COVID , when more people were actually
going to the gym or to thestudio rather than now.
Is that what you?
Andrew Menter (12:20):
mean, yeah, and actually now I think the numbers
for people going to the gym isback to pre-COVID levels, but
there's also been a much largerpopulation that are doing remote
training.
Jay Croft (12:35):
Yeah.
Andrew Menter (12:35):
But let's you know, backing up to 2016, most
people are familiar with theXbox and you know you could do
fun stuff.
So you have your dancing stuffand video games of I don't know,
baseball or tennis.
And they had the Kinect calledthe Kinect camera 3D camera that
(12:56):
where the Xbox was trackingdifferent joints.
So if I'm playing a baseballgame or tennis or dancing or
whatever it was, recognizing mywrist and my elbow and my
shoulder, just really mappingyour body through, kind of a
skeleton and that's the way thevideo games are able to operate.
So what we did and some othercompanies did was we took that
(13:20):
3d camera and applied it totrying to assess how you're
moving.
We want to track how you move,we want to do it quickly.
You want to do it quickly, wewant to do it objectively.
That's the way it's always been.
Now, the biggest challengeeight years ago was that, yeah,
we had this depth camera thatwas, by itself, the Kinect
(13:41):
camera.
Then we had a 24-inchtouchscreen Dell monitor.
Now it's separate from thedepth camera.
So then we had to put this in akiosk and look really, really
cool, but that kind of bulky, alittle cumbersome, not very
scalable.
We partnered with TRX and,starting in 2017, they sold they
(14:04):
sold a ton of this, you know,to gyms, um, where, with special
ops, we ended up going to theuniversity of Tennessee, uh, a
lot of places.
But you know it wasn't terriblyscalable when you have to send
a bunch of hardware to tolocations.
And, yeah, we were kind of ahybrid hardware software company
(14:28):
and, yeah, I think what's greatis that we got validation, that
people like the screen.
It got a lot of value out of itand, working with TRX, we got a
lot of brand recognition butalso recognition of what we do.
So even though we're notworking directly with TRX
anymore, people know what ourscreen is is.
(14:59):
As technology and the phone andthe all mobile devices got
better, we said, okay, let'stake the same concept we had and
make this a little simpler andbecome really a true software
company.
And so we a lot of the timeduring covid to transition from
this kiosk dev camera, dellmonitor into a single device and
there was a lot of developmentthat went around that we're as
(15:22):
accurate with the front cameraas we are with the true 3D
camera, and that was exciting.
Jay Croft (15:29):
Okay, I want to back up a minute.
You mentioned TRX, so tell usas much as you can about other
partnerships that you have andwho your main clients are,
because I downloaded this andpeople listening to this can
download the app, but you'realso still involved commercially
right With the app.
Andrew Menter (15:48):
Right now we're not targeting a B2C and the app
is not nearly as effective as ifyou are working as a client
with a trainer or a coach,there's just a lot of features
then, but, for instance, ifyou're downloading Jay's,
downloading the app, and you'renot working with anyone, it's
(16:08):
kind of cool.
You can track your movement, andI'm not discounting the value
of that at all, I'm just sayingif you were working with someone
, then you know that personcould then see your scores and
actually give you specificworkouts to deal with.
Okay, different things.
As far as partnerships, ourlargest one is with stretch lab,
(16:31):
which is part of Exponential,as many know, and they're
growing like crazy and they'reprobably approaching 500
locations at this point, and soit's a great engagement tool.
So anybody that has amembership can go in there and
do our screen and then theflexologists, as they call the
(16:53):
people stretching you there, canthen work with you on, maybe
what's going on, and that mayaffect how I want to stretch you
today.
So, yeah, jay, your shoulder'sa little worse today than usual,
so let's maybe do a little morefocus on there.
So I talked earlier about how,if your lower body's messed up,
you may want to change, not havea heavy deadlift to hair or
(17:16):
whatever the programming is, youknow, and same with situations
like whether it's just instretch lab or chiropractic or
it would be as it may, but we'rein.
We're in all their locations.
It's a great engagement tooland something that's included in
membership.
Jay Croft (17:32):
And are you in any businesses that focus on this
slightly older market?
Andrew Menter (17:39):
We are with a company called Exercise Coach
and it's great.
It's a strength workout andit's 20 minutes and they have
great technology that uses themachines you may see at a gym,
but it's using all this kind ofcool technology.
You go in there 20 minutes eachworkout, two or three times a
(18:01):
week and that's doing a lot foryour strength.
And whether or not they'retargeting the older demographic,
the fact is that's who it is.
I think it's people you don'twant to go in the gym for an
hour and be with bodybuildersand people doing heavy lifting,
maybe intimidating.
This is great.
It's one-on-one.
They're able to track yourstrength.
(18:23):
That's great technology.
And now, look, it's what I sayearlier movement is a forgotten
component of fitness.
Well, now they're addingmovement to it, and that is not
mutually exclusive from yourstrength training.
Look, I'm not going to tell youto go at 80% on your push press
today if your shoulder's jackedup Right Makes perfect sense.
Jay Croft (18:46):
Now, let's say I'm a mom and pop gym owner.
Would this be of use to me aswell, or do I need to be a part
of a big operation, a big chain?
Tell me about that.
Andrew Menter (18:58):
No, we're with a small group, for instance in
Canada, and they only have threelocations and they're trying,
like many gyms, trying to drivepersonal training business, and
so I think what a lot of gyms dois when a new member comes in,
they'll give a body count test.
And that's to say, okay, you'reat 22% body fat, come in and do
(19:22):
a bunch of sessions and we'lltry and get you to whatever 18,
18%.
And so that's great.
The thing is, it's going totake some time to see some
progression in getting your bodycount better.
Besides that, it's not just howmuch you're working out, that's
probably going to be dictatedyour body count, more so on your
(19:44):
nutrition.
That said, when you come as anew member, potential new member
, let's give you a movementscreen.
It's going to take 30 seconds,it's really not invasive at all
and, again, based on any issueyou have, I think there's an
ability to say, all right, youhave this, this and this issue.
Let's get a number of personaltraining sessions and improve
(20:07):
that and, frankly, you can getwhatever score you want.
Be interesting to do.
Whatever score you don't like,jay, do some of the X corrective
exercises and you can rescreenand get a better score in five
or 10 minutes.
Jay Croft (20:25):
Okay, I don't own a gym, I'm not a trainer.
I really get excited whenever Igo somewhere and they can
assess me or give me specific,real information about myself,
like the in-body exams that giveyou that body fat percentage
that you were talking about andthose kinds of things.
I think people like thatbecause it's fun and it's kind
of geeky and high tech andwhatnot, but it's also personal
and then it's motivating.
(20:45):
If I've been going to this gymfor a month and my bathroom
scale says I still weigh thesame and I go to this gym that
I've been going to for a monthand I'm frustrated and I want to
quit and they say, well, let'slook at your in-body.
Well, you're down threepercentage points in body fat or
whatever it might be.
Or let's look at your Physmodoscore Gosh, you have so much
(21:08):
more mobility and your balanceis better and all these things
can be really motivating to showactual progress, right.
Andrew Menter (21:16):
It is, and you'll see people that like to improve
on their own scores and also itbecomes pretty competitive.
So at IHRSA the biggest fitnessshow, I'd say, in the US the
first year when we were with TRX, in two days we did almost
1,000 screens and it was amulti-day expo and so we had
(21:40):
people that would come back andwant to see if they were better
for one day or the other.
We even had some people doing ascreen, then using some of the
TRX, using the strap, to do somecorrectives and come back and
re screen, and then we wouldhave people come back the next
day with a friend.
We had a year where we even hadleaderboard, so people were
(22:05):
trying to do I believe it wasthe 40 atomic pushups and one
other exercise and get scored50% of your scores.
That 50% was on your movementscore and people won stuff.
But yeah, it becomes, peoplewant to improve, people want to
compete and that's just whatwe've seen.
Jay Croft (22:22):
When I did mine yesterday the first time I did
it, I was mostly focused onreading the screen and making
sure I was standing in the rightposition and all of that, and I
just kind of did a I guess ashallow squat.
I wasn't really going for itand my score was so bad I
thought wait a second, can I dothis again?
And yes, you can.
And I did and it was muchbetter and I I felt like a much
(22:45):
more athletic person after thatsecond attempt.
Andrew Menter (22:50):
It's funny you said that I'll interject for a
second there.
Yeah, please.
People think that you know allthese athletic in shape, people
are getting at the best scoreand we see just the opposite.
Really, Get these superpowerful, strong folks that just
can't move and those are theones that are more susceptible
(23:12):
to injury because they'reworking really hard and it's
strong and powerful and fast,but you can't move.
You're in trouble.
Jay Croft (23:19):
Yeah, yeah, no kidding.
Or I have a friend who playstennis all the time.
She's 60, plays tennis two orthree times a week but he's so
stiff I don't think he can turnaround.
I don't think he can look overhis shoulder.
His mobility is so limited andhe's always in pain and I'm
always trying to get him to workon that.
(23:40):
Make it fun Anytime.
You can make it fun andcompetitive, I think you're
going to reach people.
So, speaking of being anathletic person, you are an
athletic person.
You used to play rugby and youracademic background is pretty
interesting.
You have a law degree and anMBA.
Tell me a little bit about yourstory and how and why you got
(24:02):
to develop this app to helppeople improve their mobility.
How active are you now?
You look like you're in goodshape, but you mentioned that
you have an injury here or there.
So what are you doing thesedays?
Andrew Menter (24:16):
I played college tennis and I played rugby
Actually, I did that as well incollege and then, after
ultimately ended up doing a lotof Ironman stuff and did
reasonably well, I got to Konaand did the world championships,
had a nice race and decided I'mgoing to call quits there.
(24:36):
But that messed up my body too.
I mean, hunched down on a bikefor 112 miles will do it.
So my lower body mobility was ajoke.
And then add some CrossFit tothat.
I ended up getting a slap tear,a ruptured bicep tendon, I tore
my Achilles.
I now tore my meniscus.
(24:57):
Ruptured bicep tendon I tore myAchilles.
I now tore my meniscus.
And I just think it's fromyears and years of beating up my
body.
I had a company before this thatwas working with college health
centers doing billing andsoftware, and it was an
interesting business that Iended up getting crushed on,
which was a very, very nicelesson not a nice lesson, but it
(25:19):
was a lesson and I just didn'thave a whole lot of passion for
that, which I think probably ledto me not performing as well.
My job is as I could have.
I have a lot of passion.
This is partly driven from myown experience, and then you
know the people like ChrisFrankl and the and the folks
that understand the importanceof movement and trying to
provide a tool for an obviousproblem.
Jay Croft (25:41):
Like I said, it's really fun, and I keep focusing
on fun, which I don't mean todiminish the value of it from a
layman's point of view.
It's very engaging, which isimportant, I think.
Hey tell the folks where theycan learn more about your app
and what you're working on.
Andrew Menter (25:59):
Yeah, I just recommend anyone going to our
website at com,p-h-y-s-m-o-d-ocom, and yeah, I
think everything's there comVery good.
Jay Croft (26:15):
Well, listen, thanks so much for explaining this with
me and sharing the app with me,and I'm going to show it to the
trainers at the gym I go to andsee what they have to say about
it.
It's a really cool tool.
So good luck with everythingand thanks again.
Yeah, Thank you, Jay, and Ihope you'll subscribe, tell a
(26:35):
friend and write a review.
All of that helps me grow myaudience.
You can learn more about me andmy content business at
primefitcontentcom.
You can send me an email at jayat primefitcontentcom.
That's jay J-A-Y atprimefitcontentcom.
I'm also on Facebook, LinkedInand Instagram, so you can find
(26:58):
me anywhere you like and be intouch.
No-transcript.
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