Precor Reach — Eli Kimchi

Precor Reach

DESCRIPTIONReach is an assistive lower-body stretching machine designed for a wide range of sizes, heights, and mobility levels. Users choose preset stretches or programs, and control stretch intensity by physically turning the wheel.
CONTRIBUTORSEli Kimchi
Johann de Villiers
Katherine Dawson
STUDIO SPONSORPrecor Inc.

DURATIONTen weeks

OVERVIEW

Precor Reach formalizes
and standardizes the stretching
ritual, traditionally a casual,
often overlooked activity.

Actuated, articulated “legs” facilitate various lower body stretches.

Turning the wheel controls stretch intensity.

Personalized presets and guidance are shown on the screen.

Designed for the 5th-95th
percentile of heights and sizes.

BACKGROUND

Precor asked us to explore
wellness in the commercial gym space.

Wellness

Recovery

Accessibility

Cardio

Strength

Flexibility

Stretching Accessibility

Within wellness, we identified stretching accessibility as an opportunity space. Despite the importance of stretching and flexibility, particularly for aging adults, it’s a casual, often overlooked activity. It’s hard to quantify, and easy to do wrong.

Existing stretching machines are either impractically specialized or too generalized to be of much use unless users know exactly what they’re doing.

CRITERIA

Balance Appeal
& Accessibility

The device should balance universal appeal and accessibility for all users.

Intuitive &
Approachable

The device should be visually intuitive and
approachable with reduced upfront intimidation.

Simple &
Minimal

The device should be simple in use with minimal interaction points and configuration.

Constrain
Form

The device should constrain body position to promote healthy form and reduce risk of injury.

PROCESS

We initially focused on incremental improvements for existing muscle-group-specific machines.

We found that key lower body stretches could be consolidated into one machine, if it could manipulate the appropriate joints in this laying-down orientation.

Our aesthetic direction was techy yet approachable, simple and easy to clean.

Full process available upon request.