I design and build gym equipment and see improvements every year at these trade shows. There is always some new way of solving equipment problems or making them better. Equipment has improved a lot over the decades. The Aussie builders have a long way to go, however, but are innovative which is good.
Hammer make a few excellent machines and many that are not so great and some that are bad. Eg., the seated calf machine. I wouldn't put one in my gym. The incline, bench and decline are excellent and give the whole line a boost. Muscleheads like them so tell gym owners who often install a whole line. Foolish. I so dislike having those plates banging around and being left on the machine or the floor. Hammer make a line with weight stacks but gym owners in Australia buy the cheaper plate loading ones. By the time these machines are imported to Australia they cost twice what the Americans pay for the same thing.
The general public have plenty to see. Lots of people go to gyms so there is widespread interest in this industry. People sell supplements, clothes, watches, apparatus, and much more. You can walk around and see different things every time you go. You can try the machines which is what I like.
There are displays that are interesting to the public. Bodybuilders, fitness girls, aerobics, etc.
