If your workout ends the second you rack the last weight, you’re missing the part your body craves most: recovery. Gyms, hotels and wellness clubs are starting to treat recovery the way they once treated cardio—essential, not optional—and JK Wellness is helping them do it in a way that feels more like a spa than a locker room.
With roots in light technology that stretch back nearly a century, the JK family of brands has been building wellness equipment around one idea: make high-impact recovery easy to access and simple to run.
Two of its breakout stars, HydroWave and RedWave, take that philosophy and package it into fully automated, touchless experiences that members can use in street clothes, on their own schedule.
Why Touchless Recovery Is Having a Moment
Red-light therapy, automated massage and lymphatic drainage used to be “special occasion” extras. Now, they’re sliding into weekly—and sometimes daily—routines.
Operators are noticing a pattern: if members leave the facility to get red light or massage somewhere else, that’s lost stickiness and lost revenue. Touchless recovery flips that script by letting you:
- Offer spa-like services without hiring spa-level staff
- Turn small or underused spaces into high-yield recovery zones
- Keep members on site longer, with a reason to stay after the workout
Because sessions are self-guided and quick, clubs are reporting steady usage, strong word-of-mouth and, in some cases, waitlists and booking systems just to handle demand.
What HydroWave Feels Like
HydroWave is a dry water-massage bed that blends heat, pulsing water jets and customizable pressure into a 15–30 minute treatment. You lie on top, fully clothed, while targeted jets move underneath you, creating the feel of a deep tissue massage—without oil, laundry or hands-on therapists.
Many systems layer in gentle light, sound and aromatherapy for a full sensory “reset” that can:
- Ease tight muscles and joint stiffness
- Help the body unwind after heavy lifting or long travel
- Turn a 20-minute window into a meaningful recovery break
For busy members (or staff), the appeal is simple: no changing, no small talk, just lie down and let the bed do the work.
What RedWave Does for Your Body
RedWave uses a combination of red and near-infrared LED light to bathe the entire body in targeted wavelengths.
Research suggests this type of light can:
- Support post-workout recovery by stimulating cellular energy (ATP)
- Improve circulation and reduce muscle soreness
- Support collagen and elastin production for healthier-looking skin
- Promote better sleep and lower perceived stress
Members step into a stand-up or lie-down unit for a short, deeply relaxing session that feels more like a warm glow than a “treatment.” For performance-minded athletes, it’s another recovery lever; for wellness-focused members, it’s a skin, mood and sleep upgrade rolled into one.
Recovery for Every Kind of Member
One reason touchless recovery is gaining traction is its universal appeal:
- Athletes and heavy lifters use red light and hydromassage to get back to training faster.
- Older adults like having a low-impact, low-risk way to loosen up aching joints and improve circulation.
- Women with past trauma or anyone who doesn’t want physical touch can still access high-quality recovery.
- Gen Z and wellness-obsessed travelers increasingly look for recovery tools—saunas, cold plunges, red light—wherever they go.
Facilities are getting creative: bundling sessions into personal training packages, using red light before or after manual massage, or positioning HydroWave as a fast recovery option for members using GLP-1 medications who want to protect muscle.
The Bigger Picture: Integrated Wellness, Simple Operations
Behind the tech is a pretty straightforward promise: give members a better recovery experience without making operations harder.
HydroWave and RedWave are designed to be:
- Self-serve: members can operate them with simple on-screen prompts
- Space-efficient: recovery rooms can be tucked into corners or repurposed spaces
- Staff-light: you don’t need a team of therapists to keep them running
JK’s R&D pipeline is already exploring new light combinations, sensory environments and ways to reduce the “noise” of modern life, but the guiding question stays the same: What do members actually need—and how do we make it easy to deliver?
For members, that means more places where you can lift, recover and truly reset in a single visit. For operators, it’s a path to higher retention and revenue that doesn’t require building a full spa from scratch.
