It’s been months since the pandemic first hit the world, resulting in many of our gyms closing down. As a result, we’ve had to improvise and adapt to our new environment and think of new ways to stay in shape.
To see how people have changed their workouts, Freeletics, the fitness app, examined over 90,000 users’ activity over the quarantine period. Here are some trends that we can expect to see in the future of fitness:
More workouts, less equipment
Surprisingly enough, even without the gyms, the number of workouts actually rose. In Britain, for example, data showed that 50% more users were active during lockdown compared to the same period in 2019.
Equipment-free workouts also massively increased with many resorting to home workouts with exercises like sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, etc.
The one statistic that is the least surprising was the substantial increase in the number of runs people were going on. Since quarantine lockdowns allowed for exercise periods during the day, the majority of people made use of them to get fresh air and to get the blood pumping. In fact, according to Freeletics’ findings, 327% more runs were recorded in its app compared to 2019.
Mind over body
The pandemic has not only affected our physical lives, but also our mental ones. The way we think and how we feel, especially during lockdown, is something to be wary of as a certain lack of social interaction can have a negative effect on our mental health and overall wellbeing.
So it makes sense that people have resorted to the app’s Mindset Coach which includes sessions for motivation and educational sessions that look at the science behind weight loss to keep people stimulated. For many, fitness has been a reprieve – a pastime that keeps focus in check and relieves stress.
Fitness to become the norm?
Although the pandemic has undoubtedly been full of negatives, one positive to bring out of all of this is that many people may start to incorporate fitness more regularly into their lives, even post-pandemic.
GlobalWebIndex found that around 85% of internet users have been choosing to keep fit during COVID-19, and seven in ten have been working out from home. Dr Missaghi says that this may be down to the fact the people have a lot more time on their hands. With more time, people can dedicate more to their workouts, and since there’s no one around them to judge them, they’re more inclined to do so.
Results showed that 40% of Brits have now started exercising, a third of which have said that they’ll continue after the pandemic. The rise of home workouts has even pushed one in ten people to consider cancelling their gym memberships on the whole with many evolving their own workouts, sticking to equipment-free exercises, and choosing outside workouts over inside workouts.
So fitness is seemingly here to stay. But will we see less and less going to gyms and more resorting to fitness apps and home workouts? It’s definitely something to keep an eye on. Personally, I think that the future of fitness will see people fitting both gym and outside workouts into their fitness plans. COVID-19 will have helped people become more creative with their workouts no matter where they are and no matter the circumstances.
