New fitness habits being created during Covid?
forbes.com
forbes.com
I'd love to see stats on who's buying home gym equipment and what percentage of them are people just getting started training VS former gym-goers who are trying to adapt. The home fitness market was already exploding before this, I'd love to know if this is just the same target audience adopting it faster than anticipated.
People definitely thought they were going to jump into home fitness with both feet, but just like New Year's resolutions, I doubt that many of them stuck with it.
If I had to guess, there are two groups of people who are taking advantage of the quarantine to better their fitness routine: people who were already serious, and already had a home gym; and people who are doing something that doesn't take a whole lot of equipment, like yoga.
Fitness-wise, there's only so much you can do with a 4-8-month-old in a third-floor apartment, but jogging a couple miles with a stroller is kind of nice at any rate.
People overestimate how much and how hard they have to work to make a positive impact on their fitness. You don't need to join Crossfit, run ten miles a day, or lift for forty-five minutes, five days a week.
For someone who is sedentary, jogging a couple of miles with a stroller is a huge improvement. So is twenty minutes of yoga.
Consistency is more important than going all-out, all the time.
I will say that I really wish I could lift weights or at least do pull-ups right now because I'm getting all kinds of random aches I don't get when my upper body's in shape.
I got these ones before lockdown panic - though I use them with my pull up bar which allows one to do a lot more exercise than if you're stuck with a door block you. The pull up bar doesnt leave any marks though I also have an old house with solid wood frames i've wondered hw secure it would be resting on the lip of a cheap mdf narrow frame
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0787N367J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...
Between that, push-ups, planks, going for a walk, and running up some stairs, you can keep a baseline of fitness which isn’t too shabby.
I think people have to get more creative with their physical fitness. You don't need freeweights to achieve great results.
Here is an excellent guide:
https://yoga-horizons.com/pdfs/Fatmans-Guide-to-Cable-Traini...
I’m doing great, thanks for asking. I drink good whiskey on my porch while I watch the bomb ass explosive sunsets that Florida is so famous for. I shoot projectile weapons into an earthen berm. I listen to my favorite synthwave playlists. I eat good food. I go to the beach.
Just because I’m fat doesn’t mean I’m doing poorly. In fact I’m willing to bet that I’m happier than most posers who go around telling everyone that they do CrossFit. (That my iPhone has capitalized CrossFit is alarming in itself...)
And even following the link to gym equipment has: " From companies that strictly provide a software platform that enables video workouts to hardware companies that facilitate live group workouts, the wide range of options available to consumers is plentiful.
Peloton, one of the more notable names in the industry, experienced a 66% surge in sales earlier in the year as more consumers became willing to shell out thousands of dollars for hardware that connects someone to live classes and other riders.
Tonal, another in-home hardware fitness company, told reporters back in March that the company’s sales tripled at one point in the early days of March when people were being encouraged to stay home more regularly. "
So really the article is more about remote classes and training and tech to facilitate them, not home gym equipment. So comments about this lifestyle appealing to new people or not are more on topic than topics about buying home weights.
Once I realized that working out was more about regular effort than anything else, I quickly gained a lot of benefit. Pre-covid, I was mostly into weightlifting and martial arts, and these days it's a lot of bodyweight workouts and using the rowing machine but the details don't matter very much so much as being active. I've gone from never going out to do things to now knowing I can go run a 5k, join in on rock climbing or whatever (and generally not even be sore afterwards).
I also enjoy sitting on my porch though I typically prefer margaritas. When it comes to the range, I've found there are a lot more activities I feel comfortable doing now - not just static target shooting but full length training courses, stress drills, etc. It's also nice to go to the beach and get a certain amount of positive looks. My SO enjoys that I work out as well.
Exercise does not "make you" happy anymore than eating chocolate does - it may bring pleasure in itself but that's a side benefit. Rather, the primary benefit is now being able to do _whatever_ strikes your fancy and generally deal with significantly less health woes and limitations. It's a nice experience that when you visit your doctor, you get a high five and told your blood pressure and vitals are good.
Now maybe it isn't a source of insecurity, but it still looks like it is.
Similarly, one friend is double my level in Ring Fit and we send photos back and forth egging each other on, and another friend is constantly sending me YouTube videos of how to do perfect plays in Just Dance and showing me her score and has hacked the group play mode to work remote by streaming the host screen by video call.
How could someone not find a schedule that works for them now that they just need to turn on YouTube whereas previously they had to go visit a gym or a trainer? It's way easier now, as the Forbes article states.
My answer to that question is having children while no longer being able to outsource childcare.
You can also use children like a kettlebell. They love it and it's a great workout. The two year old also loves to help me with push-ups and planks by climbing on or under me.
You can only do so much social motivation over Zoom.
My wife is just like you. She went from daily workouts in the gym to daily workouts with Nike Training, running outdoors, and Yoga with Down Dog. I'm in the other camp, I went from very regular (but not daily) training in the gym and schedule-permitting Muay Thai to a month of depression to a few weeks of inconsistent home workouts before I finally fell into a great routine that's close to my wife's but with more weight training. My wife had made fitness a big part of her life for years and she was used to changing it up; I had a routine that I was happy with but it was a struggle to even get there and when it changed, I had a really hard time building up momentum again.
These are just a couple anecdotes, everyone is different, but I know more people whose experiences are closer to mine than my wife's or yours. It probably has a lot to do with the circles we all travel in -- I don't know a lot of people who were very fit before COVID so I'm less likely to know them now -- but I don't think we should overlook how challenging it is to change fitness habits. I think we're entering a great age of home fitness options but I'm not convinced that it's going to radically transform the health of as many people as the companies operating in this space would like it to.
The pandemic has really not been conducive to me remaining fit. Young kids complicate things massively.
Also have no friends right now and not the best time to make any... so things are going great :)
> Definitely not my experience. I was going to the gym regularly before: lifting weights and cycling. Post pandemic I've lost 5 pounds thanks to cycling outdoors, swimming outdoors, lugging heavy bags camping in the wilderness, Ring Fit, Just Dance, Box VR, Audica, Beat Saber, yoga and pilates TV shows, and first one set of resistance bands and now a second more advanced set. Started doing acroyoga with my girlfriend, which is a blast.
Am I reading this wrong? You said "definitely not my experience" and then validated everything he said. Looks more like "definitely my experience".
I put 0 pressure on myself to hit goals, I just run / do pushups / walk briskly, but I make sure to use the commute time on that rather than working more or browsing the internet.
At the beginning of the quarantine, I bought a spinning bike (I've been thinking about getting one for over a year, but going to the gym spinning classes a couple times a week was relatively convenient since the gym was near work). I also invested in a set of dumbbells.
Now I work out 5 days a week -- alternating between spinning and strength training. If I miss the morning exercise for any reason, it's easy to fit in a 15 minute session sometime during the day, something that was much harder to do when I was going to the gym for exercise.
I don't think I'll ever return to the gym now that I've experienced the convenience of working out at home in a virtual online class.
I didn't start off this way though. At the beginning I was paralyzed, staring at my phone and laptop screen. I was tragically distracted and just... stuck. Doomscrolling is the new word that I can totally relate to. I was swirling in emotion.
But I just decided I'd had enough one day. It was actually a goofy book that some rando twitter handle sent me one day that gave a step by step "leveling up" process. It was one of those right place, right time things so I just went with it.
I started meditating with the "Waking Up" app, drinking water, working out, and kicked my side project back off. It's been a real journey now that I've decided to use this extra time for good rather than just emoting.
Experiences are so varied across the board. It wouldn't surprise me if overall people, like me, were worse off in general health terms.
But that's me. There are a few people from work that live near me and one of them looks 15 years older in every way imaginable.
It was generally more tiring with kids at home, but specifically I had more time to exercise and when we went outside as familly I as adult had waaay more chance to move too. Since there were no kids outside, we went to place where I could do sport too more often.
I found it really energises me in the morning and obviously it’s done wonders for my overall health and fitness.
I'm one of those people that has fitness goals met mostly through routine and access to the gym. There are no gyms within 20The complete dynamiting of my child's summer schedule, WFH, and everything else has made it so that there is no routine any more.
I was lucky to get resistance bands and those have been working well at least.
Having a long ass commute and a dog to attend to meant my life was pretty much office and home. I was always too exhausted to consider a serious workout routine. However, since shelter-in-place started I've lost a ton of weight, gotten amazing sleep and never felt physically better. I've been working out daily and walking/hiking on the weekends, if anything, just to get out of my house.
I've also cooked all my meals because I've made it a personal goal to get abs by the end of the year. So I want to know what I'm putting in my body.
This has become a life changing moment for me, so I don't see any reason why this wouldn't be true for others. If the pandemic threw you off your old daily routines, and that's your only reason for giving up healthy habits, were you really committed in the first place? What would have happened if you simply moved or started a family or some other life changing event in the future? Would you just give up your routine then?
If you're just interested in general fitness, no equipment needed, there are any number of online workouts to follow that will give you a great whole body + cardio workout using nothing more than your body weight.
(though I bought both a spinning bike and a set of dumbbells at the beginning of quarantine... I've finally reached the point where the dumbbells aren't quite heavy enough for everything, so I've been watching eBay for a good deal on additional weight plates since as you noted, it's hard to find workout equipment)
(Btw, yoga with adriene is a very good YouTube yoga channel)
I've been thinking about writing an app to let me turn some of these follow alongs into an interval timer where I could just say the name of the pose (so I could do other things while doing the yoga). Then I could always click on the pose to go back to the video. Does that sound of interest?
I was in the same boat and I recommend taking a look at the Stock and Shipping Thread in Reddit's /r/homegym subreddit. [1] I joined their discord/stream for a few weeks and was able to be on top of gym equipment re-stocks and got what I needed pretty quickly, cost being MSRP.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/homegym/comments/i5ect0/stock_and_s...
This reality seems heavily biased by people with long commutes.
Unfortunately most companies that I have worked with (or might work with) seem to have adopted productivity-killing open plan offices, which are absolutely terrible.
Even when I spend 8 hours in a horrible open plan office, I end up doing most of my actual work at home. The office hours are simply to keep supervisors happy, to attend mandatory (often unnecessary) meetings, and to remain visible.
Like you, I think I'm finally making a little progress towards rebuilding, but there's been a couple pretty rough patches along the way.
Plus it’s not like I can stop. I already got a little cauliflower ear. It’s blackbelt or bust now :)
For instance, I had a friend who was avidly taking muay thai lessons for the last few years give it up for the time being since it's not feasible to recreate that experience in his own 1BR.
A lot of people are doing what they can with freeweights and online classes but it's just not the same.
She’s lost almost 20 pounds and counting, healthily, and currently weighs less than she has in 30 years; her doctor halved her blood pressure medicine a couple weeks ago, and predicts she’ll be able to stop it entirely soon — once again something she’s been on for 30 years; her blood work came back with flying colors; and she went on her first actual grueling hike in her life a couple weeks ago.
She has a new lease on life due to the pandemic: a window of opportunity where she didn’t have to work to live. Now she’s ready to return to work, with her new habits, and never look back.
1) Want to lose fat? You can run outside. You can also swim outside if you're lucky. It's free. Or you can walk briskly. Even better for losing fat. Want to improve your technique? There's plenty of instruction on YouTube and online.
2) Want to get strong? You can follow along workouts from Iron Wolf on YouTube and do some hardcore basic calisthenics. It's free. Don't worry, you're not stronger than him. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBUo6dgGR82QOfidtpNRQww
3) Want to improve your flexibility? You can follow along workouts from Human 2.0 on YouTube to hit flexibility, mobility and body maintenance. It's free. https://www.youtube.com/c/Humantwopointzeroinc
Also, you can do all of the above with friends! They don't need any equipment either.
Is this better than sitting on the couch whole day? Yeah probably better. But strength is not size and esthetics. It's force production against an external resistance. big does not equal strong.
Calisthenics are definitely hard to program, but you can build a huge amount of body strength without weights. “Overcoming Gravity” is a great book if you’re ever looking to program body weight movements. This isn’t a knock on lifting weights, weight training is great and everyone should do it. It’s just that strength is in relation to something else, and that something else is what dictates what sort of practice you should be programming. Building an extreme amount of strength doesn’t need to include a weight if you’re clever about it.
There is an argument around calisthenics having too many compound movements and gaps in difficulty progression, which makes it hard to overcome specific bottlenecks. But what calisthenics absolutely is great at is mobility and CNS engagement. Combine calisthenics with a yoga mat and doorframe bar with bands training to add more granular progression and isolations, and you have some really good overall coverage with minimum equipment.
NB: One major reason we have historically seen more material about weights than bands is that it's easier to compare weight progression apples-to-apples. Bands change difficulty with slight changes in grip position, hence results are harder to compare.
I can't imagine what my fellow strength trainers are doing.
Also waiting. Lots of waiting. Hopefully I'll get my rack, barbell and weights this month.
Now that I'm home all day, prepared-at-home meals are not just more realistic, they're (for the most part) the only option.
And this doesn't even require becoming a Michelin Star chef; a bag of chicken and vegetables from Trader Joes is easy, and much healthier than grabbing a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese from Dunkin.
Apropos to the article, the dumbbells and rower I've owned since long before the pandemic are finally getting regular use now, mostly because I'm bored.
Infrequent trips to the supermarket is also a plus, since that one bag of chips now has to last a week until the next trip. In general, the ratio of junk food to real food purchases has decreased.
Now that restaurants have opened back up, I've gone out a few times, and half the meals haven't been that satisfying, considering how strong the food game has gotten at home.
BTW, we're pretty lucky in Boston to have so many Trader Joe's around. I can literally eat like a king on $50 to $60/week (I still eat meat and salmon). (Not counting alcohol.)
I used the pandemic as an excuse to start an at-home routine. Purchased a workout mat and an app subscription. The app tells me what to do, when to do it, and increases/decreases the difficulty of the next workout based on how long any given set of exercises took me. (As an aside, it's pretty cool. I took too long to do a particular exercise, like squats? They'll backpedal a little and build up my ability to do squats with a range of other exercises, then back to be able to do what I couldn't before). Anyways, long story short, I'm going on five months straight of workouts three times a week and have noticeable increase in general strength and flexibility.
Previously I hadn't ever considered an app to be in place of a human personal trainer. And really being able to workout at whatever time is convenient for the day (as long as I do 3 days a week) really makes it flexible.
Sorry, long post, but the article is a bit devoid of any information so thought I would throw my relevant experience in there.
I've been using it personally since COVID started (Same period of time that I developed it from a simple "May as well learn Flutter" app to something decent) and I've made good strength progress.
The website has only been up since yesterday, and some of the info is still placeholder (like the review from my Mum, haha). Any feedback appreciated.
I know, cause I injured myself like that and could not exercise properly for a year.
Just something to be cautious about.
I used it for two years before it got to that point.
The real trap is that it feels really good to finish super hard session. Endorphins flow and you feel like a hero, so it is hard to make yourself stop. It is sort of addictive.
I mean, it is good app and I liked the experience, except for how it ended and how frustrating it was to not be able to exercise anymore.
If you have an old bike that you want to sell, the premiums are almost 20-50% more. Some people are selling 3 year old bikes for MSRP. It's crazy right now.
I've been meaning to DIY a squat rack in the garage but I need a bar, and I haven't even bothered to check that. I assume they're hard to find and selling for over-normal-price used, same as everything else.
In the midst of the pandemic, I managed to grab a full ultegra bike for $400. Real beauty of a hand made Italian stallion. The only reason why I got this bike was because the owner had just bought a brand new gravel bike, because that is all the rage right now in the bike world and people are trying to get rid of their road bikes. Gear acquisition syndrome has plagued this sport since its inception, but it works in the used cyclist's favor when you can reliably get gently used gear for dirt cheap.
Word of advice from one cyclist to another: resist the trends. Buy used. Buy old. Spend used car levels of cash on anything else in your life besides a bike, because in 10 years that $1500 bike will remain the same great bike it was but will become $200.
She eventually got lucky and found a 2yr old used bike for $400 which is exactly what she wanted. She just got lucky and got to the store just as they were putting it out on the floor.
I have the resistance bands but I loved the full body workout of swimming (and the rewards of mastering good swimming technique)
"Previously, 50% of gym-goers quit after 6 months." Why would you not expect the same thing to happen with people's quarantine workout motivations? We're still within the first 6 months of quarantine.
However, the glut of supply may make it hard for people to cluster together into classes
I think this is unlikely at least until social distancing goes away. The average class size has decreased significantly in order to make social distancing possible.
Pre-covid, classes at our gym were sometimes so packed that you couldn't comfortably do a forward lunge without stepping on the person in front of you.
By class I assume you mean some sort of organised fitness events? Do people do that for social reasons - I'd have thought the primary reason was not wanting to wobble like a jelly when you walk up the road; then perhaps longevity??
I found a book called Convict Conditioning that requires no equipment (except a pull up bar for some of the later exercises, but there’s a park nearby my house), and has real progressions designed to build strength. So far, I’m enjoying it a lot.
I do harder resistance versions of an exercise for muscle - easier, more reps for cardio.
MOST IMPORTANT:train your motivation.
Do the exercise. Don't avoid it. But go easy on yourselves people!
Go easy physically: It's fair you(and me) are a bit out of shape. Don't go hard and smash yourself, then never do it again. Make it a task as easy as folding washing. It may be a boring necessity but you don't fear washing do you? Take care of your limits!
Go easy mentally: Talk to yourself the way you would talk to someone else. IE No supposedly motivational "Lets get to work fatty/tryhard/retard!" in your own head.
Maybe a simple "It is easy to do, lets get this done. :-)"
You deserve as much respect from yourself as from others. If you are prone to such negative mental thoughts, say it out loud, talk to yourself quite literally and hear how mean it is. You are the only person you will be with every moment of your life, be nice.
Edit:streamlined text a bit.
I'm lacking in the weight lifting department, would be nice to get a bench/olympic bar, but I'm having a lot of fun cycling.
Since lockdown I've been cycling 40 km almost every day, and I managed to do a 120 km ride the other week.
To be honest it's one of the main reasons I'm quite happy WFH, soon as the clock hits 16:00 I'm out the door on my bike.
How did you manage to integrate _more_ biking in the WFH schedule?
However, bodyweight exercises and outdoor cardio can go a long way. Even just walking.
The single most critical aspect you can control is diet. And that requires no equipment, just the right choices. WFH has thrown a big wrench into the eating habits for many.
I run a nutrition application[1], and we've seen a big uptick in sign ups and usage. Curiously, later into the pandemic. No surprise, based on articles like this: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/nyregion/coronavirus-tail...
That number also varies between people. 1500 I would maintain my weight or gain slightly.
This is better known as the Protein-Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF). Still an intense diet — after all it's an intelligent way to crash diet.
Long-term... not such a good idea unless you are obese.
Data on countries that have re-opened (like Australia) is showing that it's they will quickly reach or exceed pre-pandemic levels as long as they take some safety measures.
But I am going to have to try harder because I have not gotten any less fat from that. Its kind of minimal movement really.
What actually is the most exercise on the Quest for me is bowling, believe it or not. Because to release properly you actually have to get pretty low. So it's like I am doing a bunch of lunges.
Plus Beat Saber is also pretty good exercise , once you get to Expert or Expert+.
Are these people actually utilizing their memberships? I know when I had an LA Fitness membership, I went like... 3 times in a year because I hated the environment and fighting for a damn rack with gym tren bros. It wasn't until I found rock climbing that I began training 3x/week for 2+ hours.
What about obesity rates? Are they declining and, if so, is the decline directly attributable to increased gym memberships? And again, what about more rural areas where people might have turned to hiking/backpacking/outdoor sports? Seems like soulcycle subscriptions et al. are such a tiny part of the fitness industry as to be almost insignificant.
This article is entirely speculation, and rather thoughtless at that.
Personally, I think it's probably a grey mess. I stopped climbing for 2 months (March & April) as quarantine depression took hold. I substituted with lots of bodyweight workouts, but it wasn't the same. I lost my psyche. But, as soon as I could, I went back to bouldering and rock climbing outside 3x/week again, and it's remained steady at that level, with new habits of bodyweight workouts as supplemental work.
I know many of my friends experienced similar drops in activity during quarantine, and only about 50% of them have bounced back and resumed training. The others have seriously put on weight or had their diets go to shit or switched to simple walks/runs instead of weights or other sports.
I also bought a road bike and have been biking all over town and keeping the car parked. When I first bought the bike I had to pull over and lay on my back on the sidewalk after 4 miles, just completely dead and gassed. Now I do 30 mile rides without any trouble, in my mask mind you for all those mask wearing complainers. I also try to run all my errands on the bike and stay close to the neighborhood if I can help it, and honestly since I can lane split around traffic and park effortlessly, I make about the same time as when I ran errands with my car.
For those who are having trouble finding a bike, it seems here in LA all the local bike shops still have plenty of bikes, and there are always second hand bikes being sold on craigslist and other sites. While dumbbells and kettlebells are hard to find, resistance bands are plentiful and you can do all the same movements with a little creativity.
https://www.bicycleretailer.com/studies-reports/2020/06/16/b...
My theory is that it's a combination of people who don't want to commute by public transit due to covid19 concerns, and people whose regular gyms and group-fitness clubs and classes have been cancelled also due to covid19, combined with the usual April and onwards spring/summertime boom in sales for everything bike related.
Bicycle retailers are a highly cyclic business and usually things are very slow from mid October to late March. Except in places with really good year-round weather (San Diego and similar).
As long as the lockdown continues, I expect people will continue home-based exercise, and are more likely to prepare their own food as well.
I set up alerts on OfferUp and Craigslist for a Nordictrack ski machine. Got one back in April for $100 and have used it 6-7 days a week since. It fits in a relatively small space, doesn't require power, and is 100% user serviceable. I have it along the wall in the garage, and can fold it up if need be. I only do my "long" workout on it, but am planning to try my first HIIT workout on it tonight!
I also have started doing the kettlebell routine from the book "Simple & Sinister" using a 16 kg kettlebell I bought ages ago and never used. The /r/kettlebell community is very, very helpful. I was, to be brutally honest, intimidated to start this; I was sure that I would somehow do the exercises wrong and wind up hurting myself. However, nothing bad's happened and I do feel better/stronger.
Finally, I've done more reading on health/longevity (most recently the book Lifespan by Sinclair) and have modified my eating habits a bit.
The pandemic sucks, but being forced to come to grips with months of my life being heavily restricted served as motivation to live healthier so I can make more use of the time that's left once (a) a vaccine come around or (b) I figure out how to immigrate to New Zealand and live a normal life :-)
So, I am in much better shape. I also cut almost all sugar (or all types) from my diet and more or less cutting out processed food. If it isn't fresh I don't eat it.
Bil Mahr, on his HBO show, has been ranting about people needing to boost their immune systems and get healthier. I am taking health advice from a comedian :-)
Kettlebells and MMA/BJJ is where it's at for me in the future.
On the flip side, being in a house full of food all day has had a measurable effect.
Instead of eating out with co-workers every day for lunch, I have been cooking healthy meals and eating at home every day with my little family.
I have lost around 30 pounds since all of this started, and my wife has been losing weight, too!
Here in Ontario, it seems like the many† gyms have gone to appointments, to deal with capacity limits, and to do extra cleaning. (Notably, the dominant chain gym. https://www.goodlifefitness.com/goodlife-standard) What about where you’re at?
I ask because I am not sure on the long-term financial stability of that. On the one hand, people are going to either be scared of the virus, or annoyed by the lack of flexibility, and cancel their memberships. On the other hand…a gym membership is a bit of an aspirational purchase, and cheaper gyms, say your Planet Fitness, have a business model predicated on “we’ll get you in the door for cheap, but we’ll never actually reach capacity because people slowly stop going.”
Bit of a rambling question, I just love going to gym, and I can’t yet figure out what the medium-term future viability is.
†except my small chain gym, which has a plan that boils down to “it’ll probably be fine”
Which seems like a hell of a loophole.
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/you-don-t-need-to-wear-a-mask-whil...
I’m also eating like a total animal during the pandemic though. I guess it’ll even our.
Lulu bought Mirror
We saw MAU higher than New Years during peak COVID (health and fitness app) and our peers said the same.
Can’t buy weights to save your life.
Question is what happens after reopen?
To be honest, cant wait for the WFH thing to end.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...
We did good, then bad, then we are good again.
The long term effects of this virus will be felt in everything but the actual virus.