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New fitness habits being created during Covid?

forbes.com

31–40 of 179 posts

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#31

The only people I know who seem to feel really good about their COVID fitness levels are those who prioritized it before the pandemic and are so committed that they were willing and able to figure out alternatives. People who didn't prioritize it or struggled to get into sustainable schedules are doing poorly. Even some of my friends who had really good routines fell into pretty serious depressions at the start of it…

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.

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.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#33
Since home exercise equipment is so hard to find, I’ve been doing a lot of bodyweight exercises.

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.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#34
post #33

Since home exercise equipment is so hard to find, I’ve been doing a lot of bodyweight exercises. 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've used and had good success with the same book.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#35
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was fat before the pandemic. I continue to be fat during the pandemic. I will be fat after the pandemic is over. Fitness is for other people. 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. J…

I fail to see how this is relevant to OP's question about the demographic of people buying home gym equipment since you are obviously not one of them.

To be fair, the OP talked about home gym equipment like he's talking about weights, but that's not what the Forbes article is about: " Trainers have gone online, video-based workouts are the new normal, and high-tech home gym equipment is making its way into more homes than ever before. "

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.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#36

Based on my social circle, no. A few people I know used the lockdown as an opportunity to improve their diet, find ways to exercise that don't require access to a gym, etc. but the majority have just gained weight, gotten more online, and generally become less healthy.

One definite benefit I've noticed is the lack of eating out. When I was commuting to Boston every day, most of my eating was based on convenience or opportunity; I was out of the house for twelve to thirteen hours a day, and taking the time to make a meal just wasn't realistic. 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…

Not eating out is a definite plus.

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.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#37
post #18

Anecdata: I have always wanted to do a full body exercise routine, gravitating toward body weight exercise. I _never_ wanted to deal with personal trainers and didn't really know where to start. I tried a few step-by-step guides over the years and always lost motivation. Always, sometimes relatively quickly. I'm healthy, skinny and do a lot of aerobic exercise and outdoor activities (soccer, frisbee, etc.), but I alw…

This app sounds really cool and smart for what it is trying to do. Do you mind sharing the name?

Sure, this one's called Freeletics. It was reasonably priced for a year (and you can find discount codes on Google). The feedback loop is _okay_ because although they have really stellar example videos on how to do the exercises, you still have to self-assess how closely you're matching the videos (there's no person that watches you or critiques). That's the only downside to the "AI" driven workout progressions.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#38

The only people I know who seem to feel really good about their COVID fitness levels are those who prioritized it before the pandemic and are so committed that they were willing and able to figure out alternatives. People who didn't prioritize it or struggled to get into sustainable schedules are doing poorly. Even some of my friends who had really good routines fell into pretty serious depressions at the start of it…

It's been impossible to buy any kind of home fitness equipment for a couple of months now. I've seen kettlebells going for $500 on Amazon. 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 r…

I grabbed some big landscaping rocks. They're heavy, asymmetrical but smooth, and make for a good workout.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#39
post #31

The only people I know who seem to feel really good about their COVID fitness levels are those who prioritized it before the pandemic and are so committed that they were willing and able to figure out alternatives. People who didn't prioritize it or struggled to get into sustainable schedules are doing poorly. Even some of my friends who had really good routines fell into pretty serious depressions at the start of it…

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,…

> How could someone not find a schedule that works for them now

My answer to that question is having children while no longer being able to outsource childcare.

Re: New fitness habits being created during Covid?

#40

Anecdata: I have always wanted to do a full body exercise routine, gravitating toward body weight exercise. I _never_ wanted to deal with personal trainers and didn't really know where to start. I tried a few step-by-step guides over the years and always lost motivation. Always, sometimes relatively quickly. I'm healthy, skinny and do a lot of aerobic exercise and outdoor activities (soccer, frisbee, etc.), but I alw…

Apps are great to recommend a training and exercise plan, showing you different ways of working out etc. However I found that without having a professional by my side, especially in the beginning stages, it was impossible for me to know if I'm making mistakes in the way I carry out the exercises, wrong postures, incorrect movements or alignment of limbs. Once you learned to do them incorrectly, it can be very hard to…

Definitely, I mentioned this in a comment below. The example videos/instructions are very good. But that only goes so far when you have to self assess how you're doing. But to be fair, I think your comment sounds a bit dire given we're talking about body weight exercises. It's pretty easy to tell that I'm doing, for example, squats or push ups correctly with the way the app and workouts are set up.
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