16 ms·

New fitness habits being created during Covid?

87 points by markhall 6y ago

waihtis 6y ago
Anecdata - I have indeed exercised more, because home is now home/workplace and I want to get out of work every now and then. To be honest, cant wait for the WFH thing to end.
theNJR 6y ago
PTON stock has doubled since COVID. 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?
- hammock 6y ago
  Gyms have reopened in Chicago in the last ~month. I'd say even today it's about 25-30% full compared to what it typically would be. I know gyms have been open in other places a lot longer, can't speak to that.
- noelherrick 6y ago
  I'm outside the US in a place with no community transmission for about two months. When gyms reopened, at first it was slow, but when everything reopened without any new cases, everyone went a bit crazy (people are hitting the gyms a lot). It's still crazy. People I saw who were a bit overweight before lockdown lost weight. Same with myself - gained weight during lockdown - lost it 2 weeks after everything reopened since now life was fun again. I imagine that people are going to go pretty hard with socializing, travel, live music, etc. when/if Covid is contained.
justanother 6y ago
Work for a leading 'online fitness experience' provider. Our MAU has gone through the roof and well into the sky. I'm not sure what this says about 'fitness' as I've no idea if these people are gonna quit within 6 months (ie if the mechanism by which fitness aspirations begin and die has merely changed) or if people are indeed on the cusp of a new way of living. I hope for the latter, as this has indeed happened to me. But I fear it will not be the norm.
kking50 6y ago
It's not a new golden age of fitness. There may be a short-term boon, but people's motivation will eventually nose dive without social interaction. "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.
- sukilot 6y ago
  The best hope is (a) social pressure to attend class, with (b) class costs plummeting due to logistics and competition. However, the glut of supply may make it hard for people to cluster together into classes
  - drchopchop 6y ago
    It's hard to say for sure, but at the moment it looks like ~10-15% of class-based locations will not re-open due to business failure? So that's not a dramatically reduced supply, and additionally a lot of these places weren't sold-out to begin with (except in say NYC or LA where popular classes have waitlists). I personally think the desire to be social + in/person will soon exceed people's concerns re: safety, especially in areas where the COVID rates are low.
  - cj 6y ago
    > (b) class costs plummeting due to logistics and competition 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.
  - pbhjpbhj 6y ago
    >The best hope is (a) social pressure to attend class // 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??
sickcodebruh 6y ago
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 and haven't been able to find a new schedule that works for them. 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.
- thomascgalvin 6y ago
  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 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.
  - neutronicus 6y ago
    The other side of the fitness coin is diet, and the two hours a day returned to me have been instrumental in improving that. People may come out of quarantine simultaneously less fit and less fat. 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.
    - thomascgalvin 6y ago
      This might be a case where perfect is the enemy of good. 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.
ilaksh 6y ago
I have been doing a good job of playing Eleven Table Tennis on the Quest every day. Forme that's an accomplishment because my standard is absolutely zero exercise and I work from home and don't go out much. 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.
- cwkoss 6y ago
  Check out Thrill of the Fight - well made boxing game that will leave you winded in 15 mins and sore for a day. Really easy to get into. Plus Beat Saber is also pretty good exercise , once you get to Expert or Expert+.
thelazydogsback 6y ago
I think of the many (dozenish?) people I know who've bought personal exercise equipment over the years, all of them have become primarily clothes-hangers and usually eventually sold. Personally, I'm doing the best I can, but I find it really hard to get a good workout in at home and look forward to my gym re-opening.
user9909 6y ago
When I look around the street and over 50% of people are seriously overweight, I tend to doubt this article.
- ilaksh 6y ago
  I mean maybe what's motivating the golden age of fitness is the golden age of fatness. That's what's motivating my efforts. Don't want to have to buy new jeans again.
- bashwizard 6y ago
  Found the 'murican!
site-packages1 6y ago
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 always wanted to have better all around fitness. 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.
- shwoopdiwoop 6y ago
  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 correct this and have bad consequences for your health to a point where you can seriously hurt yourself. No app can do that for you.
  - site-packages1 6y ago
    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.
johnbrodie 6y ago
This article doesn't really have any facts, it's just asking a question into the void. I doubt people staying home is going to lead to _more_ fitness, but I have as much data to back it up as the article.
xnx 6y ago
Periodic reminder that though "forbes.com" may have implied some credentials in the past, it is now a site where anyone can post anything.
- dang 6y ago
  It started a good HN thread in this case though.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
  It's also a site that will happily send zerodays to your browser.
jeffreyrogers 6y ago
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.
- thomascgalvin 6y ago
  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 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.
  - colanderman 6y ago
    Same here. I've lost 20 lbs – without trying – now that I'm no longer eating from a Boston food truck every day. Bouts of depression played a part no doubt, but the fact that I'm no longer shoveling down a giant bowl of Sa Pa or too-large wrap from Falafel King for lunch has gotta be a big part of it. Prolly saving a ton of money in the process too. 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.
  - Merrill 6y ago
    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.
  - taude 6y ago
    I'd double star this, not eating out has also made me healthier, but has but me worlds ahead financially. I feel kind of bad about that given the state of the service economy, but with extra time, I've been able to make healthy breakfasts and lunches each day, and experimenting with a variety of recipes for dinner. 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.)
cagenut 6y ago
personally i'm well into putting on my covid "19"
iamkroot 6y ago
Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...
zcw100 6y ago
There was a golden age of fittness?
senkora 6y ago
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.
- lozaning 6y ago
  I've used and had good success with the same book.
silviogutierrez 6y ago
People are frustrated since home gym equipment is hard to find. And that's a valid frustration. 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-tailors-cleaners-weight-gain.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/nyregion/coronavirus-tail... [1] https://www.joyapp.com https://www.joyapp.com
- sumtechguy 6y ago
  I used to use isometrics pretty heavily. That style pretty much means you do not use much equipment at all. For me it was an old sturdy chair and a heavy couch to pin my feet under. Diet for weight, exercise for strength. I used good portions of the Charles Atlas program. I skipped his diet as I was not looking for body building. Just kept myself under my 1100 caloric number (varies on height and age). Just wanted some strength and not be fat.
  - fredophile 6y ago
    I'm not a nutritionist but 1100 calories a day is very, very low for most adults. As a comparison, the Minnesota starvation study fed participants a little over 1500 calories a day.
    - sumtechguy 6y ago
      Depends on what you are trying to do. Someone I know who is losing weight they are on 900-1000 a day set by a nutritionist. Lots of vitamins to pick up the slack on other things. It also depends on what you eat. That number also varies between people. 1500 I would maintain my weight or gain slightly.
    - silviogutierrez 6y ago
      Temporarily, sub 1100 can work very well for losing weight. You want resistance training and very high protein to avoid muscle loss. 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.
t0mbstone 6y ago
I realize my own experience is merely anecdotal, but I just want to say that this whole lockdown has been hugely beneficial to my health! 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!
drchopchop 6y ago
I work in this industry, and this does not match the data we're seeing. People are eager to get back to certain on-site experiences, especially on the boutique/expensive side where the in-person class/instructor camraderie is very important. Also certain genres of fitness (think: cycling, F45, etc) require expensive equipment which is non-trivial to have in your house. 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.
mark_l_watson 6y ago
I usually walk or hike an average of one hour a day (we live 100 meters from a trailhead in the mountains). Since COVID-19, I am trying to average 90 minutes a day. I also bought weights in March and started doing more Qi Gong with my wife. 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 :-)
octygen 6y ago
What's a gym? COVID made me forget. COVID also gave me more time to do things especially without the commute. What did I learn to do with 0 équipment? 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 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 https://www.youtube.com/c/Humantwopointzeroinc Also, you can do all of the above with friends! They don't need any equipment either.
- flictonic 6y ago
  Strength training is extremely hard to do without equipment. It's a common misconception that body weight or minimal equipment is an adequate substitute. Iron Wolf is not strength training, it's endurance. I'm not knocking him, it looks like a great workout, but any intermediate barbell lifter will lose strength and size on this workout. There's simply no substitute for heavy compound barbell movements.
  - mtalantikite 6y ago
    I guess it depends on what you mean by strength. For body building/size, yeah for sure you need weights. You can do a ton with some rings and p-bars along with your own body weight though (and maybe a kettlebell or two). I personally don’t care about size or external looks, that’s not what I practice for, but you certainly can get strong without weights. I’m sure a lot of people that can lift heavy can’t do a planche, they’re just totally different body goals and both require strength.
    - wreath 6y ago
      Strength is force production. Your muscles twitch and produce force to moves your bones which moves an external mass. Your body adapts to this external resistance by "over-compensating". This time you lift 100lbs, next time you can lift 105lbs because your muscles adapted (provided you slept, ate and rested well enough). Now, if you are not used to strength training, push ups are strength training exercises (your body being the external resistance against gravity). If you already lift, push ups won't improve your strength in any meaningful way. it's probably harder the first time you do it even though you've been barbell training, but the novelty quickly runs out and you're doing endurance now (different energy system in play). 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.
johnwatson11218 6y ago
Just want to add that I had bought an eBike right when the pandemic hit in late March. It was so nice that I went ahead and bought a second eBike for mountain biking. I live in Phoenix and normally we have to stop biking in the summer. With the eBikes I find that I can ride in much hotter temperatures than I'm used to. It has allowed me to continue biking this summer.
- audiometry 6y ago
  I thought stationary bikes were way, way more overheating to ride, as you don't have the 15mph wind blowing over you for cooling.
  - johnwatson11218 6y ago
    By eBike I mean an actual bicycle with an electric motor and a battery. So I do get the breeze and it helps keep me cool with it is over 100 degrees here. Although since I wrote that comment the eBike battery was not charging and I had to take the whole thing in to the shop to get them to look at it.
perardi 6y ago
I’m going to blithely ignore the article, as it’s from Forbes, and just segue into something I’m curious about: how are gyms reopening, or not, where you live? 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 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”
- econner 6y ago
  Where I am in Colorado gyms reopened. No one inside wearing masks & even though they had reserved times it didn't seem like they limited the number of people at all. I imagine people are now "wearing" masks but actually subtly skirting the state mandate. Decided to stop going to the gym because of it & am now building a home gym instead.
  - perardi 6y ago
    The mask mandate for gyms in Ontario is…odd. You apparently don’t need to wear a mask while actively exercising; you just have to wear it while walking around and in the locker room. Which seems like a hell of a loophole. https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/you-don-t-need-to-wear-a-mask-while-exercising-at-the-gym-dr-etches-1.5023275 https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/you-don-t-need-to-wear-a-mask-whil...
- jedberg 6y ago
  I live in the Bay Area in California. Our gyms are still just closed.
claydavisss 6y ago
You would think everything we know about Covid would be motivation enough to exercise...yes, there is the rare outlier story of someone in excellent shape dying from Covid, but the norm is people with lifestyle conditions that could have been prevented.
ijustwanttovote 6y ago
One of the craziest thing I have noticed is bikes have been sold out everywhere. You can't find a $1500 entry level road bike. My friends are telling me the cheapest they are seeing are starting to be $2-3k. 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.
- spanhandler 6y ago
  The other day I looked into rowing machines (ergs). The one that seemed like the no-brainer best choice according to basically everyone is sold out everywhere. Heavily used ones are going for like 20% over retail on Craigslist. So much for that. 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.
  - asdff 6y ago
    I've been squatting with elastic resistance bands. Works great and I don't need to shove a rack somewhere.
    - spanhandler 6y ago
      Oooooh I have a couple sets of those kicking around, if I double them up, that might work. I wanna start doing some other big compound lifts, too, but that'd be better than nothing.
- socalnate1 6y ago
  Can confirm; I've been trying to find a sub $1k mountain bike in Southern California for a week without luck.
  - asdff 6y ago
    Why not just go used? I picked up a road bike for a great deal in LA recently. I just checked LA craigslist, and there are over 400 results for "mountain bike" and > $1000.
Aaronstotle 6y ago
Personally I've gotten a lot more into cycling than I had previously. I used to cycle to work, thankfully I bought my bike last year before the markups. Amazing how much I have improved in the last few months. 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.
- mathieuh 6y ago
  Same with me, in the UK we have a scheme where you can buy a bike tax-free which I availed of in December, having not cycled in years. 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.
- d1zzy 6y ago
  I used to bike a lot to work (around ~100 miles a week) but since WFH I haven't been able to motivate myself to do as much. I can barely go out once a week for a more strenuous ride than a commute was but still only amounts to maybe 20% of bike time. How did you manage to integrate _more_ biking in the WFH schedule?
lukewrites 6y ago
Prior to the pandemic I went to the gym 3-4 days/week, alternating between HIIT on a bike and an endurance workout on an elliptical. I knew I would need to find an alternative since gyms were no longer safe, but due to space restrictions knew I couldn't get the same equipment I use at the gym. 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 :-)
irrational 6y ago
As in no fitness habits? Before the pandemic I was swimming 2km 3 times a week and lifting weights 3 times a week. Since the pandemic I haven’t done anything. I neither have access to a pool or weights. I could switch to body weight exercises or walking (I hate jogging/running), but I haven’t and probably won’t.
- chadlavi 6y ago
  my new habit is that I still don't do any of the things I know I should, but now I don't feel as guilty
- jraby3 6y ago
  Try P90X 3. About 15 30 minute videos that definitely keep you in shape. About half don’t need any equipment, and a quarter only need a pull-up bar.
- darkwizard42 6y ago
  Honestly, the loss of the gym pool is the killer for me! I was on a 4-5 times a week doing 2500-3000 yards :/ I have the resistance bands but I loved the full body workout of swimming (and the rewards of mastering good swimming technique)
asdff 6y ago
I used to go to my apartment gym for their freeweights and treadmills. I ended up buying some elastic straps and can do all the movements you need to work the same groups as olympic lifts, they go up to 150lbs of resitance and only cost $40. Never going to a gym to share some sweaty gross equipment with smelly grunting people again! 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.
- creaghpatr 6y ago
  A bike guide told me if you want to buy a bike, wait 6 months and there will be a ton of barely used bikes from people who bought it during the pandemic and decided it wasn't for them.
  - asdff 6y ago
    I actually managed to get my road bike for a great price, because the owner just bought a new gravel bike for the pandemic. This is actually a decent time for buying road bikes since a ton of people are getting into gravel biking and unloading their perfectly good road bike for cheap.
habosa 6y ago
I have replaced some commute time with running. I ran before but definitely feel like I have more time for it now. I’m also eating like a total animal during the pandemic though. I guess it’ll even our.
faangFar 6y ago
COVID broke up our gym group. I think it caused one of our gym Bros to relapse into obesity. 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.
jwally 6y ago
For what its worth, if you have the space for it, I can't recommend a pair of gymnastics rings enough. Unbelievable amount of versatility for $50. I've had powerlifting equipment, adjustable dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, access to gyms, and with a little bit of volume I feel like I'm getting more work done with rings than I have without about anything I've used in a decade; and they haven't completely sold out of everywhere yet...
akeck 6y ago
Re: home weights, we used to use barbells made from steel pipe and concrete during rowing practices. The concrete "weights" were molded with paint buckets.
CarbyAu 6y ago
Fan of "You Are Your Own Gym" - YAYOG. Bodyweight exercises, some with props like a towel etc. App has adjustable workouts, optional demo videos. 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.
wcarron 6y ago
I think this article makes a lot of assumptions. It states gym members ships increased by 37% in ~ 1 decade. But, was that total memberships or % of population? How long do the memberships persist? It only mentions 6 months, pre-covid. 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.
RickJWagner 6y ago
I was a regular gym-goer prior to Covid. These days I try to use body-weight exercises. I'm a ways away from Herschel Walker's 1500 push ups a day, but I'm happy with what I get.
chaostheory 6y ago
The other not so obvious fitness trend is VR. Its most popular game, Beat Saber, is a fitness game in disguise.
stevespang 6y ago
As a lap swimmer I now swim in a private cove on Lake Travis courtesy of wealthy property owners . . .
analog31 6y ago
I biked to work before the covid, and have had to replace that form of exercise. I'm doing a "fake commute" each morning, which gets the blood flowing. Sometimes it's a long brisk walk instead of bike -- walking may be as good of exercise if not better. On the flip side, being in a house full of food all day has had a measurable effect.
beamatronic 6y ago
I didn’t exercise pre-Covid and now I do exercise
musicale 6y ago
Well, Ring Fit Adventure has been sold out everywhere for months (except for opportunistic resellers who are selling it at a huge markup over MSRP.) It's pretty good if you can snag a copy at the regular price. 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.
bashwizard 6y ago
I will most likely not renew my gym membership this year. I bought a few kettlebells in february and man, the type of workout I get out of those fothermuckers is crazy. And the time I save from having to commute back and fourth to the gym makes such a difference even if it's just ~20 minutes every gym day. Kettlebells and MMA/BJJ is where it's at for me in the future.
walrus01 6y ago
Most bicycle stores look like a grocery store in the 1-2 days before a hurricane hits. Tons of inventory is missing. Finding basic items can require phoning 5 or 6 different shops. https://www.bicycleretailer.com/studies-reports/2020/06/16/bike-market-skyrockets-sales-75-april 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).

87 points by markhall 6y ago

Anecdata - I have indeed exercised more, because home is now home/workplace and I want to get out of work every now and then. To be honest, cant wait for the WFH thing to end.

theNJR 6y ago

PTON stock has doubled since COVID. 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?

hammock 6y ago
Gyms have reopened in Chicago in the last ~month. I'd say even today it's about 25-30% full compared to what it typically would be. I know gyms have been open in other places a lot longer, can't speak to that.
noelherrick 6y ago
I'm outside the US in a place with no community transmission for about two months. When gyms reopened, at first it was slow, but when everything reopened without any new cases, everyone went a bit crazy (people are hitting the gyms a lot). It's still crazy. People I saw who were a bit overweight before lockdown lost weight. Same with myself - gained weight during lockdown - lost it 2 weeks after everything reopened since now life was fun again. I imagine that people are going to go pretty hard with socializing, travel, live music, etc. when/if Covid is contained.

justanother 6y ago

Work for a leading 'online fitness experience' provider. Our MAU has gone through the roof and well into the sky. I'm not sure what this says about 'fitness' as I've no idea if these people are gonna quit within 6 months (ie if the mechanism by which fitness aspirations begin and die has merely changed) or if people are indeed on the cusp of a new way of living. I hope for the latter, as this has indeed happened to me. But I fear it will not be the norm.

kking50 6y ago

It's not a new golden age of fitness. There may be a short-term boon, but people's motivation will eventually nose dive without social interaction. "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.

sukilot 6y ago
The best hope is (a) social pressure to attend class, with (b) class costs plummeting due to logistics and competition. However, the glut of supply may make it hard for people to cluster together into classes
- drchopchop 6y ago
  It's hard to say for sure, but at the moment it looks like ~10-15% of class-based locations will not re-open due to business failure? So that's not a dramatically reduced supply, and additionally a lot of these places weren't sold-out to begin with (except in say NYC or LA where popular classes have waitlists). I personally think the desire to be social + in/person will soon exceed people's concerns re: safety, especially in areas where the COVID rates are low.
- cj 6y ago
  > (b) class costs plummeting due to logistics and competition 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.
- pbhjpbhj 6y ago
  >The best hope is (a) social pressure to attend class // 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??

sickcodebruh 6y ago

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 and haven't been able to find a new schedule that works for them. 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.

thomascgalvin 6y ago
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 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.
- neutronicus 6y ago
  The other side of the fitness coin is diet, and the two hours a day returned to me have been instrumental in improving that. People may come out of quarantine simultaneously less fit and less fat. 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.
  - thomascgalvin 6y ago
    This might be a case where perfect is the enemy of good. 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.

ilaksh 6y ago

I have been doing a good job of playing Eleven Table Tennis on the Quest every day. Forme that's an accomplishment because my standard is absolutely zero exercise and I work from home and don't go out much. 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.

cwkoss 6y ago
Check out Thrill of the Fight - well made boxing game that will leave you winded in 15 mins and sore for a day. Really easy to get into. Plus Beat Saber is also pretty good exercise , once you get to Expert or Expert+.

thelazydogsback 6y ago

I think of the many (dozenish?) people I know who've bought personal exercise equipment over the years, all of them have become primarily clothes-hangers and usually eventually sold. Personally, I'm doing the best I can, but I find it really hard to get a good workout in at home and look forward to my gym re-opening.

user9909 6y ago

When I look around the street and over 50% of people are seriously overweight, I tend to doubt this article.

ilaksh 6y ago
I mean maybe what's motivating the golden age of fitness is the golden age of fatness. That's what's motivating my efforts. Don't want to have to buy new jeans again.
bashwizard 6y ago
Found the 'murican!

site-packages1 6y ago

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 always wanted to have better all around fitness. 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.

shwoopdiwoop 6y ago
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 correct this and have bad consequences for your health to a point where you can seriously hurt yourself. No app can do that for you.
- site-packages1 6y ago
  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.

johnbrodie 6y ago

This article doesn't really have any facts, it's just asking a question into the void. I doubt people staying home is going to lead to _more_ fitness, but I have as much data to back it up as the article.

xnx 6y ago

Periodic reminder that though "forbes.com" may have implied some credentials in the past, it is now a site where anyone can post anything.

dang 6y ago
It started a good HN thread in this case though.
kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
It's also a site that will happily send zerodays to your browser.

jeffreyrogers 6y ago

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.

thomascgalvin 6y ago
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 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.
- colanderman 6y ago
  Same here. I've lost 20 lbs – without trying – now that I'm no longer eating from a Boston food truck every day. Bouts of depression played a part no doubt, but the fact that I'm no longer shoveling down a giant bowl of Sa Pa or too-large wrap from Falafel King for lunch has gotta be a big part of it. Prolly saving a ton of money in the process too. 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.
- Merrill 6y ago
  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.
- taude 6y ago
  I'd double star this, not eating out has also made me healthier, but has but me worlds ahead financially. I feel kind of bad about that given the state of the service economy, but with extra time, I've been able to make healthy breakfasts and lunches each day, and experimenting with a variety of recipes for dinner. 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.)

cagenut 6y ago

personally i'm well into putting on my covid "19"

iamkroot 6y ago

Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...

zcw100 6y ago

There was a golden age of fittness?

senkora 6y ago

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.

lozaning 6y ago
I've used and had good success with the same book.

silviogutierrez 6y ago

People are frustrated since home gym equipment is hard to find. And that's a valid frustration. 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-tailors-cleaners-weight-gain.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/nyregion/coronavirus-tail... [1] https://www.joyapp.com https://www.joyapp.com

sumtechguy 6y ago
I used to use isometrics pretty heavily. That style pretty much means you do not use much equipment at all. For me it was an old sturdy chair and a heavy couch to pin my feet under. Diet for weight, exercise for strength. I used good portions of the Charles Atlas program. I skipped his diet as I was not looking for body building. Just kept myself under my 1100 caloric number (varies on height and age). Just wanted some strength and not be fat.
- fredophile 6y ago
  I'm not a nutritionist but 1100 calories a day is very, very low for most adults. As a comparison, the Minnesota starvation study fed participants a little over 1500 calories a day.
  - sumtechguy 6y ago
    Depends on what you are trying to do. Someone I know who is losing weight they are on 900-1000 a day set by a nutritionist. Lots of vitamins to pick up the slack on other things. It also depends on what you eat. That number also varies between people. 1500 I would maintain my weight or gain slightly.
  - silviogutierrez 6y ago
    Temporarily, sub 1100 can work very well for losing weight. You want resistance training and very high protein to avoid muscle loss. 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.

t0mbstone 6y ago

I realize my own experience is merely anecdotal, but I just want to say that this whole lockdown has been hugely beneficial to my health! 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!

drchopchop 6y ago

I work in this industry, and this does not match the data we're seeing. People are eager to get back to certain on-site experiences, especially on the boutique/expensive side where the in-person class/instructor camraderie is very important. Also certain genres of fitness (think: cycling, F45, etc) require expensive equipment which is non-trivial to have in your house. 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.

mark_l_watson 6y ago

I usually walk or hike an average of one hour a day (we live 100 meters from a trailhead in the mountains). Since COVID-19, I am trying to average 90 minutes a day. I also bought weights in March and started doing more Qi Gong with my wife. 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 :-)

octygen 6y ago

What's a gym? COVID made me forget. COVID also gave me more time to do things especially without the commute. What did I learn to do with 0 équipment? 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 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 https://www.youtube.com/c/Humantwopointzeroinc Also, you can do all of the above with friends! They don't need any equipment either.

flictonic 6y ago
Strength training is extremely hard to do without equipment. It's a common misconception that body weight or minimal equipment is an adequate substitute. Iron Wolf is not strength training, it's endurance. I'm not knocking him, it looks like a great workout, but any intermediate barbell lifter will lose strength and size on this workout. There's simply no substitute for heavy compound barbell movements.
- mtalantikite 6y ago
  I guess it depends on what you mean by strength. For body building/size, yeah for sure you need weights. You can do a ton with some rings and p-bars along with your own body weight though (and maybe a kettlebell or two). I personally don’t care about size or external looks, that’s not what I practice for, but you certainly can get strong without weights. I’m sure a lot of people that can lift heavy can’t do a planche, they’re just totally different body goals and both require strength.
  - wreath 6y ago
    Strength is force production. Your muscles twitch and produce force to moves your bones which moves an external mass. Your body adapts to this external resistance by "over-compensating". This time you lift 100lbs, next time you can lift 105lbs because your muscles adapted (provided you slept, ate and rested well enough). Now, if you are not used to strength training, push ups are strength training exercises (your body being the external resistance against gravity). If you already lift, push ups won't improve your strength in any meaningful way. it's probably harder the first time you do it even though you've been barbell training, but the novelty quickly runs out and you're doing endurance now (different energy system in play). 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.

johnwatson11218 6y ago

Just want to add that I had bought an eBike right when the pandemic hit in late March. It was so nice that I went ahead and bought a second eBike for mountain biking. I live in Phoenix and normally we have to stop biking in the summer. With the eBikes I find that I can ride in much hotter temperatures than I'm used to. It has allowed me to continue biking this summer.

audiometry 6y ago
I thought stationary bikes were way, way more overheating to ride, as you don't have the 15mph wind blowing over you for cooling.
- johnwatson11218 6y ago
  By eBike I mean an actual bicycle with an electric motor and a battery. So I do get the breeze and it helps keep me cool with it is over 100 degrees here. Although since I wrote that comment the eBike battery was not charging and I had to take the whole thing in to the shop to get them to look at it.

perardi 6y ago

I’m going to blithely ignore the article, as it’s from Forbes, and just segue into something I’m curious about: how are gyms reopening, or not, where you live? 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 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”

econner 6y ago
Where I am in Colorado gyms reopened. No one inside wearing masks & even though they had reserved times it didn't seem like they limited the number of people at all. I imagine people are now "wearing" masks but actually subtly skirting the state mandate. Decided to stop going to the gym because of it & am now building a home gym instead.
- perardi 6y ago
  The mask mandate for gyms in Ontario is…odd. You apparently don’t need to wear a mask while actively exercising; you just have to wear it while walking around and in the locker room. Which seems like a hell of a loophole. https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/you-don-t-need-to-wear-a-mask-while-exercising-at-the-gym-dr-etches-1.5023275 https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/you-don-t-need-to-wear-a-mask-whil...
jedberg 6y ago
I live in the Bay Area in California. Our gyms are still just closed.

claydavisss 6y ago

You would think everything we know about Covid would be motivation enough to exercise...yes, there is the rare outlier story of someone in excellent shape dying from Covid, but the norm is people with lifestyle conditions that could have been prevented.

ijustwanttovote 6y ago

One of the craziest thing I have noticed is bikes have been sold out everywhere. You can't find a $1500 entry level road bike. My friends are telling me the cheapest they are seeing are starting to be $2-3k. 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.

spanhandler 6y ago
The other day I looked into rowing machines (ergs). The one that seemed like the no-brainer best choice according to basically everyone is sold out everywhere. Heavily used ones are going for like 20% over retail on Craigslist. So much for that. 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.
- asdff 6y ago
  I've been squatting with elastic resistance bands. Works great and I don't need to shove a rack somewhere.
  - spanhandler 6y ago
    Oooooh I have a couple sets of those kicking around, if I double them up, that might work. I wanna start doing some other big compound lifts, too, but that'd be better than nothing.
socalnate1 6y ago
Can confirm; I've been trying to find a sub $1k mountain bike in Southern California for a week without luck.
- asdff 6y ago
  Why not just go used? I picked up a road bike for a great deal in LA recently. I just checked LA craigslist, and there are over 400 results for "mountain bike" and > $1000.

Aaronstotle 6y ago

Personally I've gotten a lot more into cycling than I had previously. I used to cycle to work, thankfully I bought my bike last year before the markups. Amazing how much I have improved in the last few months. 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.

mathieuh 6y ago
Same with me, in the UK we have a scheme where you can buy a bike tax-free which I availed of in December, having not cycled in years. 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.
d1zzy 6y ago
I used to bike a lot to work (around ~100 miles a week) but since WFH I haven't been able to motivate myself to do as much. I can barely go out once a week for a more strenuous ride than a commute was but still only amounts to maybe 20% of bike time. How did you manage to integrate _more_ biking in the WFH schedule?

lukewrites 6y ago

Prior to the pandemic I went to the gym 3-4 days/week, alternating between HIIT on a bike and an endurance workout on an elliptical. I knew I would need to find an alternative since gyms were no longer safe, but due to space restrictions knew I couldn't get the same equipment I use at the gym. 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 :-)

irrational 6y ago

As in no fitness habits? Before the pandemic I was swimming 2km 3 times a week and lifting weights 3 times a week. Since the pandemic I haven’t done anything. I neither have access to a pool or weights. I could switch to body weight exercises or walking (I hate jogging/running), but I haven’t and probably won’t.

chadlavi 6y ago
my new habit is that I still don't do any of the things I know I should, but now I don't feel as guilty
jraby3 6y ago
Try P90X 3. About 15 30 minute videos that definitely keep you in shape. About half don’t need any equipment, and a quarter only need a pull-up bar.
darkwizard42 6y ago
Honestly, the loss of the gym pool is the killer for me! I was on a 4-5 times a week doing 2500-3000 yards :/ I have the resistance bands but I loved the full body workout of swimming (and the rewards of mastering good swimming technique)

asdff 6y ago

I used to go to my apartment gym for their freeweights and treadmills. I ended up buying some elastic straps and can do all the movements you need to work the same groups as olympic lifts, they go up to 150lbs of resitance and only cost $40. Never going to a gym to share some sweaty gross equipment with smelly grunting people again! 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.

creaghpatr 6y ago
A bike guide told me if you want to buy a bike, wait 6 months and there will be a ton of barely used bikes from people who bought it during the pandemic and decided it wasn't for them.
- asdff 6y ago
  I actually managed to get my road bike for a great price, because the owner just bought a new gravel bike for the pandemic. This is actually a decent time for buying road bikes since a ton of people are getting into gravel biking and unloading their perfectly good road bike for cheap.

habosa 6y ago

I have replaced some commute time with running. I ran before but definitely feel like I have more time for it now. I’m also eating like a total animal during the pandemic though. I guess it’ll even our.

faangFar 6y ago

COVID broke up our gym group. I think it caused one of our gym Bros to relapse into obesity. 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.

jwally 6y ago

For what its worth, if you have the space for it, I can't recommend a pair of gymnastics rings enough. Unbelievable amount of versatility for $50. I've had powerlifting equipment, adjustable dumbbells, kettlebells, bands, access to gyms, and with a little bit of volume I feel like I'm getting more work done with rings than I have without about anything I've used in a decade; and they haven't completely sold out of everywhere yet...

akeck 6y ago

Re: home weights, we used to use barbells made from steel pipe and concrete during rowing practices. The concrete "weights" were molded with paint buckets.

CarbyAu 6y ago

Fan of "You Are Your Own Gym" - YAYOG. Bodyweight exercises, some with props like a towel etc. App has adjustable workouts, optional demo videos. 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.

wcarron 6y ago

I think this article makes a lot of assumptions. It states gym members ships increased by 37% in ~ 1 decade. But, was that total memberships or % of population? How long do the memberships persist? It only mentions 6 months, pre-covid. 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.

RickJWagner 6y ago

I was a regular gym-goer prior to Covid. These days I try to use body-weight exercises. I'm a ways away from Herschel Walker's 1500 push ups a day, but I'm happy with what I get.

chaostheory 6y ago

The other not so obvious fitness trend is VR. Its most popular game, Beat Saber, is a fitness game in disguise.

stevespang 6y ago

As a lap swimmer I now swim in a private cove on Lake Travis courtesy of wealthy property owners . . .

analog31 6y ago

I biked to work before the covid, and have had to replace that form of exercise. I'm doing a "fake commute" each morning, which gets the blood flowing. Sometimes it's a long brisk walk instead of bike -- walking may be as good of exercise if not better. On the flip side, being in a house full of food all day has had a measurable effect.

beamatronic 6y ago

I didn’t exercise pre-Covid and now I do exercise

musicale 6y ago

Well, Ring Fit Adventure has been sold out everywhere for months (except for opportunistic resellers who are selling it at a huge markup over MSRP.) It's pretty good if you can snag a copy at the regular price. 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.

bashwizard 6y ago

I will most likely not renew my gym membership this year. I bought a few kettlebells in february and man, the type of workout I get out of those fothermuckers is crazy. And the time I save from having to commute back and fourth to the gym makes such a difference even if it's just ~20 minutes every gym day. Kettlebells and MMA/BJJ is where it's at for me in the future.

walrus01 6y ago

Most bicycle stores look like a grocery store in the 1-2 days before a hurricane hits. Tons of inventory is missing. Finding basic items can require phoning 5 or 6 different shops. https://www.bicycleretailer.com/studies-reports/2020/06/16/bike-market-skyrockets-sales-75-april 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).