
New fitness habits being created during Covid? - markhall
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhall/2020/08/10/golden-age-of-fitness/#44fc16b22dff
======
sickcodebruh
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
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
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
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.

~~~
neutronicus
Personally I've been pretty hardcore about various kinds of fitness (including
the synecdoche of the day, CrossFit) so it's been an adjustment to be the
dumpy dad jogging behind a stroller.

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.

------
octygen
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
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
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
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.

~~~
mtalantikite
For sure, strength is force production and that’s how training and muscle
growth works. I agree. But again it depends on what external act you’re doing
that defines where in your body that strength needs to be produced. If that is
lifting a heavy thing over your head, then yeah working on those movements
with weights is a good way to get there. If it’s doing any sort of gymnastic
or martial art movement, then weights can help in some circumstances, but
they’re not necessary. Mike Tyson never touched weights until his comeback
(aside from maybe doing shoulder shrugs) and I’m not sure anyone would say he
wasn’t strong or didn’t have strength in the 80s.

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.

------
jeffreyrogers
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
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
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.

------
site-packages1
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
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
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.

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

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
It's also a site that will happily send zerodays to your browser.

------
ijustwanttovote
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.

~~~
asdff
It depends on what kind of biker you are. If you are one to don spandex and
drop a grip on a bike, then yeah it's tough to get a 2020 Trek right now.
However, if you lower your standards a little, humble yourself and realize
that you aren't Lance Armstrong, that you won't notice the difference between
a 2020 ultegra groupset and a 2010 ultegra groupset, then there are plenty of
bikes. Even my local bike shops look pretty stocked which is odd considering
how large LA is, and there is still plenty more used on second hand sites.

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.

~~~
awithrow
It might depend on where you're located. My wife was recently looking for a <
$1000 bike in Denver and it involved going all over town and checking every
store that sold bikes. $2000-$3000 was generally what stores had on the shelf.
We asked a few places what was going on and they were saying that the <$1000
bikes were hard for them to order and anything they got in would sell the same
day.

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.

------
irrational
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
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

------
kking50
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
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
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.

------
senkora
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
I've used and had good success with the same book.

------
justanother
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.

------
johnbrodie
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.

------
CarbyAu
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.

------
Aaronstotle
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.

~~~
d1zzy
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?

------
silviogutierrez
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-
tail...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/nyregion/coronavirus-tailors-
cleaners-weight-gain.html)

[1] [https://www.joyapp.com](https://www.joyapp.com)

~~~
sumtechguy
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
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.

~~~
silviogutierrez
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.

------
drchopchop
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.

------
ilaksh
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
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+.

------
jwally
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...

------
wcarron
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.

------
asdff
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
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
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.

------
walrus01
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/b...](https://www.bicycleretailer.com/studies-
reports/2020/06/16/bike-market-skyrockets-sales-75-april)

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).

------
musicale
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.

------
lukewrites
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 :-)

------
mark_l_watson
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 :-)

------
bashwizard
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.

------
johnwatson11218
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
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
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.

------
analog31
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.

------
t0mbstone
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!

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thelazydogsback
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.

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perardi
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
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
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-
whil...](https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/you-don-t-need-to-wear-a-mask-while-
exercising-at-the-gym-dr-etches-1.5023275)

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RickJWagner
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.

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habosa
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.

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

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akeck
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.

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theNJR
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?

~~~
noelherrick
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.

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waihtis
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.

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

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

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zcw100
There was a golden age of fittness?

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iamkroot
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_headli...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines)

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faangFar
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.

------
user9909
When I look around the street and over 50% of people are seriously overweight,
I tend to doubt this article.

~~~
ilaksh
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.

