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At this time of year, we’re bombarded with all the latest ways to work out – from apps that track everything from heart rate to water intake, to live-streamed exercises classes you can do from your living room. But are these new-fangled gadgets and gym kits really making a difference to how we exercise, or are we all just in a pandemic bubble? Will we be back in the gym come summer, sweating it out alongside a row of strangers, or are home-based workouts a thing of the future?
One at-home exercise brand that’s surging in popularity is Peloton. The stationary spin bikes and streamed fitness classes have gained cult status among ex-gym goers, stressed Millennials and time-poor parents alike. Rather than hauling yourself out for a run in the freezing cold or hot-footing it to your spin class after the kids’ bedtime has overran (when that is even an option!), you can walk a few steps to your very own home studio, jump on the bike or their new treadmill and do your workout right there and then. The timesaving element really can’t be beaten.
But what about the classes themselves? Are they really comparable to going to the gym and working out in a group? Well, the millions of people who tune in seem to think so. We’ve probably all done a YouTube yoga class or thrown ourselves around to Joe Wicks on the telly, but live streaming a class that’s taking place at that exact moment you’re doing it, and being able to see the usernames of thousands of others who are doing the same thing, is a real thrill. That competitive element and group motivation comes across perfectly in this format.
As the world evolves and we demand more flexibility from our lives, it’s only natural that the way we workout will change, too. For many people, leaving the house to exercise is pretty impossible, whereas others struggle to fit a gym session into a packed schedule. And you don’t need to drop a couple of grand on a fancy bike or treadmill to join in, either – many live-streamed classes only need a mat and a couple of weights (or some baked bean tins). You can pick up exercise bikes secondhand, or take your live class out for a run round the park. The bottom line is you actually don’t need to be face-to-face with an instructor to get that motivation to train hard, and that’s pretty ground-breaking.
