The Coronavirus lockdown forced us to modify our daily activities. Including sport.
People still want to practice sport. It is demonstrated by the online sales of exercise bikes, dumbbells and all the equipment necessary to set up a home fitness space.
Gyms and swimming pools, forced to close down, keep losing members and income, while online businesses specialised in physical and mental health grow. A market research conducted by Aliexpress shows a sales boom of sport equipment at a global level.
This trend is confirmed by some companies in the industry. Technogym, for instance, declared that there’s been an increase in the number of requests of treadmills, as well as other products, such as the Technogym bike, an exercise bike equipped with a screen that is digitally connected to the company system, and allows the user to attend spinning classes given by professionals all around the world.
And while sports aficionados adapt themselves to the new situation, gyms and swimming pools have to deal with losing income, both real and potential.
How did Italians react to gyms and sports facilities closing down? Many of them started exercising at home, using YouTube tutorials, Instagram live classes and Skype group sessions, including many new beginners, who never had time to join the gym or a swimming pool, and who now rediscover physical wellness, thanks to the example given by sport professionals and VIPs on social media.
Home fitness differs from the traditional gym for obvious reasons, the amount of equipment available, being able to be guided by an expert in achieving certain goals, and why not also for the continuous possibility of meeting new people, or using it as a moment to spend together with friends or family. However for many people, training within the home has become a real daily method to keep fit without excessive expenses; in fact, indoor training allows a high level of customization of activities and equipment, as well as ensuring comfort and time savings due to travel to the gym or fitness center. What is certain is that the lack of stimuli, a personal trainer or an activity sheet to be performed per session, could lead some individuals to abandon any physical activity program, yet statistics have denied this attitude: apparently Italians do not like sedentary lifestyle. Perhaps in this historical moment beauty standards, or physical health, are no more the only priorities of those who practice home fitness, but the achievement of a certain mental health, surely challenged by the lockdown and its consequences. The choice is certainly wide, and even for those who do not have a dedicated space at home, the possibilities are almost infinite, so there is really no excuse for not getting up from the sofa, and above all for not caring about personal health even at home.
architetto Sofia Venezia