Outdoor fitness

‘Throughout the past year, we saw a 400 per cent increase in the number of outdoor classes being offered by studios,’ says Kinsey Livingston, VP of Partnerships at monthly subscription service ClassPass (classpass.com). ‘As gyms and studios were forced to close their doors due to the pandemic, they had to get inventive. The result was outdoor classes that took advantage of the fresh air and room to social distance.

‘Four in five surveyed members reported a willingness to attend these outdoor classes. While the UK government has stated indoor workouts won’t be able to resume until mid-May, outdoor workouts is a trend we’ve seen picking up again as the weather gets warmer. We have also seen studios investing in heaters and we expect that some will continue with outdoor classes all year round.’

Fitness dates

‘Dating has been hit hard over the last 12 months, but I predict a rise in fitness dating where couples take a walk/run or class together,’ says Jemma Thomas, PT and founder of Jemma’s Health Hub (jemmashealthhub.com).

‘The top 2021 dating resolution for more than half of Hinge users is not to overthink dating and live more “in the moment” as they embark on their dating journey. Research from Tinder also found some users will be less comfortable with physical contact post-pandemic. Rather than go back to conventional dating and with restaurants and pubs difficult to book, doing an outdoor workout together or taking a hike could be the romantic way forward.’