Finding fitness in the comfort of home
The closure of gyms in lockdown sparked a trend for online exercise classes that continues to grow. Jessica Salter reports
‘People now have access to experts around the world, without leaving home’
This year is the year when, despite the difficulties we’ve faced, many have re-evaluated their approach to fitness. Confined to our homes, we replaced the gym with online fitness classes and discovered the joys of exercising outdoors.
A survey by Runrepeat confirms that shift, showing nearly 70 per cent of us have not returned to the gym, with half cancelling memberships.
“People now have access to fitness experts around the world, without having to leave home,” says Hollie Grant, founder of Pilatespt, who has trained Jourdan Dunn, Ella Woodward and even royals.
“Someone in New York can practice Pilates with me, logging on to one of my videos at 7.30am and still be at their desk by 9am.”
Grant, who lives in Oxfordshire, adds that it’s particularly good for those who live outside London. “You simply didn’t get that level and choice of fitness – until now.”
Joe Wicks became the nation’s lockdown PE teacher, showing us just how easy it was to log on to Youtube and work out, which then led us into a world of fitness apps.
Peloton’s app, with boxing, strength and yoga, won more than a million users, while UK start-up Fiit saw a 1,663 per cent growth in subscribers, with the average user doing 3.3 classes a week.
Even after the reopening of gyms, Fiit says, the figures have remained consistent. The trend has picked up increasing speed and now there is a dizzying array of online choice.
BEST YOUTUBE STARS
There are almost too many Youtube stars to choose from. But you can select them for their specialities: Wicks, aka The Body Coach, who has more than 2.5million subscribers, offers up perky high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, while Yoga with Adriene offers a free yoga routine for every situation (yoga for writers; yoga for loneliness; yoga for back pain, to mention a few).
One of the newest fitness influencers is 73-year-old Joan Macdonald, advocating strength training to her 46,000 (and counting) Train With Joan subscribers on Youtube and nearly 900,000 Instagram fans.
OLYMPIAN APPS
One step up from Youtube is downloading an app to take advantage of an often more specialised offering. Best of the bunch are those offering advice from Olympians and their trainers.
Oro, which launched this month, was created by the coaches behind Olympic athletes from the Sports Performance Team at Loughborough University.
“Most people don’t take health and fitness advice from qualified professionals,” Natasha Reynolds, co-founder of Oro says. “We created Oro so we could set a new standard for fitness and health apps, which takes the science used to train professional athletes and puts that into personalised plans to help anyone reach their goals.” (Oro is free to download on IOS and Android; the premium option is £8.99 per month).
Dame Jessica Ennis-hill, the Olympic heptathlon champion, launched her app Jennis “to use my years of training to give every woman the tools and expertise to own their fitness, stay motivated and vary what they do every week to get full-body fitness benefits”. ( jennisfitness.com; £9.99 per month).
DIGITAL GYMS
There was something very comforting about seeing our favourite gym instructors on screen over lockdown. Frame was one of the first gyms to adapt in lockdown, offering Frame Online, which won the London-based gym chain new customers nationally and internationally. They relaunch next week with classes recommended based on your preferences for style and duration of workout (moveyourframe.com).
Similarly, Barry’s Bootcamp launched Barry’s At Home this year with a daily schedule of instructor-led 50-minute classes focused on three different class formats: body weight, bands and weight training (from £12 a class; packages available; barrys.com).
But our favourite local boutiques got in on the action, too, including Rachel Stephenson who runs the Pilates and Reformer Pilates studios Space East from east London and offers live classes and on-demand content, even after reopening (from £7; thespaceeast.com).
OUTDOOR FITNESS
As well as online classes, we’re also craving the outdoors: a survey in August by Health Club Management found the number of outdoor classes has increased massively.
Some already offered outdoor options – such as Bear Grylls’s Be Military Fit outdoor circuit sessions (bemilitaryfit.com) and running clubs such as the national This Mum Runs (thismumruns.co.uk). Other providers are adapting, including Frame and Flex Chelsea (flexchelsea.com).
Providers are now weatherproofing their classes to keep interest high throughout autumn and winter. David Lloyd gyms are erecting giant umbrellas over spin bikes (davidlloyd.co.uk).
There’s good reason to do so: “Research shows that we tend to exercise longer, harder and do it more often outdoors,” says Prof Greg Whyte, director of the Centre for Health and Human Performance.
It also boosts mood, according to a study from the University of Alabama, while cellular microbiology scientists at the University of Reading say there is less chance of catching the virus outside than in poorly ventilated gyms.
An old school option is the resurgence of boot camps in parks up and down the country. Kelly Bedford who runs classes on Wanstead Flats, in east London, says: “A lot of the women who have signed up don’t necessarily want to go to a gym, but they do want a sense of camaraderie and encouragement.”
Studies show that group workouts boost motivation and results. Find a local one by searching Facebook groups, or just turning up. “I often get people asking if they can come next week,” Bedford says. “And the answer is always yes.” (fitnessfoxlondon.com)
RUNNING TOOLS
More than 850,000 of us downloaded the popular – and free – Couch to 5k between the end of March and June (up 92 per cent on the year before), while Mapmyrun saw usage double over lockdown and three times as many people used Strava (all free apps available on IOS and Android).
PERSONAL TRAINERS
Having been released from gym fees, many are using their allocated exercise budget on personal trainers: parks all over the country are bursting with PTS and their clients.
Zana Morris is a trainer who has more than 25 years’ experience training celebrities and executives. “You can never overestimate the value in choosing the right personal trainer,” she says. “Their knowledge and experience are important, but so is a sense of personal connection.” (zanamorris.com)
You can often approach a trainer who leads your favourite class and ask them for rates; or if money is tight, a new Pt-like service that launched over lockdown is Basept, which offers personal trainers via its app for around £9 per session (base-pt.com).
Meanwhile, Jemma Thomas, a PT who runs the women’s online fitness community Jemma’s Health Hub, adds that the element of community is important: “You’re much more likely to stick to a plan when there are people along for the ride,” she says. She posts live workouts four times a week, as well as recipes and support. (£29 per month; jemmashealthhub.com)