The Fitness Industry: Fitness Professionals Are Working, and They’re Making Their Clients Work Out at Home
The Demand for Home Workouts Rises
The fitness industry froze for a brief moment in time because of the lockdown. Now, the ice is melting, and the demand for home workouts is increasing. Personal trainers and fitness professionals are using the internet to deliver their services through virtual workouts and consultations.
“It’s a slowdown only if you slow down“
This post highlights how fitness professionals have used technology—televisions then, the internet, laptops, and smartphones now—to keep the money flowing into their bank accounts. Today, technology is helping them earn despite the slowdown.
Gyms are closed, for now, but look at the doors that have opened. Many people want to exercise at home, and they a need qualified fitness professional to help. Why? It’s because home workouts have been working for a while. You don’t have to sprint from door-to-door to sell the idea of home fitness.
People exercised using equipment in the 1800s. Videotapes helped record workouts and display them on TV sets in the 1900s, when there was no internet. Live streaming on YouTube and Instagram is helping now. New ideas and technology have always helped the fitness industry. Today is no different.
There’s a demand for a new kind of digital fitness professional who can train clients located far away, in different lanes, cities, states, or countries. So welcome back to the world of working out at home. This has always been a chapter in the book of the fitness industry. Right now, we’re just adding a virtual twist.
Form, Technique, and Technology: Our Students Take Training Their Clients Seriously!
The History of Exercising at Home: Portable Gymnasiums in the 1800s
People have been building their strength at home since the days of our great-great grandparents. Even then, people used equipment to stay fit! This article from BBC explains how home workouts have been a trend since the 19th century.
It was called the portable gymnasium. Gentlemen and ladies trained in suits and petticoats. Extensions, flexions, traction, inclination, and jumps were all a part of their exercise routine, and there’s much more. The Internet Archive has preserved a book with all the exercises that were performed using the portable gymnasium. Here are a few pages. You can view the entire gallery here.
The Fitness Industry and Technology: From Television and Tape Recordings to High-Speed Internet and Smart Devices
“Covid-19 has forced us to exercise indoors. But home fitness has been shaping our lives for decades.”
Source: BBC
It started in the 1950s: The TV was the latest piece of technology. It was like the latest iPhone. Everyone wanted one. A few fitness instructors saw an opportunity and used technology to train people in their living rooms. We use live streaming; they recorded workouts on videotapes, and people played it in their homes. Technology has helped ever since. You can read more about the evolution of home fitness in yet another article by BBC. Here’s a direct quote from the article:
“Then the world of fitness was reshaped by another key technological innovation: the VHS video tape. American actress Jane Fonda stormed onto the scene in 1982 with her Jane Fonda’s Workout video tape which, again, targeted women at home. Over the decade, that tape sold 17 million copies around the world and triggered several follow-up series. Along with the growing popularity of fitness clubs, Petrzela says that the fitness industry was ‘booming on all fronts.’ ”
Source: BBC
The Lockdown Unlocks The Potential Of the Fitness Industry: Demand For Fitness Professionals Increases On Digital Platforms
“Many fitness experts and trainers that started their streaming services or apps long before COVID-19 have seen unprecedented growth in the last two months while others have quickly shifted their strategies to keep up with the demand.”
Source: Forbes
Clients are striding toward fitness professionals who are using apps and streaming services to deliver their services. Why? It’s because working from home and working out at home have become equally important. In this article by Forbes, fitness professionals talk about how’re they’re handling the rise in demand for home workouts on their platforms. Here’s a direct quote from the article:
“Since quarantine started, Wood has seen an increase on her platform of 48.7% in March and 28.9% in April to date so far.”
Source: Forbes
Users are clicking on online content related to workouts more than they did before. The number of times a user clicks, comments, likes, shares, or views online content is skyrocketing for every fitness trainer who is using technology to train. Here’s another direct quote from the article:
“Alo Moves of Alo Yoga has been around since 2012, but in the last few weeks, they have seen a 300%+ increase in engagement their platform and their YouTube channel where they host free classes for the community at large has seen an increase of over 40% in views and up to a 50% increase in watch time.”
Source: Forbes
Here are a few more lines from the article:
“Although they had to shut down their in person studios, since March, P.volve has seen a 160% increase in sales and double digit growth in online subscriptions.”
Source: Forbes
Your Plans?
Technology is trending. It’s also helping fitness professionals earn a living when the pickings are slim. How are you preparing to become the digital fitness professional of the future?
Author
Rahul Chitrakar: K11 School of Fitness Sciences
