Pandemic has given us an important aspect of life to discuss which a lot of us have been avoiding- Health & Fitness. Our renewed focus on our health has enabled us to not only reflect on our strength of our body, muscles & immune systems but also give due weightage to our emotional well being of our physical bodies. Now, we have realised that our health needs to be prioritised & taking care of our health has become a necessity rather than luxury. Earlier, we used to think of improving our health only when we take new year resolutions or when we want to look good for best friends/relatives’s wedding which was focussed more on meeting short term health goals. However, now we want to work hard to embrace a healthy lifestyle. The Heath & Fitness industry is also undergoing disruptive changes to provide a level playing field to all the fitness aspirants & busy folks in these times of uncertainty. Now people are focussing on having a healthy body & soul rather than having aesthetic transformations.
Many countries, in order to mitigate the risk of COVID-19, have either closed the indoor gyms or regulated the number of people who can workout in gyms at a given point in time to maintain social distancing. This has resulted in more collaborative & improved relationships between customers & health & fitness service providers( gyms, health clubs, workout studios). Now customers expect the players in the fitness & health industry to offer superior customer experience & engagement platforms, safety, hygiene, value for money, customisable solutions & diverse offerings. This has led to introduction of new business models & pivoting of existing business models by fitness service providers to stay afloat. Some of the trends taking place in fitness industry include:
- An Hybrid solution of outdoor & indoor wellness & fitness: Due to COVID, a lot of people are keeping themselves away from going to gyms/workout studies for exercises. Rather, they are heading towards outdoor workout options & online fitness solutions in order to maintain their health & fitness level. Therefore to stay in business, a lot of fitness service providers are providing outdoor fitness facilities such as opening up park/playground gyms to meet the demand of their customers. Besides, a lot of people are enjoying hiking, trekking, fitness bootcamp, cycling & other workout activities that allow them to socialise( while maintaining social distancing) along with doing workout. This has also given rise to a lot of fitness & wellness retreat companies offering work plus wellness retreats for busy professionals. This trend is going to continue in 2021 as well since people have embraced this new fitness lifestyle change.
- On demand health & fitness: Our devices coupled with the situation created by COVID has given rise to a new world of on demand fitness offerings through various influencers & service providers such as yoga teachers, online fitness coaches as well as online fitness solutions blending personalised solutions for wellness, workout & nutrition. During COVID, more people are subscribing to virtual trainers, online group workout sessions & nutritionists. Unlike high fixed costs associated with gym memberships, these solutions are available most on pay as you go which is convenient for people. These solutions also offer a high level of personalisation which enable both people & coaches to be flexible in their approach & can access training/workout at their chosen time & location. Online channels offer a wide array of solutions that cater to diverse interests such as Dance, Yoga, Zumba, strength training, varied fitness levels for both millennials & baby boomers. In the case of workouts, it is like having fitness coaches on tap of the button since you get access to live streaming & coaching sessions. The best thing about these virtual fitness solutions is that it is easily accessible and you can structure your fitness schedule aligned with your lifestyle. We, at Genefitletics are working on this model of delivering online live personalised fitness coaching guided by international coaches & genetic insights derived from your genetic testing.
- Wearables for online/virtual communities: Wearables not only consists of fitness trackers & smart watches but also various other devices such as heart rate & oxygen monitors & GPS trackers. These are now seen as social currency & people are keen to share their recently completed workout, running, jogging or cycling through these devices on social media platforms. These devices help us to keep track of fitness goals during these times of social distancing. They are further enabling & activating virtual & online communities with shared fitness interests.
- Access to diverse virtual communities: Fitness has sometimes become intimidating since it caters to some exclusive group of people who are passionate about their fitness & what they eat. But now health & fitness has become a necessity & various service providers including both online & brick & Mortar workout studios are offering high levels of personalisation & specific for different categories of customers. The focus has shifted from dieting with an objective to achieve beauty standards to more on adopting a sustainable healthy lifestyle thereby promoting positive health behaviours rather than aesthetic goals. The trend is driving towards accessing distinctive online communities that provide them a host of knowledge base, information & service to get to know more about sustainable fitness, wellness & means of preventing healthcare solutions. There is a shift towards creating programs that are more accessible to target diverse groups for people with different body types, age groups, class, fitness levels and health status. This can range from individual training or workouts in small training groups to special premises and digital offers for risk-free training at home at an affordable price. Pandemic has made the flawed concept of the one-size-fits all approach to health and fitness redundant. Now physical gyms are losing monopoly when it comes to how people can stay active.
- Small duration workouts throughout the day: Since Pandemic struck, people are staying at home & WFH has become mainstream. Now for a proportion of the population, 1 hour intense workout sessions only has become less appealing since even if they do a workout for 1 hour , the rest of the day they are sitting at one place, leading to a sedentary lifestyle. So people are looking to supplement this 1 hour workout with short 10 to 15 minutes of workout every 1 to 2 hours to maintain their activity level. For instance, people look for a small 5 to 10 minutes of walk every 90 minutes or a 15 minutes yoga session in the evening. This “ me-only” time helps people to keep the risk associated with sedentary lifestyles at bay.
Instead of aesthetic & show off fitness goals , the future will see an orientation towards embracing a healthy lifestyle – with hybrid, diverse & personalized offerings that caters to different groups of people aligned with their lifestyle.
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