Fitness apps see 67% jump in installs

Feel guilty about admitting it, but I've found working out from home to be - for my needs at least - as effective as the gym (got a program from P.D. Mangan that's fantastic.) ... and obviously much cheaper and more time efficient. I don't think I'l be back to the gym for a while..

Crazier to me than fitness-from-home taking off is the fact that dating apps have also surged during shelter in place:

I regularly work on my fitness but never use any App for gyms.

Like Matthew Stanley , I also find working out at home more effective for me.

Maybe because there aren't a lot of people looking at me. Lol.

A lot of fitness gyms here in my hometown have closed down already. On the other hand, I see a lot of bikers now than before.

Whether people will be going back to the gym or not is sort of a personal issue. Therefore we cannot make a blatant conclusion that the Gym era is over. There are a number of reasons that makes me visit the gym. Socializing is what takes me there. So as long as my friends will be there, I will go back.

tbh I so miss my regulah Ditzy Dainty yogah class.


Here's where procreative serentity supercombines with drop-dead lycra visyools an' the opportunity to experience closet fartin' techniques alongside relaxational frickin' veterans.


Howevah, yeah -- course'n I bendy out in the priversee of Chez Moi, same as any pumped guy sweatin' out at the gym got weights at home.


Always there are advantages to people stuffs an' private stuffs -- plus also a juicy kinda speculative analysis figurin' what is important in the switchovah.


Likely fitness apps gonna do OK for a while, when the focus of life's treadmellahs is drilled down on the stats fronta their eyeballs rather than the abominabally fit buttockular arrangement of the hot guy in front (or your version of whatevah, poppet).


An' Spirityool Zoom masseuses of the soul now got access to your bedroom for myootyool benefit!


Main thing is ... what happens next?


We flop an' flex in private or public tryin' to be fit for WHAT, zackly?


This is where the ultimate ansa lies.

Yes I have a site and an app regarding indoor cycling for performance cyclists and there is a huge boost from COVID. All the manufactures of home equipment are still in short supply due to increased demand. Apple is creating Apple Fitness+ for home exercise. Look at Peloton stock. Judging by these trends I would say this market is going to be up for any foreseeable future. Bill Gates is predicting business travel will never get back to what it was. This means many are predicting permanent or at least long term changes in life. Indoor cycling seems to be the biggest trend. My products are new so not getting rich yet...

I think I am one of the luckest people having been a member of TaeKwondo club in school. We learn a lot of defence skills and fitness excercises that I am finding useful at this moment.

By day, I work as a certified group fitness instructor at the YMCA. I'm in my 12th year there. Classes which I teach are step 'n dance aerobics, dance fitness, strength & weight training, high-intensity interval training, and cardio/sculpt which is a mixture of weight & ab & cardio intervals. Currently six classes per week. A few years ago it was double that amount.

I truly love my job and the opportunity to help people along their fitness paths. I have a loyal following, some of whom have been working out with me for 10+ years. Most of them have become my friends over the years. I'm so grateful & blessed.

I'm an advocate of fitness training in all forms, but there are things which cannot be achieved by working at home from a video or Zoom of from a fitness app.

My people work out with me vs. at home for many reasons. First is direction - its much easier to work out with an instructor than to devise your own plan and try to stick to it. Most people fail at the stick to it part. My classes give them consistency, fun, and predictable results. Keep in mind too that it isn't always about losing weight. For a lot of my people, its about staying fit & healthy.

Second is sheer fun - my dance classes and step classes are intense but fun workouts. To really make the energy and the magic, people must be in the same room with me. No real way to do that online or with an app.

I motivate them. I'm a real in-the-flesh person, right there to answer questions, chat a bit, watch for good form & function, demonstrate, and maximize benefit of each & every move or exercise to them. Never boring because my routines change frequently. Can't do that online or with an app.

Many of my people arrive early before classes just to socialize. Can't do that very well online or with an app.

I maintain a contact list, and most of my class participants (19 of them currently) are on that list. If I am going to cancel class or move it to a different location, they know. If I want to check on somebody, I can send a quick text and they know that I care. I am always accessible via text or call if any of my people have questions or just need to talk. I truly love them as friends and workout partners. Can't do that online or with an app.

My people pay an average of $35 per month to the Y and they do it with a smile because they know that its the best investment they will ever make. They get benefits far and above their Y membership. There was talk at our YMCA several years ago about replacing live instructors with a video library and screens. Our membership threw a fit and its never been mentioned since.

Sadly, all of this might be going away due to COVID-19. I could very likely lose my job after all these years and my class people will have to follow their noses for fitness. Many of them will fail because its just too easy to put off those workouts or lessen the effectiveness. Can't get anything close to what I give them with an app or at home.

But you might be able to help. If you are a member of a fitness organization or gym, please continue to support them through this crisis if you're able.

Long post, but touched a nerve. Thanks for reading and no matter what you do, please maintain a healthy diet and do some form of exercise at least (3) days per week.

That is in present tense - are the gyms in your state open now?




The problem gyms have is not being essential services. I understand that health and fitness is ESSENTIAL to many of us - but paying for a gym will be difficult for many people in the next year or so. Paying for any service they don't use due to the pandemic is not a logical choice in this economy. If you have a loyal following you might think of doing private lessons though the monthly fee they are paying would probably not come close to covering your needs. With your experience and references you might be able to convert to personal training - which would also open up 1 on 1 sessions that could meet covid safety recommendations. Just a thought.


Gyms could struggle for a long time as people's budgets are stretched - or gyms could bounce back quickly if people feel fat and out of shape after months of low activity. Everything now is a guess.

I admit I'm a gym dropout. Worked out in gyms for many years but after moving 6 years ago - no local gyms with steam rooms/saunas - and without those incentives, I'll work out at home.



Diets and exercise cause people to have the best of intentions - but followup can be lacking as you well know. Hope your gym re-opens as planned.

Saw this stat today and thought it connected to a point Frank made about community. Interesting to me to see community-focused fitness apps hugely outperforming other kinds. These apps could also just be 'better' generally (and gym closures/lockdowns obviously played a role here), but I think it speaks to the idea that the need for community in this category is real (even if I don't personally seek that in my exercise life) and highly applicable to the digital realm as well

I've recently joined a virtual cycling community. I try to clock in at least 50km weekly.

When I moved to another city, I had to leave some home gym equipment with a relative and I forgot about those.
Then when the lockdown started and the gyms were closed I went to my relative's house to get my stuff so I can use it at home.

Everyone wants to look beautiful and this is not surprising, because how we look is our everything!

Personally I can't wait for the gyms to reopen once again, been too long. I tried a few gym-apps, but doing pushups and so on is too boring for me. I try to run as often as possible, but working out in the gym brings much better results for me.

I'm not surprise looking at this stats, maybe because of covid or people just wanna be more fit, or both, but this is a positive changes
Let's workout and be stay safe