The Pandemic Has Spurred a Return to Low-Cost Fitness Activities

Like many others in the U.S., Ron Gumucio and his wife stopped going to the gym in 2020 as a precaution against COVID-19. To fill the void, Gumucio’s wife eventually purchased a stationary bike, joining the club of people who have splurged on pricey at-home exercise equipment. But Gumucio, 44, has gone in a different direction. Until he feels safe returning to the gym, he’s sticking to distinctly low-tech forms of fitness. He takes a daily walk around his New Jersey neighborhood. He jogs. He bought cheap resistance bands to sneak in a little strength training. Occasionally he uses the jungle gym in his local park to do pull-ups. His routine is nothing fancy, he says, but “it keeps my sanity.” During the pandemic, lots of people have rediscovered the sanity- (and cash-)saving joy of back-to-basics fitness. The Peloton effect is impossible to deny–over 1 million people worldwide now pay to stream in-home classes for the company’s four-figure treadmills and stationary bikes–but at the same time, many people are returning to the simple pleasures of low-cost, low-equipment forms of physical activity. Body-weight training (i.e., training with minimal or no equipment) and outdoor activities were two of the five top fitness trends for 2021, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. YouTube has become America’s free gym, likely contributing to many retailers’ selling out of equipment like dumbbells and yoga mats during...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Magazine Source Type: news