Before the pandemic, I would often go to the gym twice a day. And it wasn’t about finding a version of the perfect body. Really, having a great bum is just a wonderful by-product of regular cardio exercise. The main benefit is the endorphin high that lasts and well, just a longer, healthier life. However, when the pandemic started, community workouts were no longer an option. So, like many others, I started training at home. I even started to love it. Now the gyms are open again, but I’m not sure I’ll be going back.
Not only me, but also many other young people are now giving up the gym and training at home. That seems reasonable now as we all shy away from personal human interaction, but I wonder: is the future of fitness lonely as hell?
Well, alone doesn’t always mean lonely. Some of those who started their solo routine last year found it liberating in ways they didn’t even expect. “What I love most about solo training, especially as a woman, is that I don’t feel judged or stared at,” said Genesis Gutierrez, a 22-year-old marketing assistant based in Los Angeles. I can testify. There always seems to be a creepy bench press brother who is either grinning or a little too quick with his “advice”. I definitely don’t miss this guy or his gang of marathon-loving villains.
As it turns out, not being distracted (or staring at you consensually) at the gym can improve your experience and your actual progress. “I didn’t do weightlifting before because I felt insecure and intimidated,” Gutierrez says. Now, she tells me, she’s more focused on weight training and feeling getting stronger during the pandemic has got her through some tough times – and she doesn’t plan on going back to the gym even if she can. “I envision my future personal fitness as lifting more weights, getting stronger, and toning my body – all from the comfort of my own home,” she says.
While group training has proven to be an added motivator for some people, others feel that the compulsion to create their own workouts helps them develop more self-discipline. Parag Shah, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, says he was overweight at the start of the pandemic and felt emotionally and physically drained. When he hired a virtual personal trainer in September 2020, everything started to change.
“I started to be extremely disciplined about having a consistent workout routine,” says Shah. Ironically, the increase in unstructured time during the pandemic encouraged Shah to create more structure for himself. And, he adds, working with his trainer and apps enabled him to personalize his fitness regimen.
Shah turned his living room into a gym, which he stocked with light hand weights, resistance bands, a pull-up bar, dumbbells, an abdominal roll, a corked yoga mat, a dip bar, and a bench. Now that he has a home fitness haven, Shah says he really doesn’t need a gym, although out of sheer love for her famously rigorous workouts, he’ll return to Barry’s bootcamp classes once a month.
IndiaPix / IndiaPicture / IndiaPicture / Getty Images
Many of the people I spoke to for this story invested a lot of money in their home gyms, and most of them felt it was worth it. They bought treadmills and Pilates equipment and of course the infamous pelotons. “I’m not supposed to be dramatic, but Peloton’s workouts have had a huge impact on my life,” said Kasey Widmyer, a 25-year-old fashion buyer in Brooklyn. Widmyer says she was never the kind of person to exercise at home before the pandemic, but now she loves her new peloton-centric routine and will likely only visit gyms when traveling. “The last year has really helped me get my own fitness goals in hand and it has become a personal journey,” she says.
If all of these fitness love stories inspire you to turn every extra room in your home into a gym, just go for it. As far as equipment goes, you can basically spend any money on equipment, all popular apps and online gyms offer workouts that teach you to use your own body weight. If you have the money to invest, there is funky home exercise equipment available to meet your every need. It really all depends on how much you want to spend.
A team member’s favorite is CityRow Go for their personalized full body workout that uses real water to create resistance. During their test with the rower, they kicked the ass really well for the first few days. As she got used to the sensations, she felt familiar with her new route, but it was always challenging – like the group classes she missed so much (and still not ready to go back there).
City line
If large machines and simulating the actual gym aren’t your thing, I recommend a couple of hand weights and resistance bands – the rubber bands last longer than the rubber bands. And yes, you can spend thousands of dollars on a treadmill or spinning sike, but there are plenty of creative ways to hack a cheaper exercise bike or balance bike if you want tangible results on a budget.
If apps are your jam, there are millions to choose from. Nike Run Club is a jogger favorite. If you want a guided outdoor running experience but are a beginner, Couch to 5k is very accessible, although personally I prefer the Zombies Run! App. Beach Body On Demand’s courses have been a crowd-pleaser because of the guided programs designed to get you in shape. If you think you are going to miss training with other people, you can always take live classes online and not for free, but some Folx feel extremely related to the people in training videos. And really, you can be alone if you like it without actually being alone.
The nice thing about this moment in fitness history is that we don’t really have to choose. All of the training opportunities we learned to love during the pandemic are still available to us, and with the gyms reopening, you can stop by every now and then if you feel like hooking up with other sweaty bodies to stay motivated. You can use the judgment-free training zone from the comfort of your home and in the gym. That doesn’t sound lonely at all. Perhaps the future of fitness is indeed personalized, self-directed, and full of possibilities.
