SFIA’s Fitness Movement Report Shows Positive And Negative Impacts During Pandemic

SFIA’s 2021 Tracking the Fitness Movement Report showed that while participation levels in fitness remained strong in 2020, staying flat from 2019 with over 200 million fitness participants, the pandemic altered the activities that consumers could participate in.

Activities that could be performed at home, outdoors or through digital connection increased while staying fit by going to health clubs or other enclosed fitness spaces struggled due to forced government-mandated closures. Walking for fitness, bodyweight exercise, Yoga, running/jogging, and free weight workouts were the top fitness activities that Americans participated in during the pandemic.

“Despite the challenges we faced with COVID-19, more Americans longed to be active,” said Tom Cove, president & CEO, SFIA. “We saw individuals adapting the nature and venue of their fitness activities. While the connected fitness trend was already on the rise prior to the pandemic, it allowed active Americans to digitally connect. We saw more capabilities to be physically active from our own homes, and the use of digital tools to connect, partnered with the ability to participate in socially-distanced outdoor activities.”

One unique feature of fitness in 2020 was that the U.S. consumer focused more on one activity than a wide variety, which had been noted as a previous trend.

With many health clubs closed, consumers had fewer options to remain active in brick and mortar facility and, in turn, there was a 40.5 percent increase in at-home equipment sales. Top sellers included free weights, with over a 104 percent increase in home-use sales, with other items seeing huge increases from 2019, including home gyms (74 percent), exercise bikes (67.1 percent), rowing machines (47.1 percent), and treadmills (44 percent).

“Looking forward, we do believe the health club consumer will return to clubs, although it may take time,” Cove said. “The multitude of fitness activities to choose from, along with access to innovative new equipment, group classes and in-person personalized training, will attract and inspire returning and new fitness enthusiasts.”