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May 12

When will gyms reopen? Alice Liveing discusses fitness industry – Stylist Magazine

Fitness Comments Off on When will gyms reopen? Alice Liveing discusses fitness industry – Stylist Magazine

Alice Liveing, trainer and Instagram fitness star, on how she think well be exercising post-lockdown.

Boris Johnsons most recent speech, sketching out the roadmap to end lockdown, raised a lot of questions. When will we see our friends again? Are we meant to be going to work or not? When will normal life actually resume? But to the gym goers who were listening patiently to find out when theyll be able to go back and lift heavy weights again, one thing was very clear: gyms wont be opening anytime soon.

Of course this is the sensible route to be taking right now. But the clarity of this decision only leaves a huge question mark over the future of the fitness industry. From wondering when gyms will reopen to how studios will continue to make money, and whether people will ever bother going back, everything hangs in a balance.

In order to find answers some of these questions, I turned to personal trainer and fitness influencer Alice Liveingto share her insight on how thing might look in the future.

In the short term, its going to be quite a complicated task to be able to reopen gyms, especially with social distancing, and in a safe way, she says. As a coach who works in person with clients, and an online figure who shares her workouts with her digital community, Alice sees both sides of the coin: the demand to return to the gym as well as the huge interest in home workouts.

I think maybe some people have realised that they dont need the expensive gym memberships they were paying for, so I do think that in the long run well see a bit of a drop off of people coming to the gym, she says.

Megan, 23, is in that very camp. Shes already cancelled her gym membership for when we leave lockdown, and explains that shes realised the impact that home workouts and running can have on her body and her mind.

It seems shes not alone, either. According to research from Myprotein and YouGov, over a third of the UK population are now exercising daily nearly 6 million more people than before lockdown, suggesting no gym isnt really a problem.

You can see how this has happened: in the absence of paying clients walking through their doors, many fitness brands and individuals have begun streaming workouts for free. Alice herself has been leading daily workouts, with some amassing up to 65,000 viewers on some of her live streams.

Ive been doing it because its all I can do, she says. But Alice admits that giving things away for free isnt necessarily sustainable for everyone: I love teaching live and I think the idea of being able to do that to thousands of people is something that I would actually love to be able to continue, but my passion is coaching people on the gym floor so I will go back to that.

Presumably, the same will happen with the other studios and trainers who will end the daily onslaught of free workouts, meaning that all of the inspiration and motivation that has got so many people enjoying enjoying exercise at home will disappear. Alice doesnt think the transition will be that straightforward though: It will be difficult to transition away from giving things away for free to then being like come and pay for the classes, and oh by the way its 25 a go.

But she is hopeful that people wont continue to expect free training at quite the same quantity: What I hope weve gained from this time is people valuing the jobs that people in the fitness industry do, and realising that we really have a place and we bring a lot to society in terms of helping people to feel good about themselves. So once we have done it for free for all this time it would be great if people can see the value in that and embrace paying.

That is where I am right now. Ive always appreciated the gym, but never realised quite how much I relied on it to feel good. My aching back, a product of my weakening glutes, and my brain fogginess, a product of having no real outlet for my pent up frustration, means that I am willing to pay more than I ever would have dreamed of to go back to the gym. Sure, I might be slightly more inclined to swap out a few training sessions for a run or a home HIIT circuit, but I cant ignore the real value of strength training. Myproteins research shows Im not alone either: despite more people being active, 56% of us are still concerned about their health suffering as a result of not having access to gyms.

So perhaps the large number of people in both my camp and in Megans will balance things out, and the industry will be back to normal as soon as its allowed. Probably not without digital-first changes, though, as its clear that fitness has become part of the social media content. Its made me rethink how we how content is consumed, Alice explains. Perhaps that means more options to Zoom into your fitness class on the days you cant make it.

But most importantly, Alice thinks that this time has reframed exercise for the better. I think this time has really made us value exercise, she says. Ive really seen a massive shift in people recognising how its improving their mood and making them feel more physically fit and strong. And so I do think that coming out of this, it can be something that people prioritise more than they perhaps did before.

Follow @StrongWomenUK on Instagram for the latest workouts, delicious recipes and motivation from your favourite fitness experts.

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When will gyms reopen? Alice Liveing discusses fitness industry - Stylist Magazine

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