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Jan 10

Goodbye, gyms. Fitness classes are moving indoors. – The Know

Fitness Comments Off on Goodbye, gyms. Fitness classes are moving indoors. – The Know

We want to create solutions for people to take action, instead of feeling like a failure for not doing it all. Thats why at-home options are so key, said Denver-based fitness blogger Betty Rocker. (Provided by Betty Rocker)

Welcome to 2020, where working out means staying in.

Exercising at home hasnt been this cool since Jane Fonda and her leotards, but so much has changed since the leg-warmered 1980s. The Internet has made it so we can livestream barre classes from Hollywood, get yelled at by personal trainers via apps and pedal for our lives on Peloton bikes all from the blessed comfort of our own homes.

According to people who study such things, the home-based fitness market is going to blow up in 2020. Everyone seems to agree that virtual on-demand classes and live at-home workout experiences are most definitely having a very sweaty moment, and its not just because of the convenience, typically lower cost and always-perfect indoor weather.

There are many reasons why the modern-day exerciser would eschew the gym. Maybe were just beginning a workout and fear the judgment of others. Maybe were uncomfortable with our bodies and fear the judgment of others. Or maybe were socially-averse introverts and simply being in the presence of the judgment of others makes us break out in a cold sweat.

Many people are intimidated to go to a class for many reasons, said Ashton August, co-founder of Denver-based on-demand yoga site, YogiApproved.com. (Online workout class) takes that whole social aspect out of it. You still get that person-to-person sense of connection, and you still feel like youre a part of it.

Technology has changed everything over the past few decades, including how we get fit at home. Weve come a long way from popping a tape in the VCR or hopping onto our Bowflex. On-demand routines are available to us via YouTube, apps, blogs, websites and streaming services. They span every genre, price point and intensity level, from gentle walking at home to make-you-wanna-vomit bootcamp classes.

Local fitness experts are getting in on the online action, too. August films the classes for YogiApproved in Denver before posting them to the $10-a-month subscription site for worldwide consumption. She and her partner, Tyler Strauss, got started by posting yoga videos to YouTube back in 2015. They were pleasantly surprised by how many views they got, and so they started the on-demand video component of YogiApproved.

We realized how much traction the videos were getting. People were commenting about how much they were helping, and we thought it was the perfect opportunity to bring yoga to more people, August said.

Denver-based Betty Rocker whose real name is Bree Argetsinger was an early adapter of using social media to promote fitness, posting her first exercise video back in 2011. Her workouts are almost always filmed at her house often using a couch, stairs or ottoman as fitness props and its that accessibility and positive attitude (youll hear her say flawesome a lot) thats gotten 2.5 million people to do her 30-day #makefatcry challenge.

My whole mantra is all or something, not all or nothing. We want to create solutions for people to take action, instead of feeling like a failure for not doing it all. Thats why at-home options are so key. You dont have to go to the gym and work out for an hour to get a great workout in You could be home working out in your pajamas for 15 minutes a day and making more of an impact than at the gym you go to twice a month in your fancy workout clothes, Argetsinger said.

RELATED:Denverites were most likely to book 7:30 a.m. exercise classes because apparently, we hate ourselves

If you like to feel the camaraderie of group suffering in real-time, live-streaming classes drop you into the studio as the classes are happening, blending solo and group fitness in a new way. Perhaps the best-known example is Peloton, the premium bike and treadmill brand that connects you to live classes for an extra jolt of inspiration, not to mention performance-tracking metrics and a real-time leaderboard to keep you motivated. The start-up costs are high: $2,245 for the bike and $4,295 for the treadmill, with a $39 monthly fee for access to the classes.

Peloton is the ultimate proof that not only are people willing to work out at home, but theyre willing to make a pretty significant investment in it, August said.

And then theres Mirror (base price $1,495, plus a $39 monthly fee), an LCD screen that looks like a full-length mirror, except that instead of flaunting your beautiful reflection, it broadcasts live and on-demand fitness classes in more than 20 workout genres. Mirror recently launched one-on-one personal training, meaning that thanks to the built-in speaker, microphone and video camera, a trainer can correct your form, encourage you and/or judge your messy workout room, all from thousands of miles away.

Virtual reality games have the potential to change the way we exercise, too. The Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise (yep, its a thing) estimates how many calories per minute VR games burn. Playing the musical rhythm game Audioshield Modded, for example, burns 10-13 calories per minute, the same as youd shed in a SoulCycle class. The boxing game Knockout League burns 8-10 calories a minute, about what youd singe rowing, and Hot Squat, a VR game dedicated to doing as many squats as you can, kills about as many calories per minute as playing tennis.

Because of the increased options and unlimited flexibility, almost anyone can become an at-home workout rat, but exercising at home instead of at the gym is especially appealing to new and stay-at-home moms, introverts and people working nontraditional schedules.

There are seasons of our lives for different things, Argetsinger said. Its easy for discipline to fade. Habits are hard to stick to. At home, there are no excuses you just get up and turn on your phone or computer. Were giving people options and letting them feel like its possible and accessible. We all need that, especially busy moms.

August agreed that moms are a large part of her demographic, along with at-home workers with crazy schedules and those living in more isolated areas who might not otherwise have access to fitness classes.

Fitting that studio class into your schedule can be a challenge,August said. If youre at home and have 30 minutes come up, you cant go to a studio, but you can press play on a video. And if you live outside a major city, you may not even have access to a yoga studio.

Of course, when youre home alone and bending yourself into curious positions or going gung-ho with the jump squats, injuries can happen. Its important to follow credentialed trainers who demonstrate good form and to listen to your body when it says that no, your knees really dont bend that way. And if youre in pain beyond the expected muscle burn, go see a professional. In real life.

Until the technology comes along to keep us healthy without having to put in the effort of actually moving our bodies (fingers crossed!), weve got a multitude of convenient, creative, easy-to-use and follow options that we can do whenever we want, from wherever we are. Whether you crunched and kicked along with Jane Fonda the first time around or you werent born until after the leotard craze had died out, theres a home workout for you.

The future of fitness is here, and it looks a lot like a sweaty you in your living room.

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Goodbye, gyms. Fitness classes are moving indoors. - The Know

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