Covid: People working out at gyms longer and later at night

People have been working out longer and can fit exercise into their daily routine better since the start of the pandemic, industry figures show.

PureGym's one million members now visit 1.43 times a week on average, compared with 1.21 before lockdown, while the 17:00-20:00 peak has "quietened down".

Visits are also now spread across the day and later into the evening.

Personal trainer Harley Edwards said she had seen a change, with 100 of her 150 clients exercising solely online.

She started an online class in February 2020 and, after lockdown a month later, numbers watching soared to 300, with attendees from across the UK, as well as countries including Portugal and Canada.

From not offering virtual sessions at all 18 months ago, 66% of her 150 clients now work out solely online, with 33% combining it with face-to-face.

When Welsh gyms reopened in May after lockdown, she expected demand for virtual sessions to drop, but said: "I didn't experience a dip at all and I found that members that did cancel ended up re-joining again.

"I was shocked at how it remained stable and I was even gaining new members."

She said about 80% of her clients were mums and what has been evident since the pandemic is how they have been able to fit working out around their lifestyle better - logging on before or after work, or when childcare allows.

"I have members of my online group who had never exercised in their lives until lockdown, and now they would never give it up," Harley said.

However, others felt they "lost that social feel" during the pandemic, which means being back among people is the most important aspect of working out.

"The women are welcome to bring their children too, which is amazing. It gives the mums a chance to get out, get some activity done and meet other mums. It also gives the children a chance to play and socialise, which lots of kids have been deprived of during lockdown," Harley added.

"Having spoken to lots of mums and my clients in general, I know how isolated they felt."

Lockdown also provided a chance to tailor programmes to people's individual needs and Barbara Lima, 57, from Cardiff, said combining in-person and online had "helped maintain not only my fitness but also mental health throughout this extremely difficult year".

Sports science student, Lara Rebecca, 21, from Cardiff, visits the gym five or six times a week, and said she appreciated more than ever the central part it plays in her lifestyle.

"The social evasion during lockdown meant we missed the community, the social side," she said.

"I have so many friendships with people there and now I make time to say 'hi' or have conversations with people before or after working out."

PureGym saw numbers attending grow by 150,000 UK-wide between March and May as society begun to reopen - with a third of customers members of a gym for the first time.

"The traditional peak visit times of 5 to 8pm have quietened down and usage has spread much more across the day and late evenings," said a spokeswoman.

"As members work more flexibly and locally, they are able to avoid the traditional peak times of the gym and to squeeze in a workout when it suits them best."