HAVE YOU BEEN HOUSE TRAINED?

Pandemic restrictions have forced a revolution in the fitness industry: The hottest new gym is now no further than your living room

- SAM NEIBART

Pandemic restrictions have forced a revolution in the fitness industry: The hottest new gym is now no further than your living room ut on your spandex. Working out at home is back—this time, without the 1980s neon glow. With gyms and studios now closed or at limited capacity, many have rushed to provide virtual programming. Meanwhile, companies that are already established in the at-home market, such as American exercise equipment and fitness company Peloton, got a serious boost (Peloton’s fiscal third-quarter revenue was up 66 percent year-over-year). “I wouldn’t call this a trend,” says Robin Arzón, a Peloton instructor and the brand’s Vice-President of Fitness Training. “It’s the new standard.”

A CHANGE IN STRATEGY

“I think the industry has lied to people and this is a time of reckoning,” says Nike master trainer Joe Holder, who has been seen working out with Naomi Campbell on her IG Live. “You don’t need expensive gyms or fancy clothes.

All you need is resolve.” Without Instagrammable spaces and high-end amenities, workouts are being judged by different criteria: motivation and results. Many studios offer a mix of live virtual classes and digital libraries of recorded classes as options for their clients, at any time of day and at a range of price points. Just starting? Find a class you love first. “Take it slow, make it super easy. What’s most important is to be consistent,” says former-Olympicice-skater-turned-fitness-trainer Fleur Maxwell, who now teaches her Body by Fleur method—a low-impact strengthening and flexibility workout—online.

WELLNESS OVER FITNESS