Duncan Bell is workin' out

Will the popularity of home gyms continue once lockdown ends fully? Probably…

One of the more heartening things about the recent global apocalypse has been that people have still been taking the time to stay fit.

Many people quite reasonably assumed the UK’s population would come out of the other end of this twice as wide as when it went in. Not so, statistics say, and really it’s not so surprising. When the news is full of nothing but the grim fate awaiting the unwell, booming interest in fitness and health seems like a natural reaction to me.

If you are one of the many people who have been trying to avoid becoming half man, half sofa while stuck at home, you will probably know it has not been easy. Not just for the usual reasons to do with willpower or lack of space in your domicile.

No, the big issue with getting in shape in 2020 has been the near total lack of fitness equipment to buy. It started as a perfect storm of demand wildly outstripping supply, just as it became much harder to ship replacement stock from China, where practically all home gym equipment is manufactured.