This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 27, 2021 - January 2, 2022

The months-long lockdown forced many into a sedentary lifestyle. During the strictest period of the lockdown, you could pretty much only walk upstairs, downstairs, to the kitchen and the porch. And that was only possible if you lived in a double-storey house. 

This inactivity was bad for both physical and mental health. In an effort to get moving within the narrow confines of what was allowed, many turned to technology for help — from beginners to those who knew their way around a gym.

There are countless workout video tutorials online that people can access for free, whether it is Pilates, yoga, high-intensity interval training, strength or Zumba. Many gyms also started offering virtual classes during the pandemic. Don’t like conventional workouts? Even video games are now designed to make people move their bodies. 

Digital Edge spoke to several Malaysians to find out how they used technology to stay active throughout the lockdown and how it will affect their fitness habits going forward. 

The pandemic made Melissa S realise how fragile our bodies are and how she had the responsibility to take good care of it. She ditched her bad habits of smoking and eating processed food and began following YouTube workout videos to kick-start her fitness journey. 

Then, “due to the hype around Nintendo Switch, I got myself one and started playing Just Dance, a dancing video game. I wasn’t someone who enjoyed working out very much back then, so the game definitely made it more enjoyable”, she says.

Just Dance is a dance rhythm game available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and other video game platforms. Players must mimic the choreography of an animated dancer on the screen. The more accurate your movements, which are tracked by the console held in your hands or a camera, the higher your scores.

“I would have friends and family members come over and we would duel to see who could get the highest score. Working out didn’t feel like a chore anymore and the game made it easier to sustain,” says Melissa. She has since also signed up for virtual gym classes.

Chu D also had a similar experience using Ring Fit Adventure on Nintendo Switch. This game requires users to hold onto the Ring-Con, which is a Pilates ring, and strap on the Joy-Con, which is the Switch console, onto their thighs. Users are then guided to perform various physical activities like squats and jumps to fight monsters and overcome obstacles in the game.

“I started working out using Ring Fit because I had free time for about five months. With the game as a motivation, I exercised every two days. It helped me lose around 1kg per month,” says Chu.

These active games are not designed to feel like a gym session. Instead, they offer an immersive experience to users, who feel like they are playing a game and getting a workout as a bonus. 

“I’ve actually always used Ring Fit and Oculus Quest (virtual reality headset) to work out even before the lockdown because I’m an introvert and hate going to the gym. Plus, Beat Saber is so addictive on top of being a fantastic cardio workout,” says Joe L. On the side, he continued attending his personal training sessions, albeit virtually. 

Beat Saber is a virtual reality (VR) game that requires users to slice blocks, represented by musical notes, according to the rhythm. It can be played on the PlayStation and supports most VR headsets.

This kind of entertainment was in high demand during the pandemic. Sales of Nintendo’s Switch console helped triple the company’s profits from March to September last year, according to reports. Similarly, sales of Oculus Quest, the VR headset owned by Facebook, boosted the company’s revenues last year. These workout-centric games, of course, are just a subset of the video games available. 

Having experienced virtual gym classes and VR-enabled exercises, will people’s habits change forever? Demand for home fitness equipment rose drastically around the world last year. Now that people have this equipment at home, will they go back to the gym?

In the US, Peloton Interactive, which sells internet-connected stationary bicycles and subscription plans to live-streamed classes, saw revenue growth slow down by August after a record year in 2020. One of the reasons was that more people were going out as the economy reopened, according to reports. 

It turns out that the socialising and community element of exercising are a critical factor in favour of in-person sessions. 

As an introvert, Melissa is worried about navigating new spaces, much less a gym, where she does not know how to use the equipment. But she does find in-person classes more motivating.

“I can understand [the advantages of] having a support system and sense of community when you’re taking on life-changing habits like losing weight or getting healthier. Working out requires consistent effort and if you’re a person who works in bursts [of energy], having a community in the same physical space can be motivating,” says Melissa. 

This sense of community is probably something that is harder to achieve online. Gyms are a space for people to meet like-minded peers who are on similar journeys and can support each other. It is also easier for personal trainers and coaches to correct their customers’ postures.

That’s not to say that online classes cannot bring people together. During the pandemic, virtual workout sessions with friends became a social activity. Sara R, for instance, began organising virtual Zumba sessions with her friends every Sunday. They followed free videos available on YouTube. 

“We thought this was a great activity we could do together to get out of our mental rut during lockdown. It was really fun and light-hearted and we felt so much better afterwards,” she says.

“I would love to incorporate more group workout activities [going forward]. It doesn’t have to be Zumba, as long as I’m with my friends. I think it was doing an activity together ultimately made it fun.”

The fitness industry was one of the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic. Gyms could not open their doors for the major part of the outbreak and had to quickly pivot their business model online. This meant offering virtual personal training and group classes.

The challenge is that not every customer has the necessary workout equipment at home. That is why some gyms began renting out spinning bikes, boxing bags and other equipment to customers. Others got creative. 

“We got our clients to use wine bottles, pillow cases filled with canned food, bags of rice and filled luggage bags. They used their staircases, sofas, beds and railings to work out. We tried to make things interesting for them because there are only so many air squats and push-ups that you can do,” says Marie Ann Ng, co-founder and assistant head coach at KOA Fitness, an all-women gym. 

“Some clients even lifted their cats! But don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the process,” she adds, with a laugh.

In pre-pandemic times, some people may have found it difficult to motivate themselves to leave the house and drive to the gym to attend training sessions or classes. Now that they can do it at home, has it increased the participation rate? 

Ng observes that it was not an easy time for some clients, who dropped out because their home situation was not conducive for exercising. On the other hand, online sessions were beneficial to their clients who went back to their hometowns.

“I’m seeing among my clients that those who made it a point to stay active during the lockdown are generally in a better mental state than those who didn’t. Humans like routine, so I think having regular workout sessions with us online gave them a semblance of normalcy despite being cooped up in one-bedroom apartments,” says Ng.

Meanwhile, Mark Choo, founder and trainer at TRIBE Boxing Studio, shares that online classes encouraged more people to work out because they did not have to face traffic jams or put in overtime at the office. During the pandemic, these classes also gave people a chance to socialise.

“For the one-hour during class, people get to interact with others through the chat, see their friends working out and work up a sweat, all while the instructor motivates them. We’ve gotten a lot of inspiring messages from people letting us know how grateful they are that they can still enjoy doing what they love,” says Choo.

With the experience of running fully virtual classes, many gyms are operating on a hybrid basis as the economy gradually reopens, since some people may still be uncomfortable exercising indoors with strangers. But it will be interesting to observe whether this will remain the case in the long run. 

“We can see the fitness scene getting bigger as people who’ve never exercised before are signing up for classes. At the same time, many people are rushing to go back to the gym because they want to catch up with friends,” says Ng. But they won’t discount the possibility of renting out equipment like dumb-bells and exercise bands to personal training clients to work out at home. 

In-person training will still remain relevant, however, because of the socialising element. The larger equipment is also only accessible in gyms. Not everyone can afford to buy a treadmill for the home. 

“We also have a lot of mothers here. This one hour [of training] is their escape from home. It’s their only ‘me’ time. Of the people who rushed back into the gym after lockdown, mothers made up a huge part,” says Ng. 

This year, TRIBE began offering outdoor classes at the Tropicana Gardens Mall. So far, the classes have been fully booked by existing and new members. The online classes will continue in the form of streamed live videos. 

“Looking at the trend and from a survey of our members, we’ve seen that many people who just started exercising [during the pandemic] fell in love with it and have been working out consistently since then. I believe it’ll be hard for people to revert to infrequent workouts as in pre-pandemic times,” says Choo.

“With home equipment, people will most likely be doing both workouts at home and at their favourite gym because fitness is a social sport, and the need to engage with others is more important than ever.”

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