Predicting 2021 Fitness Trends

2020.

The craziest year.

Ever.

In 2020, we had a complete overhaul and gutting of the fitness industry.

A widespread pandemic hit, and gyms were forced to shut their doors.

Gym owners and personal trainers were forced to pivot and adapt to online training, while many others left the industry for good.

I don’t think anyone could have predicted 2020.

It’s been a rough year for a lot of people. And while I was spot on with my online training prediction last year, I didn’t see it playing out the way it did (pandemic forcing online training only).

While 2020 is now over and perhaps we can begin to look forward to the end of the pandemic.

Here are 3 new fitness trends I see coming for 2021.

1. Survival of the Fittest – One of the hardest-hit industries during covid-19 has been the gym industry. Gyms have been shut down for months, some almost a year; a profitable business may survive a few months without any revenue, but nearly a year, it’s hard to imagine how any business can survive.

While speaking for the country of Canada, there have been government benefits to help gyms get through lockdowns. However, there are a lot of question marks for this industry.

How do debt levels look for gyms

Will members return?

Will personal trainers be permanently laid off or perhaps leave the industry?

Lots of questions.

But coming from someone who works in the gym industry, I believe that gyms that were struggling before the pandemic are probably done for good. Most members will likely return at some point after the pandemic, but gyms will have to work hard to get new members. And I do believe a tiny % of trainers may leave the industry for good.

One thing I’ll say, though, is that gyms that do survive this pandemic will have a significant increase in business. I believe with people being homesick with online training, an increase in savings, plus a pent-up demand for physical activity, will drive a significant amount of people to the gyms once Covid-19 is over.

Also, gyms that may, unfortunately, go under will drive business to the gyms that survive. Hence, the survival of the fittest.

2. Online Training is Now Part of the Norm– I’ve been predicting a rise in online training for years, and it finally came in 2020. Now that online training is here, it’s here to stay.

Online training was looked down on for years, but it gave people opportunities to workout abroad and with their favorite trainer. With this pandemic, working with a trainer had to be done online. Online training is an integral part of a personal trainer’s business now.

3. Wearable Technology – When I revisited my predictions for last year, I added that there would be an increase in wearable technology. I believe that wearable technology is a category that will continue to snowball.

The new apple watch has an ECG built into it, which is ridiculous. And I recall sleep expert, Matthew Walker saying that wearable sleep technology like the OURA ring is only a few years off from the accuracy of gold standard devices for sleep tracking. If you follow Peter Diamandis, he believes we will one day be able to do a full self-diagnostics on our body with just the use of a device like a smartphone.

These are my predictions for 2021.

What do you think?

Do you agree?

Or.

Am I completely off?

Let me know your thoughts and I would love to hear your predictions 🙂

Salute,

Remi

Thumbnail Image Licensed from “marekuliasz/canva.com”