For the decade that was meant to bring about change, hope and so much more, 2020 was literally a smack in the face from the offset. It’s not every year that a pandemic sweeps across the world, but this is exactly what happened in 2020 with the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus.

People all over the world have been affected by the coronavirus, with a tragically huge number of deaths in countries on all four corners of the globe. Even now as we approach the end of 2020, there are many cities and locations everywhere that are going into a second lockdown. The pandemic is still among us, and it could take a long time before life returns to how we knew it before.

Social distancing and restrictions

During the lockdowns of 2020, a number of businesses and places were forced to shut down. The spread of the virus needed to be controlled and contained; thus, the most effective way of doing this was to get people to stay indoors at home.

Places, where there were large gatherings of people such as museums, restaurants, sporting events and clubs, were all ordered to close. Other facilities such as gyms, fitness centers and swimming pools were also closed.

Exercising during the lockdown

With the closure of gyms and fitness centers all over the world, people started to exercise at home instead. There were allowances during lockdown for people to get at least an hour’s exercise outdoors every day, but these types of exercises were limited to things such as walking, running or cycling.

Many people began investing in gym and fitness equipment for their homes, and the home gym market was one that really started to boom. People the world over were buying all types of gym equipment, from dumbbells to treadmills. The demand was surging and at times, simply couldn’t keep up with the demand. Ecommerce businesses such as Gorillasports saw huge growth in sales of all types of fitness equipment.

Setting up a home gym

The solution of a home gym setup was very popular, and even people who lived in a small home without any real extra space were still shuffling furniture around in order to make space so that they could continue to work out.

Some of the most popular gym equipment that people were purchasing were things such as dumbbells, pull up bars, kettlebells and yoga mats. These were all things that were not too large in size, and could easily be stored under the bed or inside the wardrobe when not in use.

For those who were lucky enough to live in a larger home and have a spare room or empty garage, they were able to set up a lot more equipment and purchase some of the larger pieces of gym equipment such as a treadmill, exercise bike or rowing machine. Others were buying weight lifting equipment in order to retain the regular workout schedules that they used to follow in their local gyms.

The Lockdown and Gym Closures

The lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak was something that played a major role in the way people began to work out at home. With the closure of gyms and fitness centers, no one knew when they would reopen, and what the new rules and regulations would be.

Even when gyms could reopen, it was clear that there would be stricter limits on the number of people that could be inside at any one time, due to social distancing. Gyms that operated classes such as yoga or Pilates would probably have to half the number of people who could take part.

Benefits of working out at home

Being forced to find alternative places to keep fit and workout meant that most people had to do so from home. Though it was not an easy transition for most gym-goers, it was better than nothing.

However, there were some benefits from working out at home, such as being able to do so in the privacy and safety of your household. You weren’t going to be at risk of catching or spreading germs to anyone else, and you wouldn’t need to worry about needing to clean down every piece of equipment after you’ve used it.

In your home gym, there is no waiting time or timetables to follow. You can work out when you want, how you want. There wouldn’t be any time limitations put on how long you could use the treadmill, or other pieces of equipment unless of course, you were working out at the same time as other family members.

And on the subject of family members, having a home gym set up is a great way for all of the family to stay fit and be able to work out. It can also be a great introduction to general fitness and exercise for those who have young children.

One final point to make with regards to family is that by having your own home gym, you are going to be making huge savings each month on gym subscriptions. A monthly family subscription to your local gym could cost you several hundred dollars, so having your own gym at home can be a great investment.

Cons of working out at home

Of course, as with everything in life, there are cons as well as pros. One of the main drawbacks of working out at home is that you are not — unless you are extremely rich — going to have all of the equipment that you would have access to in your local gym. You can buy a few pieces of equipment, but most people are going to be restricted by two important elements – the space they have available at home, and the cost of buying the equipment.

There is also a lack of variety of the type of workouts you can do. If you are limited on the equipment you have at home, there are only a certain number of workouts that you can do.

Another thing that many people miss about a real gym is the interaction between other members. There’s something about having other people working out around you that can give you a little boost and get you working a little harder and breaking into more of a sweat.