Today’s Fitness Participation Trends
Industry report shows people returning to fitness clubs.
The 2022 Tracking the Fitness Movement Report by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association shows that people are returning to fitness facilities, and retention is good—but numbers are not yet back to pre-pandemic levels. The three largest increases in fitness participation in the year after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted included treadmill use (+7.6%), cross-training–style workouts (+6.4%) and stair climber use (+4.7%).
Walking for fitness, running/jogging, kettlebells and yoga, which all grew during the pandemic, continue to show high participation rates. Yoga, in particular, continues in popularity. Between 2020 and 2021, yoga participation increased 4.7% to 34.3 million practitioners nationwide.
See also: 5 Ways Fitness Businesses Have Created Revenue in Pandemic Times
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
