Who goes to the gym these days? Probably not you. (Okay, maybe a few of you.) However, if you’re still going to the gym every now and then, you might want to go ahead and stop altogether. With social distancing, masks, and capacity restrictions in effect since Covid-19 became a worldwide menace, most people aren’t using gyms like they used to.
If you’d rather work out at home, how do you know which streaming fitness platform is the best? There has been an explosion of companies offering services that revolve around quarantine fitness ideas. We’ll go over some in a moment, but first, let’s discuss some practical reasons as to why you should cancel your gym membership today.
Why cancel your gym membership?
Before COVID-19, most people who thought about becoming more healthy, losing weight, and getting fit went out and purchased a gym membership. However, even then, there were staggering numbers of people who bought memberships but rarely or never went.
If it was a one-time payment, that might not have been an issue. However, many gyms have policies that lock you into monthly payments regardless of whether you actually go and workout or not. Of course, there are some who are serious about working out — they never miss a day at the gym, and the money spent is an investment in themselves.
But for the first group mentioned? Wow, talk about money wasted. Besides saving money, here are some other reasons to cancel your membership:
- There are free exercise classes on YouTube and other video-hosting platforms.
- There are paid, streaming fitness programs that are comprehensive and that offer plenty of motivation, meal plans, and more.
- For the same money, you can build an effective home-based gym, meaning you can work out at home without strangers distracting you with their stares.
Benefits of choosing an online fitness platform
Obviously, with all the stay-at-home restrictions that have come down the pike, online fitness training has become particularly trendy. Multiple reports show that even before COVID-19, fitness and health apps were enjoying a surge in popularity. For instance, a New York University School of Medicine study from 2015 showed that more than 50% of all smartphone users downloaded a health or fitness app. That’s a massive number of people!
Every single one of the programs, classes, and courses found online lessens the need for an individual to go to a fitness studio or gym. But, by choosing an online program, you’re not just keeping carbon emissions down (from driving to the gym); you’re also getting the following benefits:
Log in from any location
You don’t have to be at home to workout. You could be at a friend’s house, a family member’s house … heck, even out at the park. You can access your online fitness content from just about any location you can think of as long as it’s got a WiFi connection.
No restrictions
Not that you don’t like the personal trainer at the local gym, but with the vast array of online training programs available, there is bound to be a trainer whose personality you really identify with. Say you want to do something specific, like a fitness course that incorporates boxing or martial arts. Or, say you want to do a particular kind of yoga. You can find practically every workout imaginable by heading online.
Exercise when you want to
Local gyms usually have set hours during which they’re open. If you want to exercise, you have to fit your workout into the gym’s schedule. Not so with online fitness training programs. You’re in control, and whenever you’re ready, you connect and hit play. It’s as simple as that.
Popular online fitness platforms
If you’ve never heard of Apple Fitness+ or the Nike Training Club, where have you been all your life? You should definitely check those out, and a few others, that may interest you:
- Ballet Beautiful (from $4)
- Project Be ($35)
- Crunch Fitness ($10)
- E.F.F.E.C.T. Fitness ($25)
- Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide ($20)
- Melissa Wood Health ($10)
- The Sculpt Society by Megan Roup ($20)
- Physique 57 ($25)
As you can see, many online fitness programs have a cost that ranges between $10 to $20 per month. That’s far less than most offline options. There are even completely free options as long as you’re not set on a super-duper individualized service. In the end, you want a service that will allow you to get fit while staying safe. With that in mind, every single one of the programs listed above can offer an excellent quarantine workout.
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