Working out online: Gyms now in homes

They say if it weren’t for the TV and the refrigerator being so far apart, some people wouldn’t get any exercise at all.

Gym experts believe that you must exercise for not less than 30 minutes nonstop three times a week. You must pant and sweat during workouts as calories are burned.

And, due to Covid-19, gym entrepreneurs and instructors are now developing and capitalising on current apps to bring you the best gym at the comfort of your house.

The apps include Manyaactive, Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Houseparty.

Evalyn Oloo, a sports entrepreneur told the Star, “Well, they say make lemons out of lemonades. Covid-19 gave us lemons and we made lemonades out of it.” 

Oloo is the brains behind Manyactive app, which connects gyms, spas, fitness instructors and physiotherapists with clients.

Others service providers on the app platform are sports masseuses, personal trainers, nutritionists, mental health counsellors and other professionals in the wellness industry.

“The Covid-19 pandemic and its effects have shaped people’s culture and how they physically relate with each other,” Oloo said.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has given players in the wellness industry an opportunity to rethink their approach in delivery because they have to keep the community active, even if they could no longer visit facilities in person.”

Francis Oluoch, 32, popularly known as Rombosa, is specialised in self-defence, aerobics, body toning, strength training and dance. He said the gyms have different categories of trainers, among them freelancers, personal trainers and those who are employed.

“Kenyans are slowly embracing the online workout, but many people we are now training are foreigners who are outside the country,” Rombosa said.

SHIFT TO ONLINE

Winnie Okoth is an Olympic weightlifting athlete and a Crossfit and weightlifting coach. She started online training because the fitness industry doesn't look the same anymore due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Most gyms are closed and I wanted to continue with my passion for coaching and helping people achieve their goals and stay,” she said.

Winnie competed internationally for Kenya at the Commonwealth Games 2018 (Australia), African Championships (Egypt), All Africa Games (Morocco) and African Championships (Nairobi and won Bronze). She also has six years of coaching experience in the industry.

 “The world is adapting and moving to digital content. As an online coach, I am adding a few more tools to keep clients happy, improving and coming back for more.  I'm sharpening my digital coaching skills,” Okoth said.

Raymond Petit is a boxing, weightlifting and personal trainer with nine years’ experience. He said a client only needs a good space and stable Internet.

“We have classes where we combine many people together. However, some people love privacy or have tight schedules, so we come up with a special class for them,” Petit said.

“It is simple: Wake up, jump into your trainers, enter the gym. Actually, you may be surprised but post Covid-19, most people might still prefer this mode of delivery and we will be here to deliver so that our community can get their dose of fitness anywhere, anytime through our in-app video, voice and streaming platforms.”

Kenneth Kinyua, alias Ken, is a fitness, health coach and personal trainer with eight years’ experience. He is based at USIU and Ignite Fitness Centre.

Ken said Covid-19 has affected normalcy in our day-to-day life. He is excited about online training since he can ensure correct hygiene habits and healthy lifestyle choices are maintained through exercise, diet and well-being.

“Going to the gym was a culture to most people. But since the pandemic was declared in our country, all fitness centres have been shut down, following the government directives,” he said.

Ken said desperate situations require creative measures. “We need to accept and embrace the period we are in now and that way, we will find a way of taking advantage of the crisis. Almost everything is taking a shift to the online market and I can attest that working out from home is as well doing well,” he said.

“Just like any other business, people can work out from home. I have seen confident individuals because they believe in themselves and have no insecurities about their health, weight and fitness goal.

“In addition, they cannot compare themselves to other people, unlike in the gym, where they might feel intimidated by those who have perfected their workout skills.”

ADVANTAGES OF TREND

Rombosa says working out online at home is cheap, easy to manage and a small workout space is required.

“During this pandemic season, all fitness centres were closed, meaning there's no job for trainers unless you do it online,” he said.

“Sustainability post-Covid-19? Yes, because anyone can work out in the house early before going to work or in the evening. If you were late going to the gym due to traffic, that won't be a problem any more.”

Okoth said online training has made it easier to train many people who are in different places.

“There are a variety of programmes offered online. It’s convenient for the clients as well as tailored and customised as to per what the client wants,” she said.

She said online workout will reduce the cost of gym memberships, especially to those who subscribe yearly and do not end up using their fee. It will create flexibility of their workout plans to get value for money.

DOWNSIDES TO NORM

One of the challenges the instructors are facing is the resources required to set up a good studio for online-training clients. Others are frequent blackouts and technological hitches.

“Initially, service delivery was very daunting because we were not sure of how many people were going to be able to attend online classes,” Oloo said.

“But we are pleasantly surprised at the high rate of uptake.”

He bets on technology to disrupt this space tremendously for the better, saying it will be easy to sustain since many clients work out at the comfort of the house and time.

“Our partners, they have had to adapt their mode of delivery to online and our community have had to adapt to interacting with these professionals online,” Oloo said.

“Working out has not been affected adversely. In my opinion, we have had to adapt to a behaviour change in some sort of a crash course and we are settling in perfectly.”

The instructor said Kenyans have embraced online training, but it’s a steep learning curve and the larger population is yet to get acquainted with it.

“Providers should either adapt or die, and because we care about our community, we want to take you along with us so that your business not only survives but thrives,” Oloo said.

Ken cited background noise and distraction from family members as among the biggest problems. He also pointed to the difficulty in getting the message across.  

“I would say the most challenging part of online training is coordination and ensuring the right posture is maintained,” Ken said.

“It might be a little bit difficult for beginners to get the right posture via a Zoom call, but practice perfects every skill.”

Edited by T Jalio