Doha: Many of our daily routines remain restricted during the coronavirus pandemic, and this can make exercising seem like a far-fetched activity.
With the challenges of working from home and limited access to fitness facilities, you may be finding it hard to stick to a workout routine. Various workout activities we do with friends are near not impossible to do anymore. Those whose workout intensity is boosted by the gym environment may find it challenging to get the same commitment level.
Physical activity releases endorphins, chemicals in the brain that revitalise the mind and body and help improve healthy well-being. Besides boosting mood and sleep improvement, exercise can also strengthen your immune system, something that is particularly important at this time, especially for older adults who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
In the past few months, most gyms and fitness centers have had to close. As gyms and fitness centres open, albeit with adherence to preventive measures, there is still an increase in the demand for home fitness equipment like virtual reality fitness equipment, exercise bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines.
Online exercise equipment suppliers have seen a sharp increase in sales as a result.
According to eBay.com sales data, “between March and April 2020, online sales of fitness equipment increased up to 20 times in some categories compared to the same time frame last year.”
In Doha, most gyms are less crowded, and according to some of the popular apparel and gym equipment sales outlets, they have seen a fair to a good increase in demand during the lockdown and even now despite the easing of restrictions.
“Some people prefer training at home, especially during the lockdown, and now many are still afraid to go to the gyms. Some people had never worked out before, and during the lockdown, they had nothing to do and had to work out. This led to an increase in online requests, and we can say the number of people who started working out at home during the lockdown increased,” a manager at Go Sport told The Peninsula.
“During the lockdown, people were ordering equipment online, but since restrictions have been lifted, people get both apparels and equipment. Some people also discovered working out at home may be better than going to the gym, especially with the locals.”
While some outlets recorded tremendous sales, others recorded an increase in only equipment order compared to apparel.
“During the lockdown, our customers were active on the website with their order. We had just a little bit of increase (10%) because our equipment sales were moving well even before the COVID-19 lockdown. Apparels sales are also the same,” said a Decathlon manager.
Decathlon is a famous sports retail outlet with 1800 stores worldwide.
“We are a big retail shop, so people do patronize. But with the COVID-19 situation, stationary bikes and treadmills have sold more. We are almost out of stock right now, and we have to replenish soon. Our customers are 85% of Europeans because of the popularity of the store. But aquatics apparels sales have been the same.”
