As Team GB’s latest golden generation disembark the jets and set foot on British soil once more, new data from fitness experts and gym operator Fitness First has shown our latest batch of medalists have caused an increase in gym sign-ups, with everyone looking to train like, and emulate, their heroes returning from the Japanese games.Riding the wave of enthusiasm, Fitness First recorded a telling 31% increase in new joiners over the first two weeks of the Olympics, when compared to the same period prior. The positive news comes as the fitness industry looks to build on the post lockdown momentum, with class attendance creeping back up to pre-pandemic levels and the public looking to get back into their pre-pandemic routine once more.According to Tim Andrews, Head of Fitness Product at Fitness First, the latest surge in sign-ups shouldn’t be seen as a coincidence, he comments: “There is no denying the Olympics and a summer of sport has lifted the nation’s mood after a long lockdown. In addition to raising our spirits, the sporting role models we have seen on screen have also spurred the public to become more active, with our hallways and corridors at Fitness First buzzing with members talking about their sporting heroes. With so much positive energy, it comes as no surprise we have had a really great start to August in terms of new joiners, the 31% increase in people taking up memberships showing the nation is set to get active once more, leave lockdown behind them and build on the positive legacy of the games”Predicting a more positive shift, Fitness First’s innovative new Trend Report 2021 also found that more than half of people surveyed wanted to build back a better exercise regime post lockdown, this despite more than a third admitting to exercising less and less as a seemingly endless lockdown wore on. Of those who wanted to build a better regime post lockdown, over half (55%) wanted to do so to improve their fitness, 44% to lose weight, and, with the nation finding new benefits to healthy activity, 41% to improve mental health.
