‘Sweat Tech’ Is On The Rise, With 39% of Australians Turning To Digital Platforms, Apps And At-Home Fitness Technology In The Last Year

• 39% of Australians used digital platforms to exercise during the national lockdown last year, according to a new study by Deakin University.
• Experts believe the increase in the use of digital platforms will continue, as Australians invest further in wearable fitness tech, at-home fitness equipment, and apps.
• “It’s likely that these sorts of platforms are going to be utilised more and more as time goes on,” said the study’s co-author Dr Kate Parker.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Australians are choosing to sweat at home, as the use of at-home tech, digital platforms, and fitness apps become more popular, according to a new study conducted by Deakin University.

The findings coincide with a global trend towards at-home fitness, with sales of gym-quality equipment and digital services on the rise globally as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, an increase in remote work, and ongoing anxiety about the safety of public exercise spaces.

The Our Life at Home study, conducted by Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) looked specifically at the period of national lockdown last year and surveying 1,188 adults and 963 adolescents.

The study found that people who used digital platforms to access facilitated classes or online and app-based fitness programs were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines than those who didn’t.

The results, the study said, suggest digital platforms will continue to play a “critical role” in supporting physical activity into the future.

Tech kept us sweating during lockdowns

The study found that 39% of adults used digital platforms during national lockdown last year — making them twice as likely to meet the moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity guidelines set by the World Health Organization and the Australian government, one of the authors of the study Dr Kate Parker said.

Those who used digital platforms to exercise at home “were also nearly three times more likely to meet the combined guidelines compared to non-users,” Dr Parker told Business Insider Australia.

While there’s a lot of research on fitness apps and equipment, Dr Parker said, there’s less on social media, which she was surprised to find was one of the main ways young people used during lockdowns, and up to October, when the study concluded.

“Your Instagram, your Facebook Live, those sorts of things; they’re the platforms that people are using,” she said.

The study found that women and adults in paid employment during the lockdowns were more likely to use digital platforms, with Dr Parker suggesting that habits learned in lockdown may continue into 2021.

“My sense is it’s likely that these sorts of platforms are going to be utilised more and more as time goes on,” she said, adding that digital fitness platforms are becoming more professional and widespread — and as more people work from home, more accepted as an easy way to integrate an exercise routine into a busy schedule.

“The programs on offer on these platforms are getting better and better as time goes on,” she said.

“Once you’re on the computer for the day, you’ve got it open, I think it becomes a norm to exercise online.”

Race to the top

The findings add to evidence of a growing number of Australians leaning towards self-guided and at-home workouts, as the longtail consequences of the pandemic leave exercisers forging new routines.

Australians on average spend $250 a month on health and fitness.

In the Australian Apple TV App Store, two out of the top three free apps are from Australia or New Zealand, with US-based interactive cycling app Swift ranked first, followed by New Zealand gym-turned-fitness empire LES MILLS On Demand, and cult women’s fitness community Sweat coming in third.

Les Mills on Demand reported an 800% increase in sign-ups in 2020, and Sweat saw over 100 thousand downloads worldwide and $2 million in revenue in February 2021, according to app monitoring service SensorTower.

CEO of the Australian Institute of Fitness Steve Pettit believes 2021 will herald an influx of interest in existing wearable fitness tech such as Garmin, Fitbit and Apple Watch, while the announcement home fitness brand Peloton is entering the Australian market in the second half of 2021 also signals that global fitness brands feel the Australian market is eager to invest in at-home fitness.

Business Insider

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