The Instagram Live workouts quietly dissipated around the end of the second lockdown. With that, the enthusiasm for home workouts also dulled down – many of us did them beyond the lifting of restrictions as part of a new, hybrid training routine that involved some IRL gym sessions and home HIIT, but it’s fair to say that the enthusiasm for bedroom exercise has never matched those March 2020 heights.

The new flexibility worked for those who didn’t feel comfortable mixing closely in gyms. Self-isolation rules were still in place, with many of us having to forgo trips out to studios thanks to positive tests. Now that restrictions are over, our routines have the chance to change for good – and apparently, we’re all back at it.  

According to ClassPass, in-person reservations are up 27% since December 2021 – the peak of the Omicron variant – and February 2022 saw the most reservations since February 2020.

But the fitness landscape we’re burpeeing back into isn’t the same. Some of our favourite studios have had to close or move base, like one of London’s leading brands, Frame. Jayne Robinson from Frame told Stylist: “We recently had to make the hard decision to close both our Farringdon and Fitzrovia studios permanently due to low footfall in both areas. Both are predominantly corporate locations and the return to the office was incredibly slow, so they were unsustainable to keep open.”

With that in mind, what does the future of fitness hold? We’re back to hybrid working, but does the hybrid fitness we’ve been using throughout restrictions still have a place in a post-lockdown world?

Just as home workouts were a refreshing challenge during lockdown, many women have headed back to the gym full time in a bid to shake up their routines. “I prefer keeping a separation between the home and gym,” says one Strong Women reader when we put out a poll asking how people are training now. Another agrees that the “gym is my me time”.

Reader Maureen says: “I tell myself I’ll do home workouts, but there’s something about the gym where you know the focus is purely to workout with no distractions”. And Lucy comments that she’s “far more motivated and work harder at the gym or an in-person class”.

The desire to get to the gym to smash out a really good session might be a sign that working out has now become more of a core part of our day. It seems that we want to dedicate time to it, rather than see it as something we just ‘pop into’. In fact, we recently did a poll that found we are more likely to go to the gym on days we’re working from home than on days we go into the office – perhaps because we’re less rushed. 

Of course, that’s not the story for everyone. While those who were gym-goers pre-lockdown may be more keen to get back to training, home workouts made fitness accessible for those who had never trained before. For that reason, home workouts are still on the agenda for some women. “Covid hasn’t changed the fact that I’m no longer confident enough to go to the gym,” a reader replied to our survey. Another said: “I’ve lost confidence working out anywhere but home.”

That’s not the only reason people still love home training – the flexibility and accessibility they offer is incomparable. “Home workouts have made working out non-negotiable,” reader Adriana says. “I switched to home workouts during lockdown and I wouldn’t look back. I love the convenience,” another reader says. And we can’t ignore the fact that ‘normal life’ hasn’t resumed for those who are clinically vulnerable. 

Robinson also says she’s noticed a difference between the people who used their digital subscription as a means to an end during lockdown, versus those who purely want to train virtually. “Our online ‘studio’ is still popular but mostly with people outside of London, where they don’t have access to a local Frame studio. Most people who use our online classes are also new to Frame and have to come to us through the online platform – though they sometimes visit London for the weekends and visit their favourite instructor IRL.” 

The hybrid model still works for some, but it might be coming to an end. There’s been a pivot to paid memberships rather than live streams we can dip in and out of as creators cottoned on to the fact that their members are willing to pay for home workout instruction (and rightly so – it can’t have been sustainable to continue live sessions every day). During lockdown, we all said that we wanted a hybrid fitness model, but now that life is at least semi-back on track the reality is that we may need to choose – particularly for those looking for a more structured routine. The question is, what will it be?