Returning to the office after Covid-19 protocols results in massive increase in exercise frequency, a survey shows
- People who exercised one or two times a week have increased exercise frequency by 125.93 per cent, according to a study by RunRepeat
- Those who already exercised over four times a week or more are the only group to see their exercise frequency drop
The frequency at which people are taking exercise has skyrocketed as workers return to the office. A study conducted by shoe review website RunRepeat, which surveyed 2,494 people, found that even those who never took exercise are now getting a sweat on.
The study divided participants into three groups depending on how much exercise they took when working remotely: Low frequency (one or two times a week), moderate frequency (up to three times week) and high frequency (four or more times a week).
It found that the low frequency group increased their exercise since returning to the office by 125.93 per cent, going from 0.98 times a week to 2.22 times per week. The moderate frequency group increased their exercise frequency 38.57 per cent, going from 1.86 times to 2.58 times per week.
Even 59.52 per cent of those who took no exercise at all are now actively exercising an average of 2.64 times per week since returning to work.
The only group that saw a drop in exercise since returning to the office is the high frequency group. Their exercise fell by 14.16%, from exercising 5.23 times to 4.49 times per week.
Only 3.91 per cent of people have stopped exercising since returning to the office.
The survey examined running habits in particular.
“Running has been a major fitness trend during the pandemic, given it was one of the easiest ways to be active when other options like gyms or team sports were no longer feasible during the pandemic,” it said.
Runners’ habits mirrored the overall exercise trend. Runners in the low frequency group saw an increase in exercise frequency of 150.88 per cent. The moderate group of runners have increased their exercise by 40.74 per cent. Runners in the high frequency group dropped their amount of exercise by 8.71 per cent since returning to the office.
“The pandemic-related event of returning to work in the office full-time signals a return to normalcy. It brings a familiar structure, routine, and lifestyle for many,” the study concluded. “All of which has seemed to create significant growth in exercise rates for the remote workers who were the least active during the pandemic.”
