Things Are Looking Up for In-Person Fitness Classes, According to ClassPass Report
Local ClassPass reservations have increased 295 percent since January and are at an all-time high since the onset of the pandemic.
Philly is seeing a massive resurgence of bookings for in-person fitness at local studios like Barry’s, according to ClassPass. / Photograph by Shaun Luberski
To say it has been a hard year for Philly’s fitness scene would be an understatement. Between abrupt shutdowns, constant pivoting, and shuttered studios, local gyms have been to hell and back. The silver lining? The industry seems more in-demand and united than ever.
Ever since capacity restrictions for Philly businesses were lifted on June 11th, there has been a surge of bookings for in-person workouts, according to data from the fitness app ClassPass. While ClassPass hasn’t always been consistent in their studio partner support, it has been a means through which folks can efficiently check out new spots or pop into beloved ones — and patronage of any kind is a win right now.
As of July, local ClassPass reservations have increased 295 percent since January, and they are up 60 percent since the restrictions lifted in June, according to the company. They also told us that Philly has reached its highest number of ClassPass reservations and new users since March of 2020.
ClassPass shared the top 10 workouts and wellness services users are booking in Philly right now, so we figured we’d share with you, too:
- Strength training
- Boxing
- Barre
- Yoga
- Indoor cycling
- Live-streamed barre
- Massage
- Live-streamed strength training
- Manicure
- Pedicure
From the data, it seems Philadelphians are particularly eager to get back to boxing. According to ClassPass’s 2021 Comeback Report, boxing ranks as the sixth most-booked activity nationally, but in Philly, it comes in second place. Pre-pandemic, throwing punches ranked fifth, so the activity has climbed three places in the local rankings. Plus, the city is really loving beauty and relaxation services. Massage is the only wellness activity to make ClassPass’s list of most-booked services in the country, but massage, manicure, and pedicure all made Philly’s top 10.
Though the stats account for Philly-area ClassPass users only, they do reflect some recent national and global trends. The wellness scheduling platform, Mindbody, found from a survey of nearly 20,000 Americans that strength training is the second most-popular group exercise modality, while a Google trend analysis saw an uptick in yoga interest during the first half of 2020. And of course, folks are still opting for virtual workouts, whether due to convenience, access, or other COVID-related factors.
No matter how or where you’re moving, let’s keep up that momentum, Philly.
