How Has Lockdown Changed the Way We Exercise?

The fact that lockdown has led to a reduction in exercise nationwide is a reasonable assumption to make. In such an unprecedented time unlike anything anyone has experienced before, and cutting of many of our resources for regular daily habits and physical activity, this may not come as a surprise to many, however the sheer scale of the impact it has had on us should not be ignored and the facts behind it have the potential to help many in recognising they are not alone and be prepared in any future situations. 

In a survey carried out by sports England active lives revealed that almost 12 million adults in England had been "inactive" (less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week) between the middle of March and the middle of May in 2020- the early months of the UK's first national lockdown- which Is a notable 7.4% rise in comparison to before the pandemic. 

It was found that there were Just over 3 million fewer "active people" than prior to the pandemic with the number of people hitting the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week decreasing by 7.1%. 

Our survey results suggested that the reason people did less exercise during this time was lack of motivation(46% of people), lack of space and facilities (27%) and lack of equipment (18%), the lack in facilities and equipment that were limiting peoples exercise was reflected in the forms of exercise people undertook with a 2.2% increase in people taking a walk, 9.7% increasing in people running, 25.1% increase in people completing a simple 30-60 minute home workout and a 60.9% decrease in people going to the gym/pool/leisure centre between 1-7 times a week during lockdown in comparison to before it. 

Although several forms of undertaking exercise increased overall in the processed graphs of results outlining the amount of regular exercise undertaken by individuals there was a clear overall decrease during lockdown in comparison to before and this was reflected by "worrying about your physical health" as a factor in increasing peoples stress level during lockdown being selected by 41.2 % of participants as their response.