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. 2020 Sep 7;17(18):6515.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17186515.

Restrictercise! Preferences Regarding Digital Home Training Programs during Confinements Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jan Wilke  1 , Lisa Mohr  1 , Adam S Tenforde  2 , Pascal Edouard  3   4 , Chiara Fossati  5 , Marcela González-Gross  6   7 , Celso Sanchez Ramirez  8 , Fernando Laiño  9 , Benedict Tan  10 , Julian David Pillay  11 , Fabio Pigozzi  5 , David Jimenez-Pavon  7   12 , Bernhard Novak  13 , David Url  13 , Mandy Zhang  10 , Mireille van Poppel  13 , Christoph Heidt  14 , Steffen Willwacher  15   16 , Lutz Vogt  1 , Evert Verhagen  17 , Karsten Hollander  2   18 , Luiz Hespanhol  17   19 , Gustavo Yuki  19
Affiliations

Restrictercise! Preferences Regarding Digital Home Training Programs during Confinements Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jan Wilke et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Confinement measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have caused substantial reductions in global physical activity (PA) levels. In view of the manifold health benefits of PA, the development of interventions counteracting this trend is paramount. Our survey with 15,261 participants (38 ± 15 years, 58.5% females) examined preferences towards digital home exercise programs in 14 countries affected by COVID-19. More than two-thirds of the sample (68.4%, n = 10,433) indicated being interested in home exercise, and most participants were willing to work out at least three times per week (89.3%, n = 9328). Binary logistic regression revealed that female sex, working part-time, younger age, and being registered in a gym were associated with willingness to exercise. Flexibility (71.1%, n = 7377), resistance (68.6%, n = 7116), and endurance training (62.4%, n = 6478) were the most preferred types of exercise. Our results may guide health providers in developing individually tailored PA interventions during the current and future pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; e-Health; physical activity; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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