<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-08/Gen-Z-fitness-trends-Unveiling-new-exercise-paradigms-1vTuFLDs1oY/img/167768d97a994887a95ad8e3b07ced13/167768d97a994887a95ad8e3b07ced13.jpeg' alt='A home fitness equipment sales section at a shopping center in Beijing, July 9, 2024. /CFP
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China celebrates its National Fitness Day on August 8, commemorating the successful hosting of the Beijing Olympics and promoting a nationwide fitness ethos.
With societal progress and technological advancements, Generation Z, in particular, has begun to reshape their understanding and expectations of physical fitness.
One notable trend is the rise of home fitness. The lockdowns during the pandemic propelled the popularity of exercising at home, a trend that continues to thrive in the post-pandemic era. The market has responded with a plethora of smart fitness equipment, workout apps and virtual coaching, offering a rich array of options for users.
China’s e-commerce giant JD.com recently unveiled its sports consumption report for the first half of 2024, revealing a marked shift toward integrating fitness into daily routines. The demand for compact and convenient fitness equipment has surged, with items such as resistance bands, kettlebells, mini steppers and compact ellipticals becoming popular additions to homes.
The report underscores substantial growth in sales across various fitness equipment categories. Kettlebells, essential for muscle strength training, saw a staggering year-on-year sales increase of 380 percent. Jump rope machines experienced a 266-percent rise, while mini ellipticals, known for quick fat burning, posted a 46-percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Che Yiying, a sophomore at Shandong University, is a huge fan of the video game named Ring Fit Adventure for Nintendo’s handheld gaming system Switch, which comes with a controller with gesture-based technology known as a Ring-con.
“Fitness can be boring, but this game makes it fun and easier to stick with,” she said, adding that this product has even motivated her previously inactive parents to start exercising.
<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-08/Gen-Z-fitness-trends-Unveiling-new-exercise-paradigms-1vTuFLDs1oY/img/f2d0731c2d6e4489966dd89be1b5577b/f2d0731c2d6e4489966dd89be1b5577b.jpeg' alt='People playing frisbee on a green field, Nanchang, the capital city of east China's Jiangxi Province, May 25, 2024. /CFP'
Moreover, the role of social engagement in maintaining motivation has also gained prominence.
The diversification of fitness activities was one of the defining trends of China’s fitness industry for 2023, with people’s exercise routines increasingly shifting from indoor settings to outdoor environments, according to a data report on China’s fitness industry published at 2024 IWF Shanghai Fitness Expo in March this year.
CGTN interviewed several young people from different regions of China, and most of them affirmed the positive impact of social interaction on fitness.
Wan Linxin, 26-year-old Beijing resident, has been committed to home fitness for over two years. He believes that social interaction has become even more important in the context of home workouts.
“While working out at home is convenient, it can also be monotonous, hard to stick with, and lonely. The interactivity and fun that socializing brings can effectively solve these issues,” Wan said.
Wan uses Keep, one of China’s leading mobile exercise app, every day and makes sure to check in. “Checking in makes me feel like my efforts are being recorded, and I can see my persistence over time,” Wan said.
For Wang Qiuhe, who isn’t naturally inclined to exercise, fitness would be extremely tedious without an element of fun and social interaction.
“That’s why I prefer activities with a certain level of competitiveness and entertainment, like badminton,” Wang said.
Meanwhile, Wang Siqi from Chongqing Municipality follows Keep’s running medal events and participates in activities featuring collaborations with brands he likes. He believes that earning these special items is a meaningful achievement.
<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-08/Gen-Z-fitness-trends-Unveiling-new-exercise-paradigms-1vTuFLDs1oY/img/475e33c5ddaa412ebce8402815ac927d/475e33c5ddaa412ebce8402815ac927d.jpeg' alt='Children practicing rock climbing at an outdoor venue in Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui Province, August 6, 2024. /CFP'
But for Li Jiaying, 26, who works for a Singapore company, social media and fitness apps fall short of meeting her needs. Currently enrolled in sport climbing classes, she finds that the experience of in-person training far surpasses what can be achieved through home workouts and online apps.
“Exercise preferences and physical conditions vary greatly from person to person. Online courses don’t cater to everyone’s needs. I lean towards a more personalized approach,” Li explains.
She emphasizes the importance of having a coach who can engage with her face-to-face and reveals a preference for more extreme sports that offer an outlet for stress.
In fact, the JD.com sports consumption report also reveals a distinctive trend among China’s high-net-worth individuals, who are increasingly drawn to extreme sports. In the first half of 2024, sales figures reflect this burgeoning interest: surfing swimsuits soared by an extraordinary 473 percent, surfboard leashes by 175 percent, and surfboards by 40 percent.
Climbing gear saw similar growth, with anti-slip powder sales climbing by 151 percent, helmets by 42 percent and climbing shoes by 40 percent. Notably, the skateboarding market is overwhelmingly driven by consumers born in the 1990s and 2000s, who represent more than 60 percent of the total sales.
The fitness market is indeed gigantic and is expected to grow even further. Official data showed that there were some 117,000 fitness facilities of various kinds across China with 69.75 million paid members by December 2023.
With the country’s middle-income group still growing, it is only natural that more Chinese are embracing exercise and leisure as lifestyle choices to help them keep fit, have fun and expand social contact, according to Zhang Qing, a sports industry expert.
