[electronic beeping, buzzing]
[indistinct chatter]
Four, three, two, one, and relax.
[narrator] It's March 2020,
and not long after COVID-19 prompts lockdowns around the world,
a British personal trainer enters the Guinness World Records.
High knees, fast feet.
Everyone working out together. We're doing this all over the world.
The UK, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, everywhere.
[narrator] Nearly a million people worldwide join Joe Wicks
as he exercises in his living room,
the most watched live stream of a fitness workout ever.
We're gonna warm the body up before we go into our exercise.
[narrator] What started as a way to keep kids active during lockdown
has become an essential part of the daily routine
for families everywhere.
[child giggles]
Throughout 2020,
the pandemic forces many of the world's 205,000 gyms to close,
but luckily for exercise junkies,
there's never been more ways to work out within the privacy of your own four walls.
As of 2021,
the global home fitness market is worth more than $21 billion,
enough to buy everyone in the US a pair of sneakers.
Nearly a third of Americans with smartphones
use at least one guided workout or fitness app,
and more than half of people in the US own their own exercise equipment.
The most common?
Weights.
But are people actually using all this gear?
A UK survey found 16% of the population
bought home gym equipment during the pandemic,
but almost half of it is already gathering dust.
And 43% of Americans report
they just aren't as motivated to work out at home.
A home fitness revolution,
born just 50 years ago, has exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry.
But is it offering us a real workout
or just selling us the idea that there's an easy way to get fit?
Can a home workout really replace a trip to the gym?
[cheerful '80s music plays]
[music distorts]
The very concept of exercising for our health
is relatively new, let alone the idea of doing it at home.
In the 1950s, any weight lifters or athletes in training
looking for a way to work out go to gymnasiums,
and they're almost entirely men.
For most women, their eight hours of daily household chores are,
according to experts, enough to keep them in shape.
[man] The homemaker walks miles every day,
from sink to icebox,
from cupboard to stove.
[narrator] But as more and more people work at desk jobs
and start using their cars instead of their legs
in the ever-growing suburbs,
America gets pudgier.
Heart disease is the nation's biggest killer,
but doctors have developed a new theory
that regular exercise helps keep the heart healthy.
The trouble is most people don't know the first thing about exercise.
[man] Look! Listen!
It's time for The Jack LaLanne Show.
Believe me, there's nothing else like it in this Earth
to feel good and to look good.
[narrator] In 1959,
California gym owner Jack LaLanne
brings America its first national TV workout show,
a mix of nutritional advice,
dog tricks, and rather gentle calisthenics.
One, two…
[applause]
What we must do is literally change the physical habits
of millions of Americans.
[narrator] But then, in 1961,
President John F. Kennedy launches a fitness program,
hoping to improve the nation's health.
[Kennedy] The adoption of these recommendations by our schools
will ensure the beginning of a sound basic program
of physical development, exercise, and achievement.
[narrator] Soon, a fitness craze is sweeping America.
People actually start running in the streets
with no one chasing them!
They call it "jogging."
More health clubs open up, and people actually use them.
Still, a huge segment of the population is left out of this fitness revolution,
those who don't have the time or money to get to a gym
or who simply don't want to exercise in public.
But the idea of the home workout is about to take off,
oddly enough, thanks to NASA.
[man] This tiny microphone is worn by the astronaut
for taking his blood pressure.
[narrator] In 1966, a doctor discovers
that the most effective way to maintain their astronauts' health
is something called aerobic exercise.
"Aerobic" means "with oxygen."
Aerobic exercise, like running or cycling,
involves repeatedly moving large muscles in your arms, legs, and hips.
The harder you work, the more oxygen your muscles need.
So you breathe faster, maximizing the oxygen in your blood,
and your heart beats more quickly to deliver it to your muscles.
Among other benefits,
regular aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure,
helps prevent heart disease,
and reduces the risk of dementia.
Inspired by the theory,
Californian dancer Jacki Sorensen creates a new kind of fitness class,
high-energy, dance-based movements set to music.
It soon gets a catchy nickname, aerobics.
Nice deep breath. Right, now, take it in…
[narrator] It's hugely popular, with women especially.
Still, to do it, you have to physically get yourself to a class…
until 1980,
when those gentle TV workouts of the '60s get a manic makeover
from an enthusiastic convert to aerobics.
This lady's lost 70 pounds!
[cheering and applause]
[narrator] Gym owner Richard Simmons
inspires millions of aspirational exercisers
to turn their homes into dance clubs.
Many discover that working out at home is more convenient
and less intimidating than exercising with strangers.
Stretch. Stretch. Exhale.
Little higher, dear. I know you have a skirt on.
[narrator] Still, it's on in the early mornings.
Miss the show, and you miss the workout.
If only someone could make one you could watch over and over
whenever you liked.
Perhaps an Oscar-winning actress?
In the early 1980s,
Jane Fonda has a successful aerobics studio
in Beverly Hills,
but she wants to spread the word further.
I've benefited so much from it that I wanted to pass it along.
[narrator] Fortunately, a new technology has recently arrived
that will allow her to do just that,
the videocassette recorder or VCR.
In 1982, only 2% of US homes have one,
so most producers are reluctant to put out original content for them.
Still, Fonda produces a videotape of her workout
so people can follow along at home.
Ready? And one, two…
Jane Fonda's Workout is filmed over three days
on a budget of just $50,000.
…eight, again. And one, two, stretch it out.
[narrator] The video hits stores in April 1982,
but at 59.95, the equivalent of $177 today,
it's not exactly an impulse buy.
It sells just 3,000 copies in its first month,
but then something remarkable happens.
-[woman] You did it? -Mm-hmm.
-[woman] Was it good? -It's very good.
-[woman] Is it hard? -She's very good at it.
[narrator] Word of mouth spreads.
The video hits number one on the charts, where it stays for 41 weeks.
At the time, the biggest-selling tape had sold 25,000.
And I remember thinking, "Oh God, wouldn't it be great
if I could sell 25,000?"
And three million tapes later, uh, you know, we created an industry.
[narrator] The Jane Fonda Workout remains a top-ten-selling videotape
for over four years.
Its popularity drives VCR sales.
The number of houses with one doubles year on year.
Fonda will end up releasing 22 videos,
selling 17 million cassettes,
enough to fill a freight train almost a mile long.
Following all 22 of her tapes in one session
would burn 10,500 calories,
more than three marathons' worth.
Fonda-mania even impacts fashion.
Thirty million leotards fly off the shelves in 1983 alone.
Laid out, they'd stretch from Malibu to Bondi Beach.
In the years that follow,
other famous faces race to grab their own slice of exercise-video pie,
with the first celebrity pregnancy workout.
[woman] Like you, I'm gonna have a baby,
and that's what this exercise program's all about,
to get you in harmony with your body.
[narrator] Or the secret to a supermodel physique.
This tape was to kind of bring the experience
of working out with a trainer into your home.
Brenda and I developed a routine with ways for you to shape your butt.
-You better believe it. -I'm ready. Are you ready to work out?
[narrator] But as more people turn their living rooms into workout spaces,
the industry soon expands beyond just videotapes.
-I think this looks like a lot of fun. -[chuckles] It is fun.
[narrator] Stationary bikes and treadmills are the biggest sellers,
but soon the market is saturated with new home fitness products,
each promising fast and easy ways to get in shape.
Do all ten minutes together
so you really see those results quickly.
[narrator] As the industry grows, insomniacs and couch potatoes
are barraged by infomercials
offering an array of must-have gadgets and fitness equipment.
Six to eight minutes a day is all it takes to get into the best shape of your life.
[narrator] The ads work,
especially when paired with a compelling celebrity endorsement.
[man] Great legs.
[woman] Thank you.
I used to do aerobics till I dropped. Then I found ThighMaster.
[narrator] In 1991,
TV star Suzanne Somers prompts six million people to master their thighs.
Supermodel Christie Brinkley and action star Chuck Norris
help inspire five million sales of Total Gym,
and home workouts become more than just a convenient way to stay fit.
They become part of our everyday lives.
In the 1960s, less than a quarter of Americans claim to exercise regularly.
By the late '80s,
it's more than two-thirds.
In the US, home workouts become one of the fastest-growing areas
in the sports and fitness sector.
In less than a decade,
the amount spent yearly on home equipment triples
to $1.73 billion,
enough to buy a ThighMaster for everyone in Mexico.
Even Barbie has an extension to her Dreamhouse
for a home gym.
Throughout the '90s,
the home workout industry gets fat on our desire to get in shape,
but do these gadgets promising quick results or your money back
actually work?
-People ask me, "Does it work?" -[woman] Yeah, does it?
I'll show you.
[woman] Whoo, baby!
[narrator] In the mid '90s,
the term "six-pack" becomes more than just a way to package beer.
Now, it's the goal of exercise junkies everywhere,
and an avalanche of products promising to help sculpt those dream abs
hits the home workout market.
With PerfectAbs and my three-level workout,
you too can have rock-hard abs.
[narrator] Only in the fine print do some manufacturers admit
that their miracle-working devices are only effective
alongside aerobic exercise and a low-fat diet.
In 1996,
an investigation reveals several such ab machines
are barely an improvement on a straightforward crunch,
and to be effective, you actually have to use them.
But experts note that most new fitness gadgets
are abandoned after just six weeks.
And it's hard to have an effective workout when you're injured,
always a risk when exercising without supervision.
[woman] I broke my ankle running.
It was pretty bad. I was in a cast for about eight weeks,
and then two months… two months of physical therapy after that.
And it still bothers me to this day.
[narrator] In the year 2000,
emergency rooms in America report more than 13,000 injuries
caused by home fitness equipment,
triple the number from 1980.
Almost 40% are from treadmills.
As the initial shine of the home fitness revolution
starts to fade,
more and more people join the gym.
Even if it's not as convenient,
people find they exercise harder alongside others,
and they may be onto something.
Scientists call it the Köhler effect.
In the 1920s,
psychologist Otto Köhler has people lift weights,
both individually and as a team.
And he discovers that when working with others,
weaker people continue working for longer.
Similar studies find that if people believe their exercise buddy is more fit,
they push themselves up to three times harder,
and cyclists who ride with a partner pedal almost twice as long.
Not only do gyms provide more motivation than working out at home,
they offer a wider variety of exercise options.
The problem is these workouts still feel like work.
Until the 2000s,
when new exergaming technology like Nintendo's Wii Fit
becomes an international craze.
[screams]
It's exhilarating. It gets your pulse rate up. Yeah.
[narrator] Now exercise can be so much fun
you won't even notice the workout.
Or so the hype suggests.
Except a study later finds
that the games burn one-third of the calories
compared to practicing the sports in real life.
In the new millennium,
it's another technological innovation that really revolutionizes home fitness,
YouTube.
Suddenly, anyone with a high-speed Internet connection
can get access to a vast library of workout videos…
[woman] Start out in push-up position.
[narrator] …covering everything from toning up to yoga
to bodybuilding.
By 2009,
a search for "fitness video"
produces 160,000 results, all for free.
Hi, everyone. Welcome to POP Pilates.
My name is Cassey, and today we're gonna work on your core.
[narrator] As home fitness becomes increasingly high-tech and high-end,
it becomes a more legitimate alternative to the gym.
[man] Counting steps is no longer enough.
New wearables can actually detect what kind of exercise you're doing
and offer advice.
[narrator] New smart fitness equipment can provide the motivation
and improved performance of joining a class,
all in the comfort of your living room.
The trend really takes off in 2014,
when the humble exercise bike gets a cyber reboot.
Peloton lets people join an interactive spin class,
competing for a spot on an international leaderboard.
That is, as long as they can afford almost $2,000 on the bike
plus the subscription fees.
And that's just the start. Not a fan of cycling?
How about a two-way fitness mirror
that offers classes and personal training?
This live, interactive technology, integrated into everything from running
to elliptical machines, creates a sense of accountability
missing from older home workouts.
You actually have to turn up to class.
But you still get to enjoy the privacy of your own home.
Or do you?
The problem with some smart fitness equipment
is it's not just your workout that's being tracked.
They can also record your identity and location
along with health data like your weight and heart rate.
And if there's a camera and microphone, they can store your biometrics,
like your voice and facial features.
And these Internet-enabled windows into your home
may not be as secure as you think.
A 2021 investigation reveals that anyone with physical access to a Peloton bike
could hack the microphone and camera
and effectively spy on users,
forcing the company to release a precautionary software update.
[alarm blares]
Of course, not everyone wants a full-size smart machine in their home.
Not a problem if you have a smartphone.
By 2019,
more than 63,000 health and fitness apps are being released each year.
I could pull up a class, even in the time span of ten minutes,
and get my workout on and get my blood pumping.
[narrator] And for home exercisers looking for a change of scenery,
virtual reality headsets offer the illusion of exotic locations,
which actually makes the workouts more effective.
Studies show that the more players immerse themselves,
the longer they're able to work out and the less discomfort they report.
Home workouts may be evolving
but drawn by the variety, motivation, and sense of community,
more people than ever are signing up for fitness clubs…
until early 2020,
when COVID-19 removes that option for many countries.
Gyms move quickly to offer their services online
as all workouts become home workouts.
And with not much else to do,
people around the world double down on exercise.
That year, 58 million people in India
download a health and fitness app for the first time.
In the UK,
Internet searches for free online exercise classes
shoot up by 8,000%.
And not only is there a surge
in people using the latest smart home fitness devices,
even sales of the lowly dumbbell soar by almost 2,000%.
Yet, despite spending all that cash, more than half of respondents to a poll
say their home fitness routine is less challenging, less consistent,
and simply worse than their old gym habit.
The pandemic proved the greatest disruption
in the history of the fitness industry.
By 2021, one in five gyms in America has closed for good.
In-person class attendance has plummeted.
For better or worse,
home workouts are the new normal.
For a fitness industry that barely existed 50 years ago,
today, there are more ways than ever to get in shape at home.
Even if some are more effective than others.
Trends may come and go,
but in the end, studies show that a successful home workout routine
doesn't depend on which apps or videos
or expensive gear you use.
It's all about having the right frame of mind
and the motivation to actually do it,
because any home workout is only as effective as you are.
[upbeat electronic music plays]