Wellness instead of workout, cheating on repetitions, wearing street shoes to the training area - Fitness First and INNOFACT have found out the top 10 gym confessions in a survey of more than 1,000 sports-enthusiastic Germans.
The following figures refer to the answer "I've done it before (at least rarely)".
1st place: First sport, then feasting
57 percent of fitness-savvy people in Germany admit to choosing a significantly more sumptuous meal after a workout instead of a salad - even though they had actually planned it differently. Younger people in particular find it difficult to exercise self-control: around two-thirds of 16- to 29-year-olds (70%) throw their sensible diet plans overboard after a workout, while this only applies to one-third of 60- to 69-year-olds (38%).
Rank 2: Math skills fail
The "prescribed" number of repetitions of an exercise is not always actually done: half of sports enthusiasts (52%) admit to having cheated on the number of repetitions at some point - and 13% even cheat frequently.
3rd place: Observing other exercisers
Half of the respondents (50%) confirm that they have - at least inwardly - observed others in the Fitness studio judges and blasphemes about other athletes in the gym. 41 percent also admit to having checked out or even flirted with people in training. Surprisingly, 40- to 49-year-olds in particular seem to enjoy checking out their fellow exercisers (50 percent).
Rank 4: Forgetting to wipe the equipment
41 percent have already left their equipment in the gym without cleaning it. Men, by the way, are not much more likely to forgo disinfection (44%) than women (37%). And yet it's so easy!
5th place: Giving unsolicited advice
38 percent of respondents have already told their training neighbor that he is not performing an exercise correctly. Men in particular enjoy the role of amateur fitness trainer: 44 percent of them have already corrected others during exercise - but 36 percent of women also spread their training tips.
6th place: Wellness instead of workout
A third of those surveyed like to use their gym membership for a wellness and spa day instead of a sweaty workout (36%), and this is more likely to be the case for men (40%) than for women (31%).
Rank 7: Going to the gym in street shoes
Thirty-two percent of respondents confirm that they have already worked out in the gym wearing street shoes. Frequent exercisers are particularly fond of their street shoes: 38 percent of those who work out more than twice a week sneak into the fitness club with unsuitable footwear - 13 percent of them even do it frequently.
Rank 8: Inventing gym attendance
31 percent say they don't always go to the gym when they tell their partner or friends - 16- to 29-year-olds are the most likely to cheat (41%).
9th place: cell phone instead of workout
31 percent of respondents confess to sometimes spending more time on their smartphones than actually working out. Among 16- to 29-year-olds, the majority are even distracted by mobile devices while exercising (59%).
Rank 10: Slow motion on the machine
28 percent of gym-goers in Germany have taken extra time on a piece of equipment even though - or even because - they noticed someone else waiting for the fitness machine. 16- to 29-year-olds lead the way on this point (40 percent).
Around one in ten gym-goers in Germany deserves a distinction in terms of cleanliness and behavior: 13 percent of them have never done any of the things mentioned above - at least they claim ...
Methodology
As part of the study, INNOFACT AG surveyed a total of 1,013 sports-minded people aged 16 to 69 in Germany who currently visit gyms or have done so in the past. The survey took place from October 18 to 19, 2017, as part of an online survey. The subjects were population-representative for the target group according to age and gender.
Source: fitness MANAGEMENT
Published on: 25 May 2018