THIS is the trendiest exercise class in Wales: Gymcatch study

Booking management software Gymcatch has revealed how the trends in the fitness industry have changed since 2019 by analysing the class bookings made through their app and Google search trends.

Yoga is the most searched for exercise class across Wales, a study by Gymcatch, a fitness booking and management system, has revealed. The next classes the Welsh searched for most were Core Fitness, Gymnastics and Martial Arts respectively. 

However, trends in the Welsh cities differed to the norm. Cardiff searches for Core Workout exercise classes more than any other exercise, followed by Pilates workouts, then Gymnastics workouts. But in Swansea searches for Core Workouts came out top, followed by Dance classes, then Pilates workouts. Core Workouts where the most searched for exercise class in Newport, followed by Pilates workouts, then Yoga workouts

Newport were also the keenest to get fit. Search volumes per capita for exercise classes were more than triple the search volumes in Cardiff and Swansea

The top 10 most popular exercises across the UK in 2021

Taking into account bookings for virtual and in-studio exercise classes across the UK, Gymcatch can also reveal the UK’s most popular 2021 exercise classes. 

Fun dance and rhythm related exercise classes such as Zumba, Pole, Clubbercise, and Boogie Bounce accounted for a third of all exercise classes booked through the Gymcatch apps in 2021, dubbing the category the most popular form of exercise for the third year running.

The classes gained even more relative popularity over the pandemic as 20% of all booked classes in 2019 were dance and rhythm related, whereas during the pandemic the category saw a 10% increase and accounted for 30% of all classes in 2021.

Boxing has remained as the second most popular exercise for the past 3 years respectively. However, in 2021 Low Impact Training gained the third place from Aerobics as the category climbed up from the 18th place. 

Lockdown undoubtedly caused a rise in virtual workouts and socially distanced outdoor activities, and following the end of the national lockdown in April 2021, this trend continued, with people still hesitant to attend in-person classes. In May 25% of classes were still online only, reducing to 15% in June and July 2021.

The top 10 biggest gainers of 2021

From 2020 to 2021, only 3 out of the 27 exercise categories saw a decrease in bookings, showing that Brits are eager to get fit. The following exercise categories saw the biggest rise in demand:

Besides LIT, racket sports, gymnastics, and martial arts classes also saw a big increase in bookings in 2021, with classes being held virtually from January till April, and then in person after the easing of the lockdown measures.

Perhaps surprisingly, the gymnastics lovers were eager to carry on exercising during the pandemic with bookings for classes going up by 308% during the first half of 2021. Martial arts also bounced back strongly in 2021, with Karate, Jiu Jitsu, and Kung Fu bookings seeing a 203% relative increase on the Gymcatch platform.

You can access the full report from here