Pureprofile research reveals behaviours, habits and motivations behind fitness

A new study by global data and insights company Pureprofile, has revealed the behaviours, habits and motivations of Australians' approach to fitness. The study looks at the reasons why Australians - across all age groups - exercise and the price of keeping fit.

The study found on average, millennials spend $1,020 per year to keep fit with five per cent investing over $3600 a year on gyms, fitness classes, smartwatches and exercise apps.

Most people, including Baby Boomers, nominate overall wellness and health, and the positive impact on mental health as the most tangible and intangible reasons they exercise, respectively.

Dr Uwana Evers, Pureprofile data scientist, said the study showed how much Australians valued their health and wellbeing, and that technology was playing a pivotal role in helping them stay fit, advising "our study has shown that most Australians will find a way to keep healthy even if they can’t make it to the gym.

“The boom in free exercise videos on YouTube and free access to elite athlete trainers in training apps go a long way to help people start and maintain their fitness journey.

“Now everyone can have a virtual personal trainer thanks to free apps that can customise individual training programs,”

Dr Evers sees that Australians are paying attention to their health and diet, and are conscious of the broad benefits of being physically active.

She added “we can see from the results that exercise is important to most people, across all generations, including older Australians.  It’s clear that people are mindful about staying fit and healthy as it impacts their longevity and quality of life."

The study's findings and more are revealed in Pureprofile’s Australian Fitness Report 2019.

Just how fit do Australians think they are?

• Extremely fit – 4%
• Moderately fit – 38%
• Not fit but not unfit – 37%
• Very unfit – 5%

Overall, the most popular exercises were walking (68%), swimming (24%), running (24 %) and weight training (20%). Being time poor was a bigger problem for women than men when it came to exercising. Among millennials, more than 51% of females said they were affected by time constraints compared with more than 35% of males.

The top three barriers to exercise across all age groups were:

• Lack of time: 41%
• Lack of motivation: 40%
• Dislike working out with others present: 19%

Overall, outdoor gym classes and martial arts were amongst the least popular activities. The study found that people who train at home compared with those in favour of gyms, fitness classes, sport, and personal training was relatively equal.

More than 70% of people who work out at home claim that overall health and wellbeing was the leading motivating factor to exercise. 44% of people who exercise at home say that their inability to stay motivated is a problem compared with 36% of those who use gyms.

10% of those who train at home say they don’t like exercising but do it anyway.

In terms of frequency of exercise:

•  48% of people work out between 30 and 60 minutes per session
•  20% of men exercise for more than 60 minutes
•  11% of women train for more than 60 minutes

According to the study, 29% of people exercise less than five times a month, while 32% said they worked out 20 times or more.

The monthly spend on fitness-related products reduces with age. These products include active outerwear, compression garments, shoes, gym equipment, protein powder, supplements, accessories and fitness apps.

The monthly spend on fitness-related products are:

• 28%: $21-$50
• 26%: up to $20
• 14%: $51-$100
• 12%: $101+

The survey revealed that 56% of people use some form of wearable technology device (eg smartwatch, activity tracker, heart monitor).While wearable tech is common among Gen X and Y, baby boomers are also quite savvy. In the 55-64 age group, 46% of women and 39% of men use wearable tech.

Click here to read the full report.