I’ve had a pretty good couple of weeks! We welcomed our second baby into the world, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with the family… and cooking… and eating. So now I’m fully focused on losing my sympathetic pregnancy weight.

I appreciate my 7-min pilgrimage to the gym is a luxury, but as with all hedonistic adaptation – could it be MORE convenient?

What of the world of fitness in Virtual or Mixed reality? The high-level use cases are as follows:

1. Immersive Fitness Classes

2. Gamified Workouts

3. Personalised training with real-time feedback

4. Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy

5. Social & Competitive Fitness

We’re struggling to get people back to the office, so what of the ancillary ecosystems - will we see a reduction of people in gyms and more people working out from home?

Here are the stats:

Home workouts surged during lockdowns and have remained elevated. U.S. participation rose from 24% in 2019 to 34% in 2020 (a 10% increase), peaking at 36% in 2021 before stabilizing at 33% in 2022. By 2023, 51% of U.S. exercisers preferred at-home routines, citing convenience (51%) and privacy (20%), with people working out at home several times a week 10% more frequently than at gyms.

Consumer surveys reinforce this shift: 58% of respondents in a 2023 study preferred home workouts over gyms (23%) or outdoors (19%), often due to pandemic safety concerns and the ease of fitting exercise into daily routines. Globally, the online fitness market grew from $6 billion in 2020 to a projected $59 billion by 2027 (33% CAGR), with 40% of pandemic-era users continuing virtual sessions weekly.

Equipment sales reflect this: U.S. wholesale home fitness equipment reached $6.5 billion in 2023 (up 8% year-over-year), and 29% of exercisers bought gear post-COVID to replace gym access. Search interest for “home workout” videos spiked in early 2020 and stayed higher than pre-2019 levels, though it has dipped from pandemic peaks.

So maybe it’s not just me. Convenience is still a primary driver for behaviour and for what it’s worth, my prediction is that fitness trends will continue to move online, then to VR.

As for my weight, well - that’s a different sort of reality, with very mixed results.

Be sure to check out the Intelligence report this week. Lots of action coming out of APAC!

Virtually Yours,

The Squid

With a focus on education, arts, and fan engagement, the team blends creativity and technology to deliver projects that inform, inspire, and connect.

Their work includes interactive learning platforms for schools and organisations like the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, motion-tracked fan activations for the NRL, and metaverse-style education programs that empower students to build and explore virtual environments.

Whether in classrooms, stadiums or remote communities, their experiences aim to expand access and engagement. Imagine Realities is driven by a mission to realise what’s possible with immersive tech - not just to impress, but to make a difference. Their work shows that innovation and impact can go hand in hand, using XR not just as a tool, but as a bridge between people, ideas, and new possibilities.