The new data comes from FitXR, who develop a virtual reality-based fitness platform. These data reveal that social fitness is rising in importance, to the degree that around one third of those polled indicated they would willingly give up their morning coffee or their nightly cocktail before they would drop their social fitness regime.
A further 28 percent of people indicated they would rather do without avocado toast than their social fitness. Add to this, 22 percent would even ditch their Netflix subscription if it meant no longer being able to go through their exercise regime.
The survey was run by Propeller Insights and it polled some 1,100 consumers in the U.S. The survey was divided equally between genders and the ages of respondents ranged from 18 to 74 years old.
The survey also found that 56 percent of respondents indicated that social aspects of fitness are important to their progress, that is interacting with other people, whether physically or virtually.
With the social aspect, this appears to help people, to feel more accountable (mentioned by 36 percent of respondents), and around one third (32 percent) indicated that group workouts allow them to meet more people.
The survey also revealed that 43 percent of respondents said that social fitness motivates them to do their best in other areas of life.
In terms of how fitness services are utilized, there is a growing trend towards virtual reality. The poll discovered that some 20 percent of respondents explained they already own a virtual reality headset, with 14 percent of that group said they are using virtual reality hardware for working out.
The use of virtual reality was also found to be giving people access to new activities and to try things that they might not attempt in real life, such as adventure activities including rock climbing and mountain biking.
FitXR produce a product called BoxVR which pairs up social fitness and virtual reality. Commenting on the survey, in communication sent to Digital Journal, Sam Cole, co-founder of FitXR said: “The survey results support the main reasons that we started FitXR – that people are interested in working out in ways that don’t involve just going to the gym, and they welcome the use of technology like VR to do it. VR isn’t just for gamers. Anyone can use BoxVR to enjoy the convenience, social aspect and high-end fitness experiences they crave to supplement or replace the traditional, out-of-home workout experience.”
