Home Exercise Equipment and Gyms Benefit Runners Year-Round

BY Rachel Cagle
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"Everyone knows exercise is good for you. But not everyone knows just how good. When you see the health benefits of physical activity in a list, they can seem almost too good to be true."

"Exercising consistently can help prevent heart disease and muscle weakness; control and treat chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, and hypertension; increase bone and muscle strength; improve brain function and sleep; and boost mood and enhance your overall quality of life, says Dori E. Rosenberg, Ph.D., an associate investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. And it does all that without causing the side effects of some of the prescription drugs used to treat those conditions."

"While the share of Americans who exercise regularly is climbing, many are still lagging behind."

"Only about half of adults get the 150 minutes per week of moderate-​intensity aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (such as jogging) recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports Consumer Reports. More than a quarter of Americans are almost completely inactive, reporting virtually no exercise at all in a year, according to the latest survey by the Physical Activity Council. That means millions of Americans are missing out on potential health benefits."

"Becoming, and remaining, consistently active can be a challenge, even when you understand all the benefits. So follow our advice to find easy ways to get moving­, whether that means taking walks around the neighborhood, hitting the gym, or investing in home fitness equipment. Before you know it, aerobic exercise will be a regular part of your routine."

"Exercising at home on a treadmill or an elliptical can make being active easier because it removes many of the barriers people can face. For example, you don’t have to worry about the weather, finding a safe place to walk, hitting traffic on the way to the gym, or jostling for equipment."

Despite their title, only 32.3% of Runners are also members of fitness clubs or gyms, according to AudienceSCAN. However, they 119% more likely than other adults to want to buy home exercise/​fitness equipment, so they are open to the idea of working out inside. This group of consumers is 45% more likely than other adults to find advertising on social networks useful to them, and they're active on sites such as Facebook (83.2%), YouTube (68.7%) and Instagram (53.1%). Within the last six months, 61.7% of this group has also used a search engine to research a product or service they were considering for purchase.

"Strength training (such as weightlifting) can benefit your bones and your muscles, but aerobic exercise in particular strengthens the heart, Joseph says. And you don’t need to run marathons to see the benefits. In fact, brisk walking can be just as good for you as more vigorous exercise."

'The most recent physical activity guidelines reviewed all the evidence on aerobic physical activity and health, and found that walking can offer many of the same benefits as other types of physical activity,' Rosenberg says. 'But you may need to increase the speed to make it a moderate-​intensity activity.' (Depending on your fitness level, a moderate-​intensity walk will usually be 3 to 4.5 mph, which results in 13- to 20-​minute miles.)"

"Running or jogging can burn calories more quickly than walking and can potentially offer more bone-​strengthening benefits. But not everyone can tolerate the pounding, especially on a hard surface."

"If you’re worried about stress on your joints, exercising on an elliptical might be a good way to get an aerobic workout without the impact, especially if you’re looking for a higher-​intensity activity."

"Percentage of adults who don't engage in any leisure-​time physical activity:

  • 25–34: 19%
  • 35–44: 22%
  • 45–54: 25%
  • 55–64: 28%
  • 65+: 32%"

"Percentage of adults who are aerobically active at least 5 hours per week, twice the minimum recommended:

  • 25–34: 27%
  • 35–44: 27%
  • 45–54: 30%
  • 55–64: 32%
  • 65+: 40%"

"You need only a minimum of 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Even walking can be vigorous if you pick up the pace, walk uphill, or increase the speed and/​or incline if you’re using a treadmill."

"Remember that some activity is better than no activity. Studies have shown that even 20 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise once or twice per week will provide at least some health benefits. And a small study found that even 10 minutes of easy exercise seems to have a positive effect on brain function immediately afterward."

Show Runners that they have no excuse to put exercise on the back burner during the cold months through digital advertisements. Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, 54.7% of these consumers took action after receiving email ads and 50.8% took action after either receiving a text ad or after seeing an ad on their mobile smartphone apps. They're also 19% more likely than other adults to click on text link ads on websites. TV is also a useful advertising tool since TV commercials motivated 65.7% of Runners to take action last year.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.


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