In this study, we characterized for the first time in detail the changes in training behavior of CFA and WLA during the first lockdown from mid-March until June 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. We found three significant changes comparing the training behavior before and during the first lockdown. First, both CFA and WLA bought new equipment for a home gym, second, the usage of digital sports offers increased, and a large group of CFA documented a weight loss of 5 kg and more. The first lockdown beginning in mid-March 2020 in Germany was the first time that training centers were closed nationwide and, due to the short history of CrossFit®, it was also the first time that athletes could not train as usual in their training centers. So, our study describes for the first time the impact of the first lockdown on CFA and WLA and analyses the differences of the training concepts in this context.
We focused in this study on CFA and WLA as both need a lot of equipment. Garage gyms are very rare in Germany, and people most often perform these sports in sports facilities, where the necessary equipment is available [11]. So, both groups were hard hit by the restrictions to combat the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, we were interested in how the two groups handled the situation, equally or differently, and what factors might impact possible differences. While weightlifting is usually performed alone or with a partner, CrossFit® is a group sport characterized by strong social interaction and a sense of community [11, 16, 17].
Thus, by comparing both disciplines, our results show that CFA and WLA differ in many ways. As weightlifting has less variation than CrossFit®, those athletes perform additional sports more often, like Endurance and ballgames. CFA are more common women, have longer working hours per week, and train more often per week. CFA's high training volume per week is consistent with previous studies describing over 6 training hours per week on average for German and American athletes [18]. Our survey indicates CFA train more days per week in comparison with WLA, probably caused by shorter workouts or training time per session. In addition to the closing of all non-essential businesses during the first lockdown, many employees used the opportunity to work from home to reduce further personal contacts [19]. We assume that shorter workouts like ultra-short CrossFit® workouts shown by Meier et al. are better integrable into breaks of home office work [20].
Overall, 49% of CFA and 39% of WLA purchase new equipment during lockdown to train at home, in line with our expectations, as both sports require a large amount of equipment. Due to the large and unexpectedly high demand for sports equipment, it led to up to 90% sold out online and in stores [21]. Due to this fact, our results may show a bias, as not every athlete had the opportunity to purchase new equipment.
An unmistakable trend during the first lockdown was the increasing availability of digital sports content and so, across all age groups, were we able to observe a significant increase in the usage of digital sports offers. To continue offering a variety of exercise and training activities, several digital training tools have been developed to date. Generally, 3 types of offers can be distinguished: live streaming of digital training courses, digital distribution of written training units, and the production of videos that can be viewed by members independent of time [22].
Scientifically, the status of such services is currently unclear. In a systematic meta-analysis, Romeo et al. concluded that digital interventions by smartphone apps have only a nonsignificant, positive influence on measured physical activity [23]. The same is reported in a meta-analysis focused on older persons [24], and in comparison, of several concepts for young adults [25]. This lack of positive physical impact may be because such approaches do not work or are not mature enough. Nevertheless, in 2020 a lot of new digital concepts have come up [26]. Many CrossFit® training facilities were forced to move their service online and as a result, they launched digital training provided to their members. There were also occasional attempts to achieve interactions and connections in the respective groups via virtual platforms and social media [27].
As this is a new and fast-evolving phenomenon, there is as yet no scientific evidence of the value of such services and the benefits that athletes receive. Nevertheless, we observed strong participation of CFA in digital sport offerings, especially among older athletes (> 55 years) who may not have previously experienced these. In contrast, WLA in this age group did not participate in any online sports offers. To explain this result, we suggest that, based on the assumption weightlifting workouts are easier to program than CrossFit® workouts [28], WLA already know how to train themselves without participating in digital sports.
The larger acceptance of digital sport offers reflects a higher sense of community among CFA and strong social interaction, in accordance with previous studies [16, 29]. A related conclusion was reached in the study by Redwood-Brown et al. so far. They reported that athletes who were already practicing CrossFit® before had not altered their training behavior during the lockdown, a fact they attributed to the increased adherence associated with CrossFit® [30]. This is consistent with further findings suggesting that one of the most important interventions for a CrossFit® training facility should be, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to establish a Facebook and Instagram community for its members. These online communities have been shown to provide great value to the athletes both before and during the lockdown, such as social and motivational benefits [27, 31].
Another factor that may explain the increased use of digital services of CFA is that a variety of gymnastics and cardiovascular exercises can be adapted to train at home [32], while WLA relies heavily on free weights or weight machines, which were only partially available at home. Thus, we hypothesize that, in addition to the sense of community, the modality of online training and the practicability at home influence on participation, although based on our data, where we did not determine the specific requirements of the digital training athletes participate in, we are unable to answer this question.
The most surprising result of our study was that one group of CFA (n = 142) achieved a weight loss of 5 kg or more. Interestingly, the majority of this group were women and trained CrossFit® to improve their health. For this reason, we assume, that the group of CF5 may improve their body composition in contrast to the general population, which is characterized by increased physical inactivity during the lockdown, resulting in weight gain and other negative health effects [33, 34]. To consider probable explanations for the weight loss results of group CF5, other influencing factors may need to be included. So, a study regarding behavior change during COVID-19 pandemics found that the group that was more active during the lockdown also changed their dietary habits toward a healthier profile [35]. As our data also show that group CF5 spent more time at home due to increased short-time work or compulsory leave as a result of the lockdown, we suspect that more time and focus on a healthier lifestyle as well as increased CF training time may have resulted in this outcome. Nevertheless, due to the restrictions of the first lockdown were are unable to verify the weight changes of CFA by measurements, which affects the conclusion of our study. However, despite this, both types of athletes usually track their body mass very detailed, so our data provide a helpful assessment of how the restrictions of the first lockdown impacted a number of the CFAs we studied.
The trend towards training at home experienced a massive increase during the lockdown, and we were also able to observe this during this survey. For this reason, the study is not without limitations, despite the novel findings. What we had not considered while designing the study was the extraordinary situation that many sports equipment retailers had sold out their everyday items for months. Thus, has undoubtedly had an impact on the number of purchases.
Overall, our results indicate potential benefits in CrossFit® and weightlifting sport during the fist lockdown, so we suggested that practicing CrossFit® may improve body composition despite the restriction to combat the spread of SARS-CoV-2. In general, we emphasize here the positive health aspects of practicing CrossFit® or weightlifting as opposed to overall observations regarding the physical activity of adults during lockdown [36]. In addition, increased digital sports offerings allow training facilities to reach more potential customers [37], and athletes have the opportunity to perform CrossFit® regardless of where they are located. In Particular, in CrossFit® sport, our results show a great acceptance of digital sport offers, across all ages groups. However, evidence of the positive physical effects and performance enhancement of digital sports is still missing. In future studies, digital sport offers also need to be examined regarding the risk of injury. We are unable to comment based on our data. However, considering the benefits and limitations of digital sport offers, it’s important to be noted that especially in CrossFit®, training at home without an on-site trainer may lead to increased injury rates [38].