Running News Daily

Garmin's 2021 Connect Fitness Report shows gravel bikes, hiking and trail running gained popularity last years

Garmin has announced the latest figures from its Garmin Connect Fitness report, an annual crunching of data from Garmin fitness device users from across the globe.

According to the results, Garmin Connect data showed that the global pandemic had a big impact on the number of indoor activities recorded over the past year, with Garmin customers logging 108.30 per cent more Pilates activities year-over-year.

On top of this, breathwork saw a year-on-year rise of 82.76 per cent and yoga also saw an uptake increase of more than 45.55 per cent.

But that’s not to say that everyone locked themselves inside and worked out ways to stay fit and healthy behind closed doors, because activities performed outdoors in the elements increased by 9.52 per cent year-on-year, with gravel cycling seeing the most growth followed by winter sports.

In fact, Garmin noticed a clear trend in the popularity of a number of outdoor pursuits, with more users apparently enjoying hiking, trail running and walking, all of which saw double digit increases compared with the previous year.

Garmin’s data also delved into regional variations, with South America topping the charts with 125.41 per cent more breathwork activities, 87.51 per cent more gravel rides and 37.6 per cent more trail runs.

Similarly, North Americans were turned on to both yoga and gravel rides, with a 34.39 per cent and 28.54 per cent increase in those activities respectively.

"In the face of ongoing lockdowns and the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, Garmin users logged a record-breaking number of fitness activities in 2021," said Joe Schrick, Garmin vice president fitness segment. 

"We already knew that our customers are performance-driven and resilient, and the data proves that even a global pandemic won’t stand in the way of their relentless drive to 'beat yesterday'."

Some of the other more left-field activities that increased in popularity include boating, bouldering, hang gliding and rock climbing, proving that the active outdoor lifestyle is well and truly experiencing its day in the sunshine at the moment.