Experts attribute the increased interest of Russians in sports to the past pandemic.
In Russian cities with one million inhabitants, the number of fitness clubs increased by a quarter between 2019 and 2023. The average duration of training sessions has also increased by 10%. This is reported by Gazeta.ru with reference to the study conducted by 2GIS and GOGYM.
Thus, in August 2023 in Russian megacities worked five thousand fitness clubs, which is 25% more than it was four years ago. The record-breaker in terms of growth among the five largest Russian cities was Kazan (79%).
Among other megacities experts noted Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg (37% and 28% percent respectively). In Moscow the growth amounted to 21%.
According to Alexei Yur, manager of the GOGYM fitness club chain, the coronavirus pandemic may have influenced the sharp growth in the number of fitness clubs. Being in lockdown, people joined sports and turned fitness into a useful habit.