Finding ways to meet new people can be challenging as an adult, especially if you work from home like 22 million of us in the United States. Aside from going into an office and finding a hobby, meeting a lifelong partner or new best friend is hard to do from the comfort of your couch. Increasingly, millennials and Gen Zers have been turning to workout classes and run clubs as their modern-day meetups. Now, a new survey has confirmed how younger adults are using these new social spaces.
On Wednesday, Strava released its 2024 Year In Sport: Trend Report which identified this year's trends and fitness habits. To craft the report, the company combined billions of unique activity data from 135 million people across over 190 countries and surveyed more than 5,000 active people both on and off the Strava platform.
The report revealed that not only are people replacing their weekly nightclub visits with run clubs, but group fitness activities, in general, have become a hub for people to make connections. In fact, according to the data, 58 percent of survey respondents said they made new friends via fitness groups.
Related: Eating Chocolate Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk, But There's a Catch
When it comes to dating, people are opting out of the apps and skipping the bars to meet new people through fitness. Strava says that nearly 1 in 5 Gen Zers went on a date with someone they met through exercise and were four times more likely to be encouraged to meet people through working out rather than at the bar.
They also found that the uber-intense workouts that lasted hours on end have become a thing of the past. Now, people are trading in their longer walks for micro-movements (under 20 minutes) to create a more stable routine. People also recognized the benefits of stopping to socialize. Instead of running or working out alone with headphones in and the outside world tuned out, large group activities increased by 13 percent and had three times more downtime than solo activities to make room for coffee breaks and catch-up chats.
For anyone worried about losing your gains if you don't train at 100 percent all the time, Strava revealed that the focus on balance didn’t hold back progress. In fact, 72 percent of run goals and 77 percent of 2024 ride goals were met.
“This year showed that people are taking control of their active lives and moving in a way that works for them. The rise of a more relaxed workout routine that’s rooted in social connection proves that working out is no longer about burning out”, said Zipporah Allen, Chief Business Officer at Strava.
