Why Gen Z Lifts More Than They Run - and What That Means for Sports

Even since the 60s and 70s, we haven’t had such a huge expansion of bodybuilders and fitness influencers.  Gen Z is going big but not for the right reason.

It’s great when you see influencers promoting a healthy lifestyle, training, and eating healthy. But, something else is happening that can influence a younger population in making some bad choices.

Flexing Over Being Healthy

The bad reason why so many young people are training is to flex on social media and boost their following. This isn’t the case for most people, but there’s an expansion of social media influencers and young adults who are using steroids to get a perfect body.

This flex culture comes with consequences when supplements are misused. So, the importance of safety in the gym is more important than ever.

Reasons why Gen Z loves the gym:

• Aesthetics over endurance.
• Social media gym culture.
• Body positivity and strength culture.
• Mental health boost.
• Growing community.

Data about Gym Members

Data backs up the claim that Gen Z is the biggest gym generation so far. One of the claims is that from 2008 to 2018 the number of memberships grew up to 40%.

It became accessible for everyone, and it’s never been easier to find a training routine. Everything can be done through your phone instead of having a professional guide you through each exercise.

The USA has the most gym goers, around 64 million. The next on the list is Germany, with only 11 million gym members.

How does This Affect Sports?

Some of the sports that weren’t in the spotlight for a while are coming back. Powerlifting was huge, but not comparable to traditional sports like football and basketball.

With so many influencers promoting weight lifting, the constant grind to lift more comes with some records being broken. All of the 1000+ pounds squats were made in the last 7 years. Some of them are from older generations, but imagine what the youngsters will do in the upcoming years.