GREEN BAY, Wis (NBC 26) -- The pandemic has affected all of us in more ways than one. For many Americans, it turns out that putting on some additional weight the past year was an all-too-common trend. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, 42 percent of adult respondents reported unintended weight gain due to COVID-19 and the average increase was 29 pounds.
It was just a year ago when Crunch Fitness in Appleton closed its doors for nearly three months during the heart of the pandemic, and the impact hit more than just their clients' bodies.
"A lot of people think it would just be physical, but it was a lot of mental as well," says Derek Dollevoet the General Manager of Crunch Fitness.
Dollevoet says pre-pandemic there were about 1,100 daily check-ins at his gym. But when they first reopened following the worst of the pandemic, Dollevoet says the customer count dropped to about 350 daily check-ins. He says many gym members in the time since then have come back trying to lose some of the weight they put on months away from the gym.
"They're saying I just need to get back because I finally was in a routine, and then I gained 10-20-30 pounds last year."
Today, the gym is slowly building back to normal attendance. Dolevoet says today they average about 800 clients showing up a day.
"You know, it's good to see people coming back. I think they are feeling more comfortable with vaccinations being out."
And at other fitness centers, trainers also noticed similar trends.
"I do feel like we're slowly seeing more and more new faces around here," says Taylor Weyer a trainer at Fitnessology in Green Bay.
Weyer says new and former clients are looking for a new routine to break from their at-home regimens and those clients are sharing their stories about the challenges of trying to work out from home.
"I have heard struggles of working from home and eating more snack foods. Just sitting around, eating more. I've definitely heard the struggles of getting outside to work out," adds Weyer.
