One Italian in five he trains independently At home or in condominium spaces, thanks also to the spread of apps, online tutorials and digital tools. A trend that particularly involves 25-54 year olds, with a slight prevalence among women and those who live in the Centre-North.
According to i ISTAT datain 2024 over 21.5 million Italians aged 3 and over (37.5% of the population) played sports. This is a sharply growing share compared to the past: in 1995 it was less than 27%. The increase is mainly driven by continuous sports practice, which went from 18% to 29%, while occasional sports practice remains stable at 9%. The gender differences remain evident: men practice sports more than women (43% versus 32%) and prefer disciplines such as football and five-a-side football, while women are more oriented towards gymnastics, fitness and aerobic activities.
But perhaps the most interesting change concerns the meaning attributed to physical activity, increasingly seen as a flexible tool for improve the quality of life.
And precisely from this perspective of holistic well-being, if we are becoming less sedentary it is also due to the increase in physical activity outside traditional structures. Although the majority of athletes still train in indoor (59.5%) or outdoor (37%) systemsthe percentage of people who do is constantly growing physical activity at home or in condominium spaces: in ten years it has risen from 13.5% to more than 20%.
It is above all women who choose home training (23% compared to 18% of men) and the 35-44 age group, where it reaches 25%. Even among older people, however, the percentages remain above 15%, a sign that this is not just a youth trend.
These numbers reveal a clear trend: home fitness was not just an obligatory choice during the lockdown periodsbut a trend that is increasingly consolidating as a new way of physical activity. In fact, those who started training in the living room during the pandemic often never stopped. Indeed, among those aged 35 to 54, physical activity at home has grown by 10 percentage points in ten years.
The territory also matters: the choice of home fitness goes from 22% in the North West to 15% in the South.
The boom in home training is also linked to another critical fact: an Italian out of four say they have stopped practicing sports. The reasons are not only loss of interest, but also high costs, lack of time and poor availability of facilities.
In this context, digital is playing a key role. Fitness appsvideo on YouTubehome training programs allow you to break down many barriers to entry, both economic and logistical. To these are added smartwatches And fitness trackersincreasingly popular, which help monitor heart rate, calories, steps and progress over time, making physical activity more measurable and motivating even when carried out independently. In particular, among young people between 18 and 27 years old, almost one in four trains with the support of digital technologies, often at home or close to home. It’s the signal of one new movement culture: more autonomous, more digital and centered on individual well-being.
Furthermore, training at home is perceived as more comfortable, economical and adaptable to one’s own rhythms compared to the traditional gym and favors the creation of sports routines that are easier to integrate into daily lifebetween work and family, without having to pay attention to fixed hours or travel.
Training at home for millions of Italians is therefore becoming a real habit, and no longer an occasional fallback. The challenge now remains to involve those who are still sedentary, taking advantage of these new methods to make physical activity increasingly accessible.
