Five Years Later—The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Performance and Cardiometabolic Health Using a Smart Home Gym: An Ecological Case Study

Thalia H. Nguyen (), Trent Yamamoto, Dylan Cho, Trevor L. Nguyen, Phillip Goldman and Brett A. Dolezal
Additional contact information
Thalia H. Nguyen: Airway and UC Fit Digital Health-Exercise Physiology Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
Trent Yamamoto: Airway and UC Fit Digital Health-Exercise Physiology Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
Dylan Cho: Airway and UC Fit Digital Health-Exercise Physiology Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
Trevor L. Nguyen: Airway and UC Fit Digital Health-Exercise Physiology Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
Phillip Goldman: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Brett A. Dolezal: Airway and UC Fit Digital Health-Exercise Physiology Laboratory, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to numerous threats to public health. Of these, physical inactivity became increasingly prevalent, mainly due to the widespread closure of indoor gyms. Home-based exercise alternatives were created as potential solutions, but little research is available validating their efficacy to improve long-term health and fitness. This case study investigated the longitudinal effects of ≥three weekly exercise sessions with a smart home-based fitness platform on anthropometric, fitness, and cardiometabolic measures. Three participants were annually assessed over a five-year period spanning before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Reductions in body fat percentage occurred simultaneously with increases in fat-free mass. Improvements in physical performance measures, including VO 2 max and both one-repetition maximum (1-RM) and 85% 1-RM for chest press and squat press, were identified. Cardiometabolic measures also demonstrated notable improvements, as borderline hypertension was reduced along with resting heart rate while resting metabolic rate (RMR) and heart rate variability (HRV) increased. Beyond these metrics, volitional exercise frequency grew without compromising exercise program adherence. Although physical activity on a global scale decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term cardiometabolic and fitness benefits observed with this home-based exercise platform highlight its potential to improve health and fitness.

Keywords: home-based exercise; smart home gyms; COVID-19; cardiometabolic; fitness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/762/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/762/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:5:p:762-:d:1654125

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().