Fitness trainers say they love the Olympics, because watching athletes at the pinnacle of fitness encourages everyone else to get off the couch.
“A big part of it is that everyone has a piece of them that they want to win," said Travis Desisso, a fitness trainer at an Equinox Fitness Club in North Dallas. "Competition always brings that out in anybody. So when you cheer a team on like USA, it just brings out that inner competition inside of you that makes you look at yourself and (say), 'What else can I do to better myself?'”
Trainers say there is definitely a “fitness effect” associated with the Olympics that often leads people to try new sports or fitness regimes.
“For my friends at school, seeing these athletes do these amazing things, it made them say, 'Hey, want to go to the gym?” said Amir Rowghani, who works out at Equinox. “It makes a big difference with people, I think."
"The extent to which they have to go through all of this training, build up all of this endurance -- it almost makes me feel lazy,” Cameron Alllison said. “So it's very motivational to see all of their hard work come into play.”
The Equinox location in North Dallas said more people than usual signed up for memberships during the last weekend of this year's Winter Games.
