LOS ANGELES — From hiking Runyon Canyon with friends, to surfing in Santa Monica and lifting weights at Muscle Beach — Californians love to stay active.

But mandatory stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it challenging to stay fit in 2020.


What You Need To Know

  • Fitness expert Jillian Michaels offers advice on how to stay healthy in quarantine.

  • Stay-at-home orders have forced many local gyms and boutique franchises to temporarily close their doors

  • Michaels, who contracted COVID-19 a few months back, warns against gyms who reopened with a mask policy

In this episode of Beyond The Sport, we caught up with celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels for insight on how the pandemic has affected both her and the fitness community — and how to get rid of the “quarantine 15.”

When stay-at-home orders forced many local gyms and boutique franchises to temporarily close their doors, Michaels says it caused a massive hit to the fitness industry. She believes the only businesses that will survive are ones who diversified their workout options.

“At-home fitness is doing well," she said. "It’s a good lesson in business to diversify... you can see your trainer at home on FaceTime. You can take your gym’s classes online if you still belong to that gym, you can get an app and use it on any tablet, watch, phone, television and stream it… there are still options.

Michaels is already well-known in the at-home workout space through her DVDs and fame from The Biggest Loser, but the pandemic has allowed her to invest even more time in it.

“We have essentially shifted all of our resources, be it manpower, money, time, over to that business because that’s what people need the most right now," she said. "It’s just about giving people the tools and the information so it works for them 24/7 at home.”

Michaels' resources include free workout tips andrecipes on her YouTube page, and her app is a one-stop-shop for her DVD workouts, audio workouts, meditations, customized meal plans, and more.

“It works no matter their fitness goal, their fitness level, or how overwhelmed they are," she said. "It’s accessible. It’s affordable. You try to be there as much as possible for as free as possible, but again, I have employees and I haven’t laid anyone off. I’m proud of that.”

Although a few gyms opened back up with a mask policy, Michaels, who contracted COVID-19 a few months back, warns against them.

“When the gym was open, everyone was pulling their mask to grab air," she said. "If you are a person that is concerned about getting it, it’s probably not the best environment.”

However, she believes a closed gym will not prevent people from losing their quarantine weight.

“You eat less food, you move more often, and when it comes to your food choices, use common sense. You can work out with someone else, I don’t care — you just got to work out.”