ABSTRACT
In Greece, as in many other countries, gyms were forced to temporarily close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to this new reality, some gyms and exercise trainers provided free online classes through social media platforms. The aim of the present research was to explore the views and perceptions of gym members on live-stream fitness classes. The research comprised 191 gym members who participated in online fitness classes that were broadcast in real-time through social media platforms during the Greek gyms' closure, and the instructor was not able to see the participants in question. As it was documented, live-stream fitness classes have a broad spectrum of attendants. Most of them were highly satisfied with the internet-based programmes, and although digital exercise classes lacked face-to-face communication, they did offer a feeling of interaction. On the other hand, there were various positive and negative comments on the feedback/instructions provided by the trainers, on the content/design of the exercise sessions and on the expertise/credentials of the fitness instructors. Since online exercise classes continue to be popular among exercisers, the opinions of gym members form a valuable source of knowledge that could be effectively used by fitness instructors in order to update their way of delivering internet-based classes. © 2022, Drustvo Pedagoga Tjelesne i Zdravstvene Kulture. All rights reserved.