Customer service by physical education professionals in the fitness area during one of the peaks of the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract

In March 020, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on the existence of a COVID-19 pandemic, causing systemic changes, mainly respiratory. Among the prevention measures recommended by the WHO and responsible governments, physical distancing was adopted, including in Brazil. In this context, gyms and some types of body practices in the fitness area suffered limitations, which could have a negative impact on socioeconomic and health aspects.. In view of this situation, the present study aimed to analyze the service profile of Physical Education professionals in the fitness area during the month of February 2020 and during the covid-19 pandemic, more precisely in June 2020. For that, a questionnaire with sociodemographic and work-related questions was applied through the LimeSurvey platform, to professionals screened via Instagram and Facebook, who showed interest in participating in the study. In general, there was a reduction in the number of professionals who attended predominantly three people per training session and an increase in those who attended predominantly one training session, a reduction in the types of training prescription, in addition to a more relevant reduction in the practices commonly performed in closed environments and that depended on greater material resources compared to those that demanded less resources, such as calisthenics exercise. In addition, an increase in the use of digital technologies was observed. It is concluded that there were changes regarding the prescription and practice of physical exercises during the pandemic, making the practices more individualized, with an increase in their performance in the home environment and with the use of less material resources during the pandemic period.