The new year is kicking off with some positive new fitness trends which are set to have a positive effect on your overall health. The latest ACSM survey shows some interesting new trends we can all benefit from in midlife, like the increasing focus on the mind-body movement and lifestyle medicine. From the rise in online training, aquatic exercise and circuit training, the latest innovations are really great motivators to kickstart your year.
Wearable Technology
The no. 1 trend since 2016 is the trend using fitness trackers, smart watches, HR monitors, and GPS tracking devices, like Fitbit®, Samsung Gear Fit2®, Misfit®, Garmin®, and Apple®. Having a device that can track calories, sitting time, and much more really does motivate you and it is fun when set up groups with family and friends to encourage each other. It’s well worth investing in one and a lot of people are with wearable technology estimated to be a $95 billion industry!
High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest gives you good results fast. However its important to be careful as it has the potential to cause injury so always listen to your body. The Body Coach provides some great workouts on YouTube and you can do anywhere!
Join a Group
Being part of a group can be very motivational. Most gyms offer a variety of classes and over the last three years the popularity of these have increased. Even beyond the gyms, more groups are taking place in different places including parks!
Training With Free Weights
Free weights, barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, and medicine ball classes do not just incorporate barbells into another functional class or activity. Instructors start by teaching proper form for each exercise and then progressively increase the resistance once the correct form is accomplished. New exercises are added periodically, and those begin at the form or movement level.
Personal Training
One-on-one training is still a trend, and has been in the top ten of the survey since 2006. Nowadays it is also becoming more accessible through online access, health clubs, gyms, at home and even at work. Personal training includes setting goals and working one on one with personal trainers with workouts specific to their needs.
Body Weight Training
You do not need expensive equipment to get fit and the rise using body weight in workouts proves this. Whether it’s press ups or plants, online videos help us use our own body weight to train from our own home!
Health / Wellness Coaching
One-on-one approaches to fitness goes beyond personal trainers, with health and wellness coaches being employed to help individuals with support, goal setting, guidance and encouragement. They focus on the clients values, needs, vision, short and long term goal and use behaviour change intervention strategies.
Exercise For Weight Loss
Most diet programmes incorporate exercise into the daily routine, as diets go beyond just reducing food and calories. Exercise for weight loss has continually been a top 20 trend since the survey began.
Strength Training
As we get older osteoporosis is a problem so strength training is important to help improve balance, coordination, muscular strength, and endurance.
Be Active Outdoors
Being outdoors, walks, group rides, hiking groups, are great for the health. All that fresh air and being active is increasingly important to counterbalance the digital world we live in, So why not join this trend now ranked at 17 and plan a walk or attend a park run / bootcamp.
Yoga
Yoga and the yogi mindfulness are growing in popularity and no 7 in the top trends. There are many forms of yoga you can try including Power Yoga, Yogalates, yoga in hot environments, and many on-demand videos and apps so you can practice at home. It’s really great for flexibility, breathing and reducing stress.
Lifestyle Medicine
Great to see lifestyle medicine growing which is all about adopting healthy habits to stop you getting ill and improving your quality of life. Examples are stopping smoking, drinking less alcohol, improving diet and increasing physical activity
Circuit Training
Circuit training has been popular for nearly a decade and dates back to 1953. It provides a full body workout that is similar to HIIT but lower impact so if is gentler on older joints. Why not join a circuit training group? They usually do about 10 exercises that are completed in succession and in a predetermined sequence. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set time period before having a quick rest and moving on to the next exercise.
Workplace Wellbeing
More employers are providing health and wellness services for employees, such as subsidised gym memberships or healthier snacks and meals to improve the health, wellness and productivity. So, check out what is on offer at work, or why not encourage them to provide more health benefits!
Tracking Outcomes
Making an effort to track, and report on the outcomes of your workouts really helps to motivate and change bad lifestyle habits. So, in 2020 why not try to make yourself more accountable, take measurements, track progress and use technology aids like Fit Bits to collect data which is becoming more popular.
Fitness Programs For Older Adults
This trend continues to stress the fitness needs of the Baby Boom and older generations. Generally they have more spare money than younger people for fitness clubs and wellness coaches. People are living longer, working longer and remaining healthy and active much longer!
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2019/11000/WORLDWIDE_SURVEY_OF_FITNESS_TRENDS_FOR_2020.6.aspx
