If you’re doing “body weight” exercises such as push ups, lunges, and squats, then you are already part of a growing trend. Results recently released in the article, “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2015: What’s Driving the Market”, might surprise you. Here are The American College of Sports Medicine predictions (and I can’t help myself…I add my two cents in italics after their comments).
1. Body Weight Training:
- Uses minimal equipment
- Allows us to get back to basics
- More affordable
- Body weight training also happens to be one of the most effective type of fitness for us if we are consistent about it. If you incorporate push ups, lunges, and squats into your daily exercise routine, I promise you will see results. I love barre classes for body weight training. For ultimate body weight fitness, watch American Ninja Warrior…you’ll be amazed.
2. HIIT (High Intensive Interval Training)
- Short bursts followed by short periods of rest
- Allows for shorter exercise time (usually accomplished in 30 min. or less)
- Brings the heart rate up continuously
- Remember this one from last year…It topped the 2013 Trend in Fitness list. I wrote this year about Tabata workouts, many of which incorporate HIIT…
3. Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals
- People are seeking out help with fitness
- Many are certified through the American Colleg of Sports Medicine
- I can’t say I totally understand why they are including this as they mention it in #5… Maybe I’m missing something.
4. Strength Training
- Strength training is a key to overall fitness and is more important as we get older.
- When we combine strength with cardio or switch off days of cardio with days of strength, we are creating a complete fitness package for ourselves. If you are not already including strength in your fitness routine, start in 2015! Although not my personal style of fitness, Crossfit is the ultimate in strength training workout. I’m amazed at the strength of Crossfit competitors!
5. Personal Training
- Kinesiology is becoming a popular major for college students, and personal trainers are not hard to find.
- Motivation, if you need it, can be the distinguishing factor between fitting in a workout and not.
- One of my best friends is a personal trainer and she has an amazing toolbox of exercises that I never would do on my own. I’m lucky and don’t have to pay her – me and our other friend, Susan, try to sneak into her garage gym for a quick and dirty workout with Karrie after our long runs. I’m always sore the day after!
6. Exercise and Weight Loss
- In addition to nutrition, exercise as a tool for weight loss continues to be important
- Caloric restriction coupled with exercise is one way to lose weight.
- I call it the Rule of 70. 70% of weight loss is due to what we eat, 30 % is due to exercise and working out.
7. Yoga
- Power yoga, Yogalates, Bikram, Ashtanga are just a few of the various kinds of yoga popular for fitness.
- A great way to combine strength with stretching
- I don’t do yoga (but have tried), although I think of barre classes as in the same camp. I love barre for its emphaisis on small, micro movements and body weight style fitness. It also includes stretch in every class. Try Pure Barre!
8. Fitness for Older Adults
- Baby boomers might have more discretionary money to spend on exercise
- Many health and fitness professionals are focusing energy on the older client, creating age-appropriate fitness programs.
- As I approach 50 (I’ll be 48 in Febraury), I am increasingly aware of the aches and pains that are more prevalant with regular fitness. I no longer run back-to-back days, etc., so I see how my approach to exercise is evolving as I get older. I’m not one of those people that is hating the aging process…I think I continue to get smarter in terms of fitness.
9. Functional Fitness
- Using strength training as a means of improve balance and ease of daily living.
- Looking at fitness as a way to improve the way we live.
- This trend is actually closely related to #8. Fitness professionals are becoming more realistic about their approach to aging clients and are therefore including “functional fitness” in their programs.
Karrie’s on the right!
10. Group Personal Training
- Makes sense economically
- Provides built-in motivation from other clients
- I believe this is win-win for clients and for personal trainers. My friend, Karrie, who is a personal trainer, tells me half of her clients are in group training sessions. She can see more clients this way and get the word out while she caters to those who could not otherwise afford personal training. She says her group training sessions are inevitably motivating and are a lot of fun as well!
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