I’ve put together a few great articles on fitness trends this week because, well, although like I said last week when talking about health trends this for this year, I’m not a real trend follower, it is a timely subject. At NRG 4 Life, we do keep up on the latest and greatest as far as equipment and styles of classes is concerned, staying current adapting where necessary. Enjoy the info below, may you be inspired to tweak your workouts this year and know that you’ll be “in the know”!
While smartphone exercise apps that prompt your activities will be out — or so says the Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2018.
Such training, known as HIIT, typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery: intermittently sprinting for 30 seconds, for example, during a moderate-pace jog. We did some HIITS at NRG 4 Life 6 a.m. Bootcamp just now as we often do – can be done less intense even for “active agers” too though!
HIIT Training
Time to hit the gym for HIIT! HIIT is a worthy way to meet your physical activity guidelines, however, there’s a word of caution with that: Anytime you do high-intensity anything, there may be an increased risk of injury.
Over the past 12 years, the editors of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal have circulated an electronic survey to thousands of professionals, including personal trainers and physical therapists, to predict the biggest health and fitness trends for the coming year.
This year’s survey, which included responses from 4,133 fitness professionals around the globe, placed “group training” — classes involving more than five participants — in the No. 2 slot. Meanwhile, “wearable technology” — such as activity trackers and smartwatches — came in third, and “body weight training” — the use of your own body weight as a form of resistance while doing modified pushups and other exercises — came in fourth. “Strength training,” or the use of barbells and weights, placed fifth.
Group Exercise
One of the biggest surprises on the 2018 list was the re-emergence of group exercise programs as “back in the day when that was all we did.” Personal training, which was introduced around 2000, is still very popular at gyms especially less expensive small group training sessions.
Older Adults
Another trend for 2018 will still be older adults joining fitness clubs. They get it…they get that working out is about longevity and being fit for everyday living not just to fit into a certain clothes size. They want to remain healthy in their brain (and physical exercise done consistently, does this) as well as be able to run around after their grandchildren not to mention, maintain a higher quality of life so they can clear their own driveways and carry their own groceries, play in their gardens etc…
Yoga
Finally, yoga remains in the top 10, where it has been since the survey started, as more and more people reap the benefits. Plus, whether it’s the popularity of athleisure wear and celebs attending various types of yoga classes, “Yoga keeps reinventing itself.” It’s more accessible and falls in line with our desire to be more well in mind, body and spirit, not just physically fit.
These days, your workout routine might not involve a big box gym. And if you’re up on the latest fitness trends, it might look a little something like this: box jumps and battle ropes before work, mindfulness meditation during your lunch break, and a Bootcamp after work or dinner. When it comes to wellness, it’s more than just a routine; it’s a lifestyle. And the numbers say it all: According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness industry is a $3.7 trillion business. It grew 10.6 percent from 2013 to 2015, and is expected to grow 17 percent in the next five years.
Circuit & Interval Training
It’s not just the feel-good effects of exercise that keep us coming back for more. It’s also the appeal of training and living like an athlete. Pete McCall, MS, CSCS, former exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise and director of fitness programming for Vicore Fitness, says, “More people want the athlete experience and that’s why we’ll continue to see athletic-based training workouts.”
That’s right, people aren’t just interested in working out like LeBron James. They want to eat and recover like him, too. So if you, too, want to train like athlete, check out our list of the biggest fitness trends for 2018.
We’re all living with an incredible amount of stress in our lives and boxing or throwing forceful air punches using the torque of our whole bodies is an amazing release!
Exercise can sometimes get a bit repetitive and boring when only focusing on physiological outcomes, but sports conditioning classes provide us with performance-based outcomes that make the exercises more engaging and fun. Our circuit classes are extremely popular…you are continually being challenged as you never do the same workout twice and this is awesome for overall fitness benefits as you get great results. There’s no plateauing with this approach.
FunctionaL TRAINING
While functional training is nothing new, McCall says there’s going to be greater focus on enhancing strength in all planes of motion. Think about the daily activities, like pushing, pulling, lifting, bending and twisting, you do. “If you’re going to live a healthy, active and injury-free life, functional training needs to be the baseline for everything else you do,” Webster says.
Barbells have become more popular for functional training, but McCall thinks, “We’ll see a re-birth in using medicine balls, resistance bands and plyometric training.” On the other hand, Richey says since more educational courses and trainers are trending toward weightlifting modalities themselves, their clients and classes will soon follow. “There will likely be an uptick in weightlifting, Olympic lifting and kettlebell classes that focus on building strength.” According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association 2017 report, the use of barbells rose 4.3 percent last year and kettebells 3.2 percent.
REVVED-UP RECOVERY
Over the past decade, workouts like HIIT and CrossFit have encouraged us to dial up the intensity, but 2018 is going to be all about slowing down. “Instead of killing ourselves with extremely intense workouts seven days a week, we’ll see more intelligent programming that includes recovery,” McCall says. “High-intensity workouts are just one part of the equation for better performance. The other half is recovery,” he explains. But recovery goes beyond taking a 30-second water break in between circuits or supersets. Webster notes, “Recovery is multifaceted and includes taking short breaks from exercise, active rest, myofascial release (foam rolling), sleep…they’re all a huge part of overall health.”
MINDFUL MOVEMENT
Meditation hit it big in 2017. And it incorporated HIIT, too. Nike Master Trainer Holly Rilinger’s Lifted class, for instance, infuses a meditation pre- and post-workout. But McCall predicts meditation will be baked into other types of workouts in the new year. “We’re going to see mindful movement as part of strength training to improve cognitive function and mental acuity,” he says. Think: Workout apps and audio workouts with five-minute meditations. Webster says since we’re constantly glued to our screens, meditation can give us the headspace we need to truly focus on the push-up at hand. “If it’s five minutes before or after a class of guided meditation, it might be the only personal quiet time a person gets all day,” Webster says.
BREATH WORK
OK, now that we’ve learned how to be more present, what’s the next step in fueling our workouts from within? That’s where breathing classes come in. “Meditation classes may turn the corner this year and start offering breathing techniques,” Richey says. The Valsalva maneuver is a method used in many weightlifting workouts. It involves taking a deep breath before lifting and holding that breath while you lift. At the release, you exhale. And if you’re new to meditating altogether, perhaps simply sitting and breathing could be the first step.
“We are distracted by our screens and devices 24/7,” Webster says. “Emphasis on being more present and mindful in our lives — for however long we can manage — is an important way to regroup with yourself.”