For the past 10 years the American Collage of Sports Medicine has conducted worldwide surveys among fitness professionals and personal trainers to determine the fitness trends for the coming year.
It gives us a little bit of an edge to know what is grabbing the attention of our participants. Keep in mind that a trend is something that is thought to be around for a while changing the way people live. A fad is a splash that comes and goes kind of like in clothing. From this survey the #1 trend is wearable technology. Do you have a Fitbit or an Apple watch that monitors your workout? If you like technology, you might find one motivating. The #2 spot is body weight training which brings exercise to a place of little or no equipment. A gym membership is not required. Push-ups, squats, lunges, and ab work are examples of body weight training. The #8 spot is Fitness Programs for Older Adults. We are all getting older. Fitness Programs for children didn't make the list this year, but we still have many obese children looking at diabetes. That didn't change. The survey results have changed a lot in the past 10 years. I remember when group classes made the top 20 including Pilates and Yoga. Yoga is still the #10 trend. The group classes for 2016 are HITT and circuit training classes instead of Zumba and Step. Regardless of being trendy or not, if you want to do something today good for yourself, exercise. It does a body good helping to regulate blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and elevate a sad mood and much more. As I read last week, "Decide you want to write a different story".
