The Biggest Fitness Trends of 2017

 

 

Summer is on its way, so this is the perfect chance to reboot your stale workouts with any of 2017’s top fitness trend, according to an annual report published by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The 11th annual report surveyed 1,801 fitness professionals, including personal trainers, wellness coaches, exercise physiologists, and college professors.

 

Wearable tech, body weight training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) are among the hottest trends this year thus far.

“We don’t consider items as trends for this list unless they’re sustained over many years,” says report author and ACSM president-elect Walter Thompson, PhD.

 

  1. Wearable technology. Wearable technology, which includes activity trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, GPS tracking devices, and smart eyeglasses (designed to show maps and track activity), was introduced just a few years ago. Examples include fitness and activity trackers like those from Misfit, Garmin, EFOSMH, Pebble Time, Juboury, Samsung, Basis, Jawbone, and Fitbit. The newly released Apple iWatch® (Cupertino, CA) is another example. Some business analysts have predicted that sales of the Apple iWatch® alone will exceed 485 million devices by the year 2018. Trending in this part of the industry now are smart glasses, with a predicted $1.5 billion in sales and smart fabrics and interactive textiles reaching sales approaching $2.6 billion in 2017. It is unpredictable how wearable technology will advance through the next decade.

 

  1. Body weight training. Body weight training appeared for the first time in the trends survey in 2013 (at no. 3) and remains in the no. 2 position for 2017. Body weight training did not appear as an option before 2013 because it only became popular (as a defined trend) in gyms around the world during the last few years. Body weight training has been used previously; in fact, people have been using their own body weight for centuries as a form of resistance training. But new packaging, particularly by commercial clubs, has made it popular in gyms and health clubs around the world. Typical body weight training programs use minimal equipment, which makes it a very inexpensive way to exercise effectively. Although most people think of body weight training as being limited to push-ups and pull-ups, it can be much more than that. Body weight training is a trend to watch for in the future.

 

  1. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

 

Most of us are short on time these days, so it’s no wonder that high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is one of the major exercise trends of the coming year. Instead of spending a long time exercising at a moderate pace, with HIIT, you’ll engage in short bursts of exercise at maximum or near-maximum heart rate. That means you’ll burn more calories in 20 to 30 minutes than you would in a longer session. The benefits of HIIT are extensive but one of the most interesting findings is how it helps build endurance, too.

 

  1. Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals

 

Working with an fitness professional, like a personal trainer, can be a great way to get tailored guidance and accountability to reach your fitness goals. In fact, working with a trainer on a one-to-one basis can actually change an individual’s attitude toward fitness, helping to increase their physical activity. Because there are so many personal trainers out there, it’s critical to find someone who is certified in their area of expertise and understands your goals and motivations.

 

  1. Strength Training

 

Strength training is seeing its time in the limelight. While people, particularly women, sometimes shy away from the weight room, strength training is critical to keeping our bodies healthy, especially as we age. It helps preserve muscle mass and increase your metabolism to burn more calories even when you aren’t working out. One study found that in 10 weeks, inactive adults could see an increase in lean weight of more than 3 pounds and a reduction in fat weight of nearly 4 pounds, while increasing metabolic resting rate by 7 percent.

 

  1. Group Training

 

Do you usually workout solo? 2017 could be the year to try group training.

Group training makes trying a new exercise, like spinning or boot camp, more fun. Having an experienced instructor can help keep you motivated and push you to go that extra bit. And bringing along a friend or making new ones in class has an effect, too. A little friendly competition can increase motivation to work harder.

 

  1. Exercise is Medicine

 

The benefits of exercise go so much farther than how you look physically. From boosting happiness levels to reducing your risk of heart disease, exercising can help. Tossing and turning at night? Find yourself forgetting where you’ve placed your keys? That’s right, exercise is the answer. In fact, doctors are going so far as to prescribe exercise to patients in an effort to get them moving.

 

  1. Yoga

 

Yoga certainly isn’t new, but it’s just as popular as ever. And it should be because the benefits of yoga are vast. It helps to decrease anxiety and stress, improves sleep quality, allows blood to flow through the body better, helps digestion and so much more. In fact, practicing yoga changes your brain. It increases the “chill-out” neurotransmitter in your brain, a chemical that’s in low supply for people who suffer from depression and anxiety. It also helps counteract chronic pain.

 

  1. Personal Training

 

This trend isn’t the same as number four, educated and experienced fitness professionals. Instead, this exercise trend references the amount of college students studying kinesiology, an indication that they’re planning on going into health fields. But you don’t have to be a college student to take on your own health “personal training.” Increasing health literacy is critical to preventing health problems and managing those that might arise. Being on this site is an awesome first step. Continuing to learn more about healthy food, treating ailments through natural remedies and improving your physical fitness through exercise is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

 

  1. Exercise and Weight Loss

 

While nutrition is more important to weight loss than exercise, fitness does play a key role in any weight loss program. What’s critical is finding workouts and healthy lifestyle activities that you like.

One study found that when participants thought of an exercise as pleasant, they had increased aerobic capacity and improved their physical health. And another discovered that incorporating laughter into physical activity programs for older adults improved their mental health, aerobic endurance and confidence in their ability to exercise.

 

So whether you enjoy yoga, Crossfit, Barre or just riding your bike, enjoy it! That’s an exercise trend that will never go out of style.

 

This article is for informational purpose only. Like any program consultant your physician before starting any new fitness routine