Fitness Trends
From augmented-reality training to wearable technology, 2014 is the the year that science helped to put you at the top of your game.
Bodyweight Training
Thank Cross-Fit and obstacle racing cultures for ushering in a return to minimalist, go-anywhere, drop-and-do-it-for-free full-body strengthening. This year, for the first time ever, bodyweight training appeared on the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual survey of 3,815 health and fitness professionals predicting fitness trends for the upcoming year.
Personal TENS Machines
A staple in physical therapy offices for decades, TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) machines send small electrical pulses to the body through electrodes placed on the skin, and are thought to block pain signals from hitting the brain. They’re also thought to improve circulation and lower inflammation in the area being treated.
Workout Happy Hours
From spin gyms to running stores, fitness businesses are amping up their social game, offering online networking, post-workout raffles, food, and drinks. Indoor spinning company Cyc, for example, lets customers challenge one another to virtual races, send each other messages, see who’s signed up for class, and which bike they’re riding.
Rope Training
Rope training requires grip strength, eye-hand coordination and muscular endurance and/or power. The dynamic resistance of rope training is like doing speed, agility and quickness drills for your hands. The cool thing is the way the resistance is applied—the faster you move the rope, the greater the resistance, which can be humbling.
Hexoskin
Hexoskin is the first wearable movement, respiration, and heart activity tracker. Hexoskin tracks your health and gives you insights about your activities, your sleep, your life’s choices. The Hexoskin has the advantage of being a simple shirt and not something clunky like an armband. Put on the shirt, plug your device, and your body metrics are displayed on your phone and uploaded in your account. Sleep, be active, live. When you wear the shirt, your health stats are digitized and uploaded in real-time. You can get detailed reports on your training and general health in a web browser on any device. www.hexoskin.com
FlyKly & Superpedestrian
Cycling fashion, technology, and infrastructure converged in 2014, making this the year of the bike. Two companies, FlyKly and Superpedestrian plan to sell battery powered, smartphone-enabled rear bike wheels in 2014. The design makes it simple to turn most bikes into electric rigs, so commuting will be easier than ever.
Outdoor training camps
Not for everyone I’ll give you that. Gyms are warmer. But for some people outdoor training is the one. Some even go so far as to sign themselves up for military-esque boot camps and grueling running events with equally grueling names such as Tough Mudder and Spartan. Whilst a great alternative to being stuck inside the gym and stomping the treadmill, not all outdoor fitness has to be grueling. For every battlefield style workout there is a more gentle, yet still effective, outdoor activity. It’s just a matter of choosing your battles, so to speak. With more and more events springing up, it’s clear the trend for outdoor fitness is on the up.
Circuit Training
Circuit Training appeared in 2013 (no. 18) for the first time in the top 20 trends and now occupies the no. 15 position. Circuit Training is a group of 6 to 10 exercises that are completed one after another and in a predetermined sequence. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set period before having a quick rest and moving on to the next exercise. Some respondents pointed out that Circuit Training is similar to high-intensity interval training but at a naturally lower intensity.
Outcome Measurements
A trend that addresses accountability, these are efforts to define and track outcomes to prove a selected program actually works. Measurements are necessary to determine the benefits of health and fitness programs in disease management and to document success in changing negative lifestyle habits. The proliferation of technology has aided in data collection to support these efforts. Accountability to owners and operators of health and fitness facilities provide important metrics to determine if new programs are cost-effective and if old programs are actually working.
Wellness Coaching
Wellness Coaching often uses a one-on-one approach, similar to a personal trainer, with the coach providing support, guidance, and encouragement. The wellness coach focuses on the client’s values, needs, vision, and goals. According to this trends survey (and results from past surveys), it appears as though Wellness Coaching and its principled techniques of behavior change are being adopted by personal trainers and other health and fitness professionals.
Hydrospinning
For many years, spinning has been the typical exercise of choice. Also swimming has been a great choice as a low impact all around exercise. What happens when you combine swimming and spinning ; you get underwater spinning, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Among the reasons it gives for riding your bike while partially submerged in a pool are “it burns up to 800 calories”.
Piloxing
Piloxing combines elements of pilates, boxing, and dance. You’ll jab, crunch, leg-lift, shimmy, dip, dodge, and possibly even plié, all while wearing weighted gloves. You’ll become long, lean, and powerful. It’s intense. This trend began when long-time Pilates devotee and instructor Viveca Jensen began to box to increase strength.
