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Fitness Trends for the New Year

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Fitness Trends for the New Year
Yoga, body postures specific for health and relaxation, is a fitness trend. Photo: http://adayawaysalonandspa.com/

By Robert Herron, MA, CSCS*D, ACSM-CEP |

A New Year provides a fresh opportunity for people to embark on their fitness journey.  While no perfect exercise exists, finding activities you enjoy doing consistently, which serve your goals and fit your lifestyle, are good places to start.  Recently, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) published the resultsof what fitness professionals project to be the top fitness trends for 2019.

Below we will discuss fitness trends that made the top 10 and can be adopted into your life.

10.  Exercise is Medicine – EIM is a global-health initiative aimed at encouraging health-care providers and exercise professionals to work together in order to help patients incorporate exercise in their everyday routine and improve health.  For those who haven’t been active in a while or are currently being treated for a current condition, receiving clearance from your physician is encouraged and working with a certified exercise professional to get started is a great place to start.

9.  Functional Fitness – This type of training is aimed at improving fitness by prioritizing exercises that improve one’s ability to maintain or improve their quality of life.  Emphasizing movements to improve balance, coordination, and functional strength can allow people to live a full and more active lifestyle.

8.  Personal Training – This is not a new idea, but for a lot of people working with a personal trainer can help jumpstart and keep one consistently engaged in an exercise program.  Personal training services have expanded to home visits and are part of some worksite wellness programs.

7.  Yoga – This activity has continued to be popular around the globe and has become more accessible through technology.  Yoga provides benefits related to improved flexibility, muscle strength, and stress management. 

6.  Certified Fitness Professionals – As with any service you pay for, it is important to make sure the person with which you are doing business is qualified for the job.  Fortunately, there is a database that one can search in order to find qualified-fitness professionals in your area.

5.  Body Weight Training – This is all about using your body weight as the resistance while performing exercises with little, to no equipment.  Utilizing these methods, one can remove common barriers like cost, travel time, and difficultly in accessing large pieces of equipment.

4.  Fitness for Older Adults – The US population, on average, is aging.  However, regular exercise training assists in healthy aging, allowing for longer independent living and mitigates the age-related risks of chronic disease incidence and progression. 

3.  High Intensity Interval Training – HIIT, as it is commonly referred, is a method of exercise training that alternates high physical efforts with lower-effort recovery time periods.  HIIT can provide the benefits of high-intensity training while potentially lowering training time, improving enjoyment, and maximizing healthy adaptations. 

2.  Group Training – Group-exercise class participation is at an all-time high.  For good reason, group classes provide a supportive-community environment coupled with experienced trainers and a wide-variety of activity options. 

1. Wearable Technology – Technology can be used to help people in their exercise journey.  Phones, watches, and step counters can serve as reminders and track exercise progress over time.  Additionally, some technology can monitor exercise intensity or serve as an electronic-coaching resource. 

Robert Herron is a doctoral teaching assistant at the United States Sports Academy. Herron is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with distinction from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA-CSCS*D) and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM-CEP). 

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