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7 Fitness Trends That are Coming to a Gym Near You

It would be fair to say that the fitness industry is certainly one that attracts trends. Guys are constantly looking for the next big thing which is going to supercharge their progress – and 2018 is certainly no different.

Fitness Trends

The American College of Sports Medicine publishes an annual study, asking thousands of fitness pros their views on the big trends that are about to take over the following year. This study is arguably more reliable than others dotting around the industry, particularly as it differentiates between fads and trends (the former, which we all know, is completely short-term).

Following on from the above, we have taken a look at seven of the biggest trends defined by the survey. As you will soon see, some will have been completely expected, but there are certainly others in there which will raise a few eyebrows and perhaps suggest a different direction that the industry is starting to head in. Let’s take a look.

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Starting with an old classic: bodyweight training

It’s something that has literally been around since the beginning of time, but that certainly doesn’t mean that bodyweight is any less effective than some of the more “fashionable” methods that we might touch on today.

The beauty about bodyweight training is that you are tuning into multiple muscles at the same time. When this is added to the fact that you don’t need a gym (or the costly membership attached to such establishments), and have as many exercises as your body allows, it’s no surprise it’s a clear winner.

The rise of certification

For a lot of years, the fitness industry has been used to a bit of a rogue approach. There have been all sorts of professionals claiming that they know what’s best, but with little backing.

This is why we’re pleased to see that certification for the industry seems to be on the rise. There are now more available and not just that – they are all reputable.

It means that more and more trainers actually know what they are talking about, rather than blagging their way through sessions. The upshot of this should be that hopefully, we’ll see much better form through gyms around the country.

Personal trainers are becoming busy people

Following on from the above, it perhaps won’t be unexpected to see that more people are turning to personal trainers. Admittedly, this is something that always tends to happen at the turn of the year, but the trend over recent months suggests it is going to stay.

Whether it’s because of the quality of said individuals, or just because seeing one of them has become more “accepted”, we’re not going to speculate. What we will say is that a good personal trainer can tell you exactly how to carry out each and every exercise, using the correct form. In an age where it has become all too common to see guys collapsing by overloading their weights, this is music to our ears.

HIIT is still on fashion

It’s been brewing for a while, but it certainly looks as though high intensity interval training is here to stay.

It might only last for around thirty minutes (sometimes shorter) but the benefits of these short bursts of exercise can’t be underestimated. The fact that someone can sprint for just fifteen seconds, followed by a one minute walk, obviously means that it opens up to a huge audience.

To add to the above, studies have found that it is one of the best methods for burning fat. Some professionals don’t like to rely on it due to the higher chance of injury, but for most of us this is one of the best ways to deal with what 2018 throws at us.

Yoga continues to explode

It would be fair to say that when it came onto the scene, yoga was something of a niche exercise option. Now, it’s anything but, with so many different groups of people deciding to tap into it.

Once upon a time the guy lifting weights would have not seen the benefits. We’re now at a stage where weight lifters are starting to see that mobility is key to success – and yoga helps with this immensely.

When we also consider the rigors of day-to-day life, and the stresses that it can bring, it’s also no surprise to see yoga bang on trend. It has been found to benefit everything from your mental health, right the way to the quality of your sperm.

Using even more technology to your advantage

A lot of the trends that we have mulled over have an element of “ah” about them. In other words, most of us have seen them on the horizon for some time.

This might be the case with wearable technology. This is certainly something that is coming in waves and for every bad example (remember the disastrous Google Glass launch several years ago?) there are devices that are being worn on a day-to-day basis.

It could be argued that the fitness industry is the one that is benefiting the most from this. The likes of smartwatches, heart rate monitors and GPS trackers have been around for some years now – and their popularity is only expanding. It’s making exercise easier, and easily trackable, and this is something that is going to aid the average guy substantially.

Working out in a group

They say that there’s nothing better than working out a buddy – mainly due to the accountability-factor and making you push yourself that little bit further. This again means that we really shouldn’t be surprised to see this final trend, of training in a group environment, as so hot.

Sure, fitness classes have seemingly been around for decades, but they seem to be growing at an even faster rate. When we say “group”, we really mean training in a group of more than five people – meaning that it satisfies everything from boxing to cycling.

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About George Allen

George Allen – Author – An AFPA Certified holistic and preventative nutrition professional. George is a well known exercise physiology and sports nutrition expert, the co-founder of MensAnswer.com.
Syracuse University graduate: bachelor’s degree in nutrition/dietetics (B.S.) and a master’s degree in nutrition science with a concentration in counseling (M.A.)
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