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TRENDING: Fitness trends for 2018

2017 IS coming to an end and if you’re looking for something different to add to your fitness regime in 2018 and mix things up a bit, we've listed some of the biggest trends to look out for.

For the last 10 years the American College of Sports and Medicine have been conducting surveys of over 1000 health and fitness professionals worldwide to see what the biggest trends in the industry are and what gyms, bootcamps and personal trainers will be offering their customers.

So what will be the new trends that fitness professionals will be adding to their workout routines?

Fitness expert Donna Noble, The Noble Art of Yoga and Wellbeing says: “New trends and technology are always being developed in the fitness world, but also old trends evolve to stay fresh and exciting - adding a new wrinkle to your routine can be refreshing and give you a boost to your fitness classes”.

So why not try something new in 2018? Here are the worldwide fitness trends.

1. High-intensity interval training: People who are health conscious but struggle to find time to work out are more attracted to HIIT training. HIIT training involves short bursts of activity followed by a short period of rest or recovery. These exercise programs are usually performed in less than 30 minutes.

2. Group training: Group exercise instructors teach, lead, and motivate individuals through intentionally designed larger group exercise classes (more than five or it would be group personal training). Group programs are designed to be effective sessions for different fitness levels and are motivational with instructors having leadership techniques that help individuals in their classes achieve fitness goals.

There are many types of classes and equipment, from aerobics and bicycles to dance classes. Group exercise training programs have been around for a long time and have appeared as a potential worldwide trend since this survey was originally constructed.

However, it was only in 2017 that group exercise training made the top 20, appearing at number 6. None of the respondents could explain why group training has become popular, so it will be interesting to watch this trend in 2018 and beyond. Note that this is a general trend for larger exercise classes and not specialty classes such as Zumba and other dance classes.

3. Wearable technology: I hear a lot of people talking about how many steps or how many calories they’ve burned that day and it’s all though the wearable fitness technology they’re wearing. Fitness trackers, smart watches and GPS tracking devices are everywhere now and it’s still a new industry that will only get bigger.

4. Body weight training: 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 now made it popular in all kinds of 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.

5. Strength training: Strength training remains a central emphasis for many health clubs. Incorporating strength training is an essential part of a complete exercise program for all physical activity levels and genders. (The other essential components are aerobic exercise and flexibility.)

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