On Trend - Fitness Trends For 2019

The new year is nearly upon us. There are those who are scrambling to get those last few workouts in to combat the holiday parties and those who would rather wait until New Years for a clean slate. No Matter what your regimen is, breaking out of a rut can be a good way to stick to your fitness goals for 2019. Here are some of the trends forecast in fitness for the upcoming year.

Swim with the Stream

Subscription-based streaming fitness programs like Peloton, which leads you through a spin class workout live or through a taped program, have gained momentum. If pedaling in the same place but not going anywhere isn’t your jam, there are also programs for treadmill and elliptical workouts as well as HIIT, yoga and exercise crazes like Beachbody. My Fitness Pal (https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/top-9-fitness-trends-to-expect-in-2019/) predicts that many will float between several different subscriptions before settling on any specific company. Class Pass reports that treadmill classes will be particularly popular in 2019 following “an 82% increase in classes that incorporated treadmills in 2018 vs. 2017”. Women’s Health (https://www.womenfitness.net/top10/fitness-trends-2019/) echoes this trend, stating that gyms like Equinox offer treadmill training classes as do Barry’s Bootcamp, and a boutique center called Speedplay.

The Resistance

Bodyweight Training – no equipment training is on the rise according to Self (https://www.self.com/story/top-fitness-trends-for-2019), which means many more planks in your future. This can possibly include resistance bands or dumbbells, but most definitely means lunges, squats, burpees, pushups, and all the things you can do without setting foot in a gym. The attraction is that you can work your muscles yourself without a complicated Nautilus circuit, and even take your gun show on the road. TRX is also predicted to be a popular way to work your core while getting sweaty with a group of like minded healthy individuals.

Short and Sweet

Already popular in England, British GQ calls out the 45-minute work out as one of the best things of the year. Not to be outdone, America wants to improve on that by lowering the workout time to 30 minutes. According to Birdie (https://www.byrdie.com/class-pass-2019-fitness-trends/slide3), short classes like Obe which were created by the woman who trains the Victoria Secret models, have jumped in popularity. Flywheel, one of the premiere spin studios across the country, includes an intense 30-minute ride, for those who can’t take a full hour out of their day, but want the full effect in half the time. Culture Trip gives a nod to (https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/articles/30-minute-workouts-are-the-future-of-fitness/) one of the hottest short workouts in California, Rise Nation, a class that gives you a high-intensity 30-minute workout on a Versaclimber. The goal is to hit all muscle groups while creating the highest possible calorie burn. Not so easy in, and easy out in less time than it takes for Dominoes to deliver you a pizza.

Young at Heart

You may want to partner up with someone at your local senior center. According to Aquila (https://aquilaltd.com/top-5-fitness-trends-with-staying-power-for-2019-and-beyond/) seniors will be working out more this year and signing up for fitness programs in droves. So if you need an accountability buddy, you may want to ask your grandma if she’ll spot you. Next Avenue (https://www.nextavenue.org/boomers-fitness-trends/) reports that many gyms are offering tamer workouts for the baby boomer set who want to stay in shape, but aren’t looking to blast their quads and shred with deadlifts every time they raise their heartrate. More and more seniors are looking to maintain their health and gyms are responding, adding classes like Gentle Yoga, Tai Chi, and Mat Pilates. Others are going straight to the nautilus to improve muscle mass and prevent injuries and deterioration. Before you joke, remember that 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg pumps iron so fiercely that she has a workout book named after her (https://www.amazon.com/RBG-Workout-How-Stays-Strong/dp/1328919129).

Mind The App

The market is crowded with fitness apps, a popular choice if you are someone who desires boutique fitness due to a schedule that is constantly changing. If you have a layer of dust on your gym membership card, or you need to work out at home due to family or time constraints this may be a better option to get you going. Many companies have created a DIY workout app to help you stay fit in your own time. Some of the popular mobile training programs such as Aaptiv (https://aaptiv.com), Nike Training Club(https://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/nike-plus/training-app), and Fitbod (https://www.fitbod.me), only require you to have a smartphone in order to download thousands of different workouts with a trainer guiding you through each step. In addition to that, people pair their sweat session with their fitness tracker monitor like Fitbit (https://www.fitbit.com/home), which keeps them abreast of their gains and strides. Now there is FitOn, a new smartwatch/tracker with more scientific goals. While most of these devices claim to help you reach your optimum health and fitness by tracking your steps and sleep. The new gadget, which was developed by some former Garmin employees, measures blood oxygen saturation. It also features a step counter, heart rate monitor, calorie burned monitor, and sleep monitor, like many other the other fitness trackers now do. However, according to Livestrong (https://www.livestrong.com/article/491433-the-normal-oximeter-levels-while-exercising/) the blood oxygen saturation is a way to measure the efficiency of your workout. It also does double duty by checking your system for potential health problems like asthma, anemia, and heart problems according to Healthline (https://www.healthline.com/health/normal-blood-oxygen-level#adjusting-your-level).  The FitOn app (https://www.fitonapp.com) itself also has the added bonus of a social network, not unlike Peloton, where you can take the classes at the same time as others and check out a leaderboard so you know you aren’t suffering in silence or push yourself to work harder when faced with social media styled competition.

You Knead This

Myofascial release has become an important recovery tool which helps athletes recover from injuries, alleviate sore muscles, or get rid of lactic acid from an intense workout. Continuing the athlete trend of personal handheld massagers, such as the Theragun, now HyperVolt (https://hyperice.com/hypervolt) is available at a lower price point and claims to relieve your body of aches and pains, improve range of motion and circulation, help myofascial release, and speed up warm-up and recovery periods. According to Real Simple (https://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/workouts/fitness-trends?slide=32409#32409) John Martinez, a physical therapy doctor, likens healthy fascia to a pillowcase over the pillow (muscle). When it becomes inflamed, foam rolling, tennis balls, or the pound it out power of a hand massager, can help release the connective tissue. While rubbing your muscles with a spiky ball, may not seem like the height of fitness, the recovery gained by myofascial release can benefit your flexibility and strength, according to The Observer (https://observer.com/2017/02/restoration-fitness-trend-myofascial-foam-rollers-recovery-classes/). In fact, a study by the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that rolling or applying pressure to tight muscles and fascia can not only improve range of motion but also significantly cut post-workout fatigue, giving you a chance to come back harder than ever. The concept is so popular that gym facilities are incorporating the stretching and rolling into their class offerings. According to Pure Wow, the Well Being Spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale began offering a class led by Abdelhak Chegri, modeled after the treatments trainers give to professional athletes. The class features a vibrating foam roller for that extra kick. Likewise, Platefit, a facility which offers classes that take place on a power plate, offers restorative classes in which foam rolling is done on top of the vibrating plate. Other facilities, like national chain Club Pilates, offers a class solely focused on working out the kinks.

Ninja Warrior Gyms

If you want to train to be a contestant on American Ninja Warrior or just look like you do, you’re in luck. The newly minted sport, which features a tough army straining styled obstacle course, has inspired gyms across the country to replicate the sets and give their clients a full ninja competition (http://www.ninjawarrior.info/index.html) styled workout. A database of facilities (http://www.ninjawarriorgyms.com/gyms.html) can show you where to find the closest course where you can practice your salmon ladders, globe grasps, ring climbs, and cannonball alley. Anthony Storm, Executive Producer for the TV program tells AZ Central (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2018/09/01/american-ninja-warrior-leads-growth-ninja-training-gyms/1135260002/) that the course craze most likely stems from the variety of exercise and healthy competition which keeps people committed to working out and bettering their time.