In December 2016, The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), with more than 50,000 members and registered professionals from 90 countries around the globe announced it’s ‘Fitness Trends for 2017’.
We’re a couple of weeks through March, let’s have a look at the top 10 of those predictions to see if they are holding strong.
1. Wearable technology – Smart glasses are now trending, with a predicted $1.5 billion in sales (www.juniperresearch.com/home), and smart fabrics and interactive textiles reaching sales approaching $2.6 billion by 2017 (www.strategyr.com).
2. Body weight training – people have been using their own body weight for centuries as a form of resistance training, but new packaging, particularly by commercial clubs, has made it popular in gyms & health clubs around the world.
3. High-intensity interval training – clinical populations in medical fitness centres said they would like to try it with their patients but would substitute high-intensity with moderate-intensity interval training.
4. Educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals – Employment of fitness trainers and instructors is projected to grow 8% from 2014 to 2024 (U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics).
5. Strength training – Many contemporary and innovative health and fitness professionals incorporate some form of strength training into the comprehensive exercise routine for their clients and for their patients.
6. Group training – Group exercise instructors teach, lead, and motivate individuals through intentionally designed, larger group exercise classes (less than 5 would be group PT). Note that this is a general trend for larger exercise classes and not specialty classes such as Zumba® and other dance classes.
7. Exercise is Medicine – The Exercise is Medicine® movement’s goal is for the exercise professional to become a member of the continuum of care for patients. Doctors can consciously and with great confidence refer patients to exercise professionals in their communities.
8. Yoga – The sustained popularity of Yoga seems due to the fact that it is reinvented and refreshed every year, making it an attractive form of exercise.
9. Personal training – Although there have been some minor variations of personal training (e.g., small groups as opposed to one on one), personal trainers will continue to be an important part of the professional staff of health and fitness centres.
10. Exercise and weight loss – The combination of exercise and diet are essential for weight loss maintenance and can improve compliance to caloric restriction diets.
We’d love you feedback on this. What’s your opinion? Is something missing?