1. Wearable Technology
Topping the list is wearable technology like fitness trackers, pedometers and heart rate monitors. Sales are expected to hit over $4 billion during 2017 and it’s no slowing.
The question is if they’re really that functional? Are they actually useful in reaching your health goals? If you’re looking to lose weight, perhaps not. A randomized trial showed people wearing fitness devices actually lost less weight than another group who followed the same food and fitness plan without a fitness tracker. Maybe because people overeat after knowing how much they’ve exercised or vice versa?
While I wouldn’t recommend wearing wireless devices beyond a short workout due to the exposure to electromagnetic radiation, using your phone to track your workouts or how much you’re eating can help your habits. (And change those unhealthy ones.) You can mine through days, weeks or even months of info to notice patterns in your habits.
But: long-term use can increase the risk of things like oxidative stress, headaches and a decrease in cognition, plus disrupted sleep patterns and a decrease in quality sleep. Put them into airplane mode when it’s time to rest.
2. Using your own Bodyweight
Got a body, got a tool to get fit! There’s no secret here, people have been using their body weight to get fitter since the beginning of time. It’s inexpensive, efficient and appealing for these reasons.
Using body weight as your resistance helps increase muscle mass, and even more when combined with aerobic activity. Use it to ease into strength training at the gym, or progress into some crazy variations of exercises, like 32 different push ups!
3. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
With today’s society typically being time poor, it’s no wonder HIIT is popular. So much so, It’s one of the major exercise trends of 2017.
Engage in short bursts of exercises at maximum to sub-maximum heart rate instead of long moderate exercise. You’ll burn more calories in 20-30 minutes as opposed to 60min+. The benefits of HIIT are long-listed, but perhaps the most interesting is its effect on endurance. One study shows that after just two months of HIIT, participants could bike twice as long as they could before the study — and maintain the same pace.
4. Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals
Working with a personal trainer or fitness professional is a great way to get a personalised plan for success. The added guidance and accountability can assist in reaching your fitness goals by changing individual’s attitudes toward fitness and by upping their physical activity.
If you’re stumped to find a personal trainer, take into consideration the following 10 criteria they next time you’re selecting a personal trainer:
Credentials: are they accredited and certified in their particular areas of expertise?
Experience: Practice makes near perfect, so if they’ve been around a while they’ve perfected their skills to help you in the best possible way
Personality: Are you motivated by the drill sergeant or the cheerleader?
Philosophy: This is critical! How and why does your trainer develop their programs as they do?
Specialties: Jack of trades, yet master of none?
Cost:
Availability: Consistency is key so acquire about their timetable.
Location:
Progress: How does your trainer track your progress?
Reputation:
5. Strength Training
Strength training is beginning to become more and more popular and typically amongst women who otherwise would generally shy away from the weights room. Strength training is critical to keeping our bodies healthy, especially as we age. It helps preserve muscle mass and increase your metabolism to burn more calories even when you aren’t working out.
6. Group Training
Need something to spice up your training? Workout in a group! It’s fast becoming a dominating trend in 2017.
Group training makes exercise more fun and trying a new exercise more fun. Bringing along a friend or making new ones in class whilst, having an experienced instructor to keep you motivated pushes you to that next level. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, and in fact, it’s good for you because you work harder!
In a test, solo riders were on the bike for 10.6 minutes, but with a partner stayed on for 19.8 minutes. And the ones who were told their performance relied on their partner? They stayed on for double the amount of time or 21.9 minutes. So grab a friend and get to class.
7. Exercise as Medicine
We’ve heard the phrase food is medicine, but what about exercise? Well, it might be time to add exercise as medicine!
The benefits of exercise and well beyond how you look. Boost happiness, reduce your risk of heart disease, sleep better, and generally function better as a human being. Stop ‘misplacing things’ with clearer focus; exercise is the answer.
8. Yoga
Yoga certainly isn’t new, but it’s just as popular as ever. It helps to decrease anxiety and stress, improves sleep quality, allows blood to flow through the body better, helps digestion and so much more.
In fact, practicing yoga actually, changes your brain. It decreases that fight or flight mechanism and the “chill-out” neurotransmitter in your brain, which is in low supply for people who suffer from depression and anxiety. It also helps counteract chronic pain.
Unroll that mat!
9. Personal Training
This trend is different than number four. This exercise trend references the amount of students studied a health related degree. But you don’t have to get a degree or become a ‘personal trainer’ to increase your health literacy. It’s vital knowledge to preventing and managing health problems. Continuing to learn more about health which includes exercise is key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
10. Exercise and Weight Loss
Food first, yes, but remember exercise is second. Nutrition is the most important compartment to any weight loss program. Exercise plays a close second key role. What’s critical is finding your passion for movement. Those who think of exercise as pleasant studies show have an increased aerobic capacity and improved physical health than those who do not. Likewise, incorporating laughter into older adults activity programs increased mental health, aerobic endurance and confidence in their ability to exercise. Laughter then it seems is the best medicine! Finding your passion for exercise is a trend that will never go out of style.
