The New Year has brought new hopes, dreams, and aspirations for everybody. But if you are like most people, you probably gained a lot of weight in the Holiday season. Fortunately for you, 2018 brings many new exercise trends that are designed to spice up your gym life. So, forget about pumping iron or running on the treadmill with a blank look in your eyes. Here are 5 fitness trends that will help you change your fitness routine, from being a box that you have to check off into something that you can actually look forward to.
1. Group Training
Some people like to work out alone, but most of us can benefit from a team-like atmosphere that gives us the motivation we need to make our workouts less boring. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines Group Training as a class that involves at least 5 students and is led by a certified fitness instructor. A definition that includes a wide variety of aerobic activities such as spinning, practicing martial arts, and even fun dance classes!
A recent study confirmed that people who work out in groups experience a significant decrease on their stress levels, as well as levels of physical and emotional satisfaction that are higher than those found on people who work out by themselves. Which is why studios that incorporate group dynamics are becoming more popular by the day.
2. Bodyweight Training
Calisthenics has long been considered the exclusive domain of a few fitness gurus. But recent research done by the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that this will change in 2018. Bodyweight training offers multiple benefits, such as allowing to work multiple muscles at once and freeing people to work out wherever they want, that people of every age and skill level can benefit from. Additionally bodyweight training promotes lean muscle mass, better sleep, lower stress levels, more energy, healthier levels of blood pressure and cholesterol, increased metabolic rate.
Bodyweight training allows people to use their own body as a fitness tool, providing an almost limitless freedom when it comes to deciding when and where to exercise. With literally hundreds of exercises, variations, and progressions available, going from the traditional push-up to the almost impossible human flag, there’s really little opportunity for anybody to feel bored.
3. Wearable Technology
Our obsession with instant access to data doesn’t stop when we get off the couch. Which is why 2018 brings new exciting fitness technologies that allow us to monitor every aspect of our training. Heart rate monitors, smart watches, GPS devices, and state of the art smart eyeglasses, are just some of the devices that will make it easier for users to enhance and personalize their training.
Likewise, smartphones have also kept pace with the new advancements. Thanks to new improved health and fitness apps, users can monitor their vital signs at all times while also allowing them to engage with a vibrant online fitness community anytime, anywhere.
4. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Considered the staple exercise in any successful athlete’s training regime, HIIT exercises have reached the mainstream and promise to make you sweat and save you time in 2018. Unlike weight or aerobic training, HIIT sessions only require short periods of high-intensity exercises (typically 20-90 seconds) which are followed by a slow recovery period.
This method not only saves time but it’s also a more effective way to lose weight than your traditional gym workout. However, as its name suggests, HIIT exercises can be gruesome, so they do require longer periods of rest between training days – which is actually a plus if you think about it. So they shouldn’t be practiced every day and without professional supervision, as it’s easy for beginners to overtrain and injure themselves. However, HIIT workout remains the best, most effective and the quickest cardio workout for fat and weight loss. In http://www.LifeToLiveIt.com, you will find a complete guidance to weight loss that includes both cardio exercises and healthy eating tips.
5. Family Fitness Classes
The family that works out together, stays healthy together. New research suggests that 2018 will see an increase in classes specially tailored for families. The fast-paced lifestyle to which we are accustomed is not only bad for our health, but also forces us to compartmentalize every aspect of our lives and takes away time that we could be sharing with our loved ones. Family-themed Fitness Classes offer a perfect opportunity to get in shape while reconnecting with those you love the most.
Outdoor summer camp style classes are the best way to exercise with the family and get some fresh air while practicing fun activities like racing, cardio exercises, weighted hula hoop games, rock climbing, and other exercises that can be adapted to any level. As family-themed classes grow in popularity so will it increase the amount of quality time parents can spend with their children.