Here’s a list of the top fitness trends of 2021 compiled by the American College of Sports Medicine based on a survey of fitness and health professionals. More than 75 thousand specialists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Serbia, Great Britain, USA and many other countries took part in the survey.
Online training
In 2020, significant changes began in the fitness industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the temporary closure of fitness clubs around the world, forcing coaches to change their training format and master online classes. The problems of attracting clients to the online format have led to the formation of new, sometimes rather unusual formats. Online training was developed for home use and mainly uses digital technology for group, one-to-one or online programs. These classes are available 24/7 and can be either live broadcasts or pre-recorded classes. There was also the emergence of businesses like healthcare cleaning services in Toronto, ON
Wearable technology
Until 2021, “Wearable Technology” was # 1 since 2016 when it first appeared in the survey, except for 2018, when it dropped to # 3. This trend has become widespread in the field of fitness, the range of gadgets is represented by a variety of devices: fitness trackers, smart watches, heart rate sensors, GPS navigators and smart glasses.
Smart devices help you track your heart rate, calories burned, seated time, and more. The fitness industry has repeatedly raised the issue of the accuracy of such gadgets, but now the manufacturers can say that all the issues were successfully solved. According to experts, the volume of the wearable technology industry today is about $ 100 billion. The latest developments in “wearable technology” include oxygenation devices, blood pressure measurements and electrocardiograms.
Mobile training apps
The popularity of mobile training applications continues to grow, and now the most famous ones can play sound and visual notifications about the beginning and the end of a workout, and contain instructions for performing exercises. Following the example of how apps for entertainment, office tasks, and other areas appeared, fitness apps have entered our lives.
Many of these apps can track the progress of an athlete over some period of time, provide information about their physical indicators in real time, and work for both joggers and cyclists. These apps are available for iOS and Android devices.
Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercise has only become popular in gyms around the world over the past decade. In such training, the body acts as the main tool: the combination of training with your own body weight, variable load and neuromotor movements using multiple planes of motion allows you to achieve significant results. Conventional bodyweight training programs require a minimum of equipment, making this effective form of fitness highly economical.
Outdoor training
Perhaps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor exercise has become more popular and varied in 2021. Group walks, bike rides or organized walking tours have been popular for a long time, but now, almost every athlete has discovered outdoor training. Outdoor activities can take as little time as a whole day or a week.
High-intensity interval training
HIIT workouts are short-term, high-intensity workouts alternating with short rest periods. Typically, one program is usually less than 30 minutes long (although some programs can be significantly longer).
There are several commercial projects of specialized HIIT studios in the world, and in all of them, training is carried out at a higher intensity than we are used to. Despite warnings from some fitness professionals about the potentially higher risk of injury during HIIT workouts, the format remains popular in fitness clubs around the world.
Virtual group training
Virtual workouts first appeared in the top 20 as a separate form of fitness – separate from online training. In the study, this term refers to a combination of group sessions and virtual classrooms that are broadcast on a large screens in gyms, in accordance with the schedule and the needs of the trainees. Typically, virtual classrooms allow more workouts for fewer people and schedule to accommodate athletes of all ages and skill levels. Virtual workouts tend to have fewer people and clients can practice at their own pace, ideal for beginners. As with online training, the emergence of virtual classrooms in the top 10 is most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free weight training
Classes with barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, medballs and other free weights are not just functional or other workouts using barbells. They begin with the trainer demonstrating the correct technique for each exercise, and then, after reaching it, the load gradually increases. New exercises are regularly added to the classes, which also begin with practicing the technique.
Personal training
Personal training continues to be an important and popular trend as the profession of personal trainer becomes more and more accessible in health centers, homes and offices where there are specially equipped rooms for classes. Also, the greater accessibility of the profession is due to the possibilities of the Internet.
Personal training includes fitness testing and personalized goal setting with a trainer tailored to your needs. All this allows us to develop the most effective program for each client.
Health / wellness coaching
Wellness coaching is a fusion of scientific principles of behavioral change and healthy lifestyle promotion, disease prevention and rehabilitation programs. As with personal training, wellness coaching is characterized by an individual approach: the coach provides comprehensive support and helps the client adhere to the recommendations and move towards the set goals. The specialist develops programs taking into account the values, needs, expectations, aspirations and goals of each client.
