In the midst of this new year's resolutions, you feel it happening: The passion just a few short weeks ago to whip your body into shape is waning. You try to resist the temptation to throw in the towel. No, no, no! The voices in your head plead for you to push on while the noises in your knees say surrender. This common scenario is occurring in countless homes across America.
In the midst of this new year's resolutions, you feel it happening: The passion just a few short weeks ago to whip your body into shape is waning. You try to resist the temptation to throw in the towel. No, no, no! The voices in your head plead for you to push on while the noises in your knees say surrender. This common scenario is occurring in countless homes across America.
As fitness professionals, we're familiar with the dismal statistics associated with resolution success. It's predictable. Still, each year we wrack our brains to find something new. Heck, we'll even settle for a twisted version of something old if it will motivate people and change this discouraging outcome. So fitness industry experts lay out trends for the year based on surveys and their best guesses.
According to the American Council on Exercise, a worldwide nonprofit certifying agency, these are the kinds of exercise experiences it believes will be most likely to grab your attention and keep it in 2008.
Trends from 2007 that will remain popular include functional fitness training and balance training. These are focused on using tools such as the Bosu balls, stability balls, foam rollers, core poles, agility dots and versa discs - all of which were designed to challenge your balance during a workout.
Recognizing that traditional gym workouts are not for everyone, there is a movement out of the box. The hot television hit, "Dancing With the Stars," has convinced more than a few that they should be dancing, too. Ballroom, Latin, swing and country line dancing are hip-hopping people to better health.
Boot camps are more likely to be held outside this spring and summer and guarantee those who dare to enlist will leave in tiptop shape. Still, for some men and women, there is a temptation to step into a boxing ring and mix it up. Participants view these as personal challenges - some secretly hoping to learn just one sexy tango dance and others wanting to see if they can go the distance. (Note: Zumba is a hot, hot, hot, Latin-based dance class that has found its way into the traditional gyms.)
Body weight and equipment-free workouts are giving those who are intimidated by exercise equipment a no-excuse option. Offering strength, power and flexibility benefits, they concentrate on Plyometric work, full-body movement, interesting patterns and repetitions to integrate rather than isolate muscles.
Millions eager to improve their fitness level will seek out a social environment complete with a cause to energize them this year. Turns out, they prefer the focus to be on helping others while inadvertently helping themselves. Charity runs/walks and other noble fundraising events will generate serious commitments and dollars with amazing results for all. Look for an increase in this type of event to be organized in your area.
In the midst of this new year's resolutions, you feel it happening: The passion just a few short weeks ago to whip your body into shape is waning. You try to resist the temptation to throw in the towel. No, no, no! The voices in your head plead for you to push on while the noises in your knees say surrender. This common scenario is occurring in countless homes across America.
As fitness professionals, we're familiar with the dismal statistics associated with resolution success. It's predictable. Still, each year we wrack our brains to find something new. Heck, we'll even settle for a twisted version of something old if it will motivate people and change this discouraging outcome. So fitness industry experts lay out trends for the year based on surveys and their best guesses.
According to the American Council on Exercise, a worldwide nonprofit certifying agency, these are the kinds of exercise experiences it believes will be most likely to grab your attention and keep it in 2008.
Trends from 2007 that will remain popular include functional fitness training and balance training. These are focused on using tools such as the Bosu balls, stability balls, foam rollers, core poles, agility dots and versa discs - all of which were designed to challenge your balance during a workout.
Recognizing that traditional gym workouts are not for everyone, there is a movement out of the box. The hot television hit, "Dancing With the Stars," has convinced more than a few that they should be dancing, too. Ballroom, Latin, swing and country line dancing are hip-hopping people to better health.
Boot camps are more likely to be held outside this spring and summer and guarantee those who dare to enlist will leave in tiptop shape. Still, for some men and women, there is a temptation to step into a boxing ring and mix it up. Participants view these as personal challenges - some secretly hoping to learn just one sexy tango dance and others wanting to see if they can go the distance. (Note: Zumba is a hot, hot, hot, Latin-based dance class that has found its way into the traditional gyms.)
Body weight and equipment-free workouts are giving those who are intimidated by exercise equipment a no-excuse option. Offering strength, power and flexibility benefits, they concentrate on Plyometric work, full-body movement, interesting patterns and repetitions to integrate rather than isolate muscles.
Millions eager to improve their fitness level will seek out a social environment complete with a cause to energize them this year. Turns out, they prefer the focus to be on helping others while inadvertently helping themselves. Charity runs/walks and other noble fundraising events will generate serious commitments and dollars with amazing results for all. Look for an increase in this type of event to be organized in your area.
Baby Boomers abound and so will the type of exercise they demand. By their mere numbers, Boomers are redefining what's most popular on the fitness menus. They have staked their claim in favor of sensible exercises geared toward an aging population that promote flexibility, freedom from injury and are not going to settle for classes designed for twentysomethings any longer.
In our hurry up world, expect to see more express workouts that focus on one particular area of the body. You might see an upper-body, core stabilization, balance, agility or a fat-burning class. These jiffy workouts will last 30 minutes or less and might be held back to back with each other, giving time-crunched participants the option of a hit-and-run workout.
Don't be surprised to see a holistic approach in 2008. Total wellness will be on the mind of most fitness programmers. Understanding that health is multidimensional, there will be more mind and body classes with the inclusion of healthy nutrition. The shift will emphasize ways to help the body achieve balance and health from the inside out.
You're familiar with hybrid cars; now get to know hybrid programming in the fitness industry. The blend of mind and body modalities like breath work and meditation with traditional physical exercise such as spin or yoga will emerge. Fusion classes unite strength, flexibility and endurance in one efficient workout.
Whether you want to be an elite athlete or just injury-free and successful at managing your weight, programs will exist to assist you. Fitness facilities will find it is a smart fiscal decision to help people perform better whether it is on a sports field or in the field of business. Functional exercise can increase physical strength, power and speed just as it can decrease injury recovery time and sick days.
And finally, if you thought personal training was just for a select few, think again. Personal training is finding ways to make you one of the select few. Numbers of competent trainers are increasing and so are group personal training sessions. While it may not be one-on-one, a limited number of clients will be grouped together based on fitness levels, goals and abilities. Technology is also playing an important role in terms of positive accountability and a mounting popularity of online personal training. Look for personal training to evolve and take on a new look in 2008.
Now that you have some insight on predicted trends, I challenge you to defy the odds and fitness industry predictions and make this the year you stick with your resolutions. It's all right to redefine them or mix them up, but if you're hearing a voice telling you to throw in the towel - resist it. If you can get through the next couple months, you just might make it a habit for life. I know you can do it.
Cindy Boggs, fitness consultant, author and Activate America director, has been an ACE-certified coordinator/instructor since 1989. Send your questions about fitness, training or health to YMCA of Kanawha Valley, 100 YMCA Drive, Charleston, WV 25311 or e-mail cindys...@aol.com. Look for her fitness advice book, "You Can Find Health in Your Hectic World" on her Web site www.cindysays.com or contact the YMCA at 340-3527.
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