The Future of Fitness for 2010

The Top 10 fitness trends for 2010 as recently announced by The American Council on Exercise has been released based on their annual survey of Fitness experts, personal trainers and other industry experts. The consensus is that people want exercise routines to fit into their busy lifestyle and not take up too much time, they want their exercise to be cash conscious and they are willing to sweat to deliver results. 

Cost-Conscious Workouts: No matter where you exercise, the global economy is continuing to have an impact on our lifestyle. People no longer have the excess cash to spend on yearly gym memberships or expensive gym equipment. The second hand market for gym equipment should remain steady with the gyms offering alternate gym programs to try and capture this cost-conscious market. It is a matter for the individual which path they take however if you are a gym junkie and your yearly fees are up soon then negotiation would be good strategy to drive down your workout costs.       

Group training: The general consensus is that Individuals will start to scale back on personal training sessions to take advantage of small group training and group class participation to save their budget further. The increase in “Boot Camp” style training sessions of between 15 – 30 is consistent with this movement. Also as people become more determined to drive themselves whilst training the benefits of personal 1-on-1 training start to decrease in comparison to group training.

 

 

 

Time-efficient workouts: Those with busy schedules will be looking to partake in shorter but higher intensity workouts to keep up their fitness program with a small time investment. As discussed in group training “Boot Camp” style workouts will continue to grow in 2010 as they generally provide a high impact cardio workout with strength building exercises combined into the program. Two workouts for the price of one, within a relatively short timeframe.

 

 

Exergaming: With the increases in technology and video animation exercise video games are growing in sophistication and results. Today these are offered to the consumer at home through gaming  products like Wii Fit and Wii Sports, however very soon fitness Gyms will be looking to create the virtual training instructor and gym training programs into their gyms. This would drive down Gym costs and also the price for its members.   

 

 

Boomer-specific programs: Advances in Health care, exercise and nutrition is leading to an increase in the percentage of aging adults as a percentage of total population. As this group have or are close to retiring with a generally some surplus funds they are looking to increase their longevity through exercise. The benefits of exercise on the aging are well documented from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Many gyms are looking to meet this increase in demand by developing special fitness programs.

 

 

Functional Training Workouts: These workouts which have their origins from rehabilitation will appeal to people who are looking to stay fit at home, at the office or whilst travelling. They mimic what the individual does at home to maximize the benefits of muscular balance and joint stability. This provides possibly decreasing the number of injuries sustained whilst exercising.

 

 

Health and Fitness Awareness: Government and Commercial organizations are becoming more aware of the importance of health and fitness. Unfortunately the driver for this is not on well being but for decreasing costs. The obesity epidemic is costing the government billions and commercial organizations are realizing that as staff becomes more health conscious that to keep the best employees then fitness around the office will become very important in 2010. Whatever the core driver the result here is what counts and a fit and healthy employee or citizen usually is more productive and provides numerous other benefits to the community.

 

 

Importance of Professional Credentials: The importance of providing a professional service to the public is crucial to continuing on the movement to fitness in 2010. Health and Fitness clubs are now hiring only trainers that hold high quality certification. If you are looking to become a fitness trainer in 2010 then newsfitness.com has some steps to help you on your way. Click here for more info.       

 

 

Specialty exercise classes: There is a plethora of choices when it comes to fitness classes and specialist or boutique exercise classes will remain popular in 2010. Dance classes like ball room dancing, ethnic dance and pole dancing will continue to thrive. More gyms are starting to offer unique group exercise and mind-body activity classes to help differentiate them from their competition. If you are looking for something a little different ask your gym or research other gyms before spending large dollars on your membership.

 

 

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Fitness training tools: The fitness world like most other industries is seeing a large change in the technology available to help with your training. Tools like Heart Rate Monitors are able to track your performance and measure it over time. This way people can gauge, assess and monitor the performance of their fitness programs. There are on-line fitness and meal programs that are available 24 hours to help you to be successful.

 

 

The future for fitness in 2010 is looking fantastic as shown by the forecasted top 10 fitness trends. With the increase in overeating and obesity sweeping the world the fitness industry is starting to make changes that will aid the consumer i.e.: you to be able to enjoy a balanced lifestyle of work, family, fitness and health so that you can live a longer and healthier life.  

 

 

The American Council on Exercise report can be found here.