2018 is Here! Top Six Fitness Trends That Are Keepers
By your Fitness Trainers at Century Fitness
A Fitness Trend can take a while to develop and years to prove worthy. Authorities such as exercise physiologists, sports training specialists and fitness center trainers are some of the many who watch over trends carefully.
- Group Exercise – Health Clubs around the world are reporting an increase in participation and more excitement with their group exercise programs. We have been saying this for a while – by the way. Excitement, motivation, variety, sculpting calorie burning and amazing health benefits… that’s Group Exercise! Look for even more enhancements coming soon here at Century Fitness!
- Functional Training – For years most fitness experts would claim that cardio is King, or Queen. But now there is a new challenge to the throne. Functional Training, done right, is a force worth recognizing. Completing a workout of Functional Movements utilizing a variety of training methods at a decent pace, is about as good as it gets!
- Eating Good Carbs – You don’t have to lie to yourself or others anymore – carbs are good for you. Some nutrition authorities are calling them “good carbs”, which are those higher in fiber and less processed, plus whole fruits and lots of veggies, too. Along with proper nutrient timing, carbs will aid your training and positively affect your results. Plus, having carbs in your life means things are a lot less stressful. Imagine trying to stick to a ketogenic diet even for a short while. You’d probably need a live-in Sports Nutritionist, and if you get the “pretty much no carb” diet wrong, you’re going to feel and be miserable! Life needs carbs!
- HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – “The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) surveyed more than 4,000 fitness professionals… High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)…the most popular trend in fitness. HIIT training is made up of bursts of all-out exercise followed by short periods of rest for recovery. High intensity interval training has been a consistently high-ranking trend … it continues to be very popular across the world. HIIT offers participants a good workout that can be done without a lot of time or equipment. Research shows that with proper precautions, like working with a certified personal trainer, HIIT can be safe, effective and fun.” Walter R. Thompson, PhD, FACSM, President; ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal®.
- Fitness Trackers – This is a subject we have written on in the past… “The majority of trackers sync with online apps to access information captured, which you can download on your phone or computer… Some fitness trackers track one or two basic readings (steps you take and heart rate), while others include these basics plus more advanced functions: calories burned, passive calories burned, GPS capabilities, sleep cycles, calories consumed, minutes standing, and some may track your workout with any of the preloaded workouts installed. Price points range from as little as $19.99 to upwards of $300. Some do require chest bands to capture heart rate. In addition, you can always use the fitness tracking functions on the cardio machines you use here at Century Fitness.”
- Foam Rolling – Want to make your muscles feel more needed? …Then knead them with foam rolling! This form of stretching and massaging was born out of physical therapy. Instead of pulling on each end of the muscle attachment, foam rolling slowly kneads the muscle into a stretched shape and helps break up micro-adhesions caused by stress, training and so on. However, be careful when rolling on your back and only roll the mid to upper back, not the low back or neck areas.
Some trends or fads will unfortunately never meet our approval:
- Return of the Thigh Master – This is a limited range workout for one specific muscle area that claimed to work miracles. Sorry Suzanne.
- Frozen Bath for Body Fat Reduction – Wow, isn’t it cold enough in January already?! If you don’t end up jumping out and hurting yourself, there are many other reasons not do this.
- Inverted Lifting – This training method can unduly (and unsafely) increases blood pressure in your head. Let’s just leave this to Rocky and his “Siberian Farm Training Program”.
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