The year 2020 had a tremendous impact on lives around the world, especially for those of us in the fitness industry. Read on to learn the top 15 fitness trends published in the America College of Sports Medicine (ACSM’s) Health & Fitness Journal^®. The published results are based on an electronic survey sent to thousands of professionals around the world to determine health and fitness trends for the following year.

1. Online training. It’s no surprise to see at-home exercise experience ranking at the top of the list as gyms and health clubs were forced to shutter their doors in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fitness enthusiasts adapted, grabbing free weights and ordering exercise equipment to join live or on-demand online training classes from the safety of their new makeshift home fitness spaces.
2. Wearable technology. From fitness trackers to smart watches to heart rate monitors, and more, these products are estimated to be about a U.S. $100 billion industry. New innovations in wearable technology include blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and electrocardiogram.
3. Body weight training. This trend has ranked in the top 10 since 2013, and before that it was not a clearly defined trend in the fitness industry. With minimal equipment, this is an inexpensive way to exercise effectively.
4. Outdoor activities. Group gathering outside may have increased in popularity due to the pandemic. Apps like Meetup help hikers, bikers, and walkers come together to exercise in nature and outdoors. 
5. HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training in popular in gyms around the world. It involves short bursts of increased activity followed by periods of rest. Done for 15 or 20 minutes, this form of interval training is an effective way to get in a killer workout in a short period of time.
6. Virtual training. According to the ASCM’s report, “this is the first time that virtual training has appeared separately from virtual online training. For the purpose of the survey, virtual training was defined as the fusion of group exercise with technology offering workouts designed for ease and convenience to suit schedules and needs. Typically, virtual workouts are played in gyms on the big screen attracting smaller number of clients compared with live classes while providing clients of all levels and ages with a different group fitness experience. As with online training, virtual training in the top 10 may be an industry reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
7. Exercise is medicine. Exercise is medicine (EIM) is a global health initiative to encourage physicians and health care providers to “prescribe” exercise as part of patient visits, and sometimes includes referring patients to exercise professionals.
8. Strength training with free weights. If you’re a fitness enthusiast who couldn’t get a set of dumbbells at one point during the pandemic, this one will not surprise you! This trend includes using free weights, barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, slam balls and medicine balls.
9. Fitness programs for older adults. Remember our previous post about aging gracefully? Exercise was one of the tips; we are happy to see it as one of this year’s trends to address the fitness needs of the Baby Boomers and older generations.
10. Personal training. ASCM shares, “one-on-one training continues to be a strong trend as the profession of personal training becomes more accessible online, in health clubs, in the home, and in worksites that have fitness facilities.” Having a trainer means you will likely start with fitness testing and goal setting and then work one-on-one in person or via FaceTime/Zoom to complete workouts tailored to your specific needs and goals.
11. Health/wellness coaching.  This trend that integrates behavioral science into health promotion and lifestyle medicine programs and reminds us of our everyday tips for embracing holistic health. Health/wellness coaching uses a one-on-one (and at times small group) approach with the coach providing support, goal setting, guidance, and encouragement. The health/wellness coach focuses on the client’s values, needs, vision, and short- and long-term goals using behavior change intervention strategies.
12. Mobile exercise apps. Apps such as MapMyRun^®, Runkeeper^®, or MyFitnessPal^®, include both audio coaching and visual prompts for the user to begin and end exercising. Users can select the type of “coach” (male or female) and style of coaching they would like to hear while running or working out. Perfect for those who love seeing numbers and statistics, many of these apps track progress over time and are available for mobile devices such as the iWatch^® iPhone^®, iPad^®, and Android devices.
13. Employing certified fitness professionals. Hiring certified health fitness professionals through educational programs and certification programs that are fully accredited for health fitness professionals is growing trend. More certification programs have become accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, allowing employers easy access to certification validation through the United States Registry of Exercise Professionals.
14. Functional fitness training. Replicating actual physical activities someone might do as a function of their daily routine, functional fitness is a trend toward using strength training to improve balance, coordination, muscular strength, and endurance to improve activities of daily living typically for older adults and also in clinical populations.
15. Yoga. Yoga first appeared in the top 10 on this survey in 2008, fell out of the top 20 in 2009, but made a great comeback in the 2010 (no. 14) and 2011 surveys (no. 11). It’s one of our favorite ways to enhance our spiritual connection and manage stress.  

What are some of your favorite fitness trends? Let us know in the comments!

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