Every year the American College of Sports Medicine surveys over a thousand sports medicine professionals about the fitness trends for the upcoming year. It seems that the predicted trends for 2009 are pretty similar to those we saw for 2008 — a mixture of generalized trends and exercise specifics.
Here are the top 10 health and fitness trends for 2009:
- Educated and experienced fitness professionals. Certification and accreditation for health and fitness programs and professionals are becoming more common.
- Children and obesity. Fitness programs to address childhood obesity are a top trend for the third year in a row in the ACSM survey.
- Personal training. Personal trainers are becoming more accessible to more people, according to the survey.
- Strength training. Men and women are lifting weights; staying strong while aging is increasingly part of their motivation.
- Core training. This trend is about strengthening muscles in the abdomen and back to stabilize the spine.
To see the other hot trends read more.
- Special fitness programs for older adults. This trend includes aging baby boomers, frail elders who want to get stronger for daily tasks, active older adults, and master athletes.
- Pilates. Done on a mat or special equipment, Pilates trains the core muscles and improves flexibility and posture.
- Stability ball. These big, inflatable balls (also called Swiss balls or exercise balls) are used for crunches, push-ups, and other exercises. Staying stable on the ball is part of the challenge.
- Sport-specific training. This trend is about athletes training in the off-season to build their strength and endurance.
- Balance training. In balance training, you might stand on a wobble board or use a stability ball to hone your balance. It's a trend for all ages.
Pilates has been popular for a long time now and I am not sure I would call it a trend, but rather a staple of the fitness industry. But I, for one, would love to take a group fitness class centered around the balance board. What about you?
Rosato
Stella McCartney
Basile
Another new trend is classes that offer cardio and strength training in an hour. I teach Spinning Classes for 40 minutes and then have my class do Resistance Training with bands attached to the bike and on the floor. Not only do you get the high intensity cardio in...but you sculpt and build muscle total body. We all know that muscle at rest burns more calories...too often people who are trying to loose weight skimp on the weight training. This way you get cardio and weights in one!
1Spin/Strength classes are located in Brentwood, Ca
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