The Top 15 Fitness Trends for 2022

THE TOP 15 TOP FITNESS TRENDS FOR 2022

Happy New Year!  Happy 2022!

The most popular fitness trends change every year.  Compare the 2022 survey with last year’s post The Top 15 Fitness Trends for 2121,and the posts two years ago The Top 14 Fitness Trends for 2020 , three years ago The Top 12 Fitness Trends for 2019 and four years ago The Top 10 Fitness Trends for 2018.

Online training went from the no. 26 trend in 2020 to the no. 1 trend for 2021, likely due to a shift in the fitness market from clubs to homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it then dropped to the no. 9 spot for 2022, whereas COVID-19 was still very present, perhaps in anticipation of a return to normal, including more social interaction. Wearable technology has again taken the no. 1 spot in the global rankings, the same as 2019 and 2020.

Here are excerpts from the new 16th annual survey from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) published in its Health & Fitness Journal, Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2022

For the survey, the authors identified 43 possible fitness trends for 2022 and received responses from more than 4,500 fitness professionals who ranked them on a 10-point scale, with 10 meaning it was most likely to be a trend this year.

Here’s what you should know about the 15 fitness trends you’ll see this year.

1. Wearable technology

This trend includes fitness or activity trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices. Examples include fitness and activity trackers like those manufactured by Polar^®, Fitbit^®, Wyze^®, Whoop^®, Samsung^®, Jawbone^®, Misfit^®, Garmin^®, Coros^®, and Apple^®. These devices can be used as a step counter and can track heart rate, body temperature, calories, sitting time, sleep time, and much more. Initially, there was some question of wearable technology accuracy, but these issues have seemed to be resolved well enough that it has been estimated to be about a US $100 billion industry. New innovations include blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, respiratory rate, and electrocardiogram.

2. Home exercise gyms

Home gyms will continue to be a popular alternative to going to a gym as a consequence of the global COVID-19 pandemic. People will continue to isolate themselves by staying home and taking advantage of the abundant equipment now available, along with effective online classes. Home gyms can use minimal equipment or expensive treadmills and bikes. Home gyms can also be solo or family events. This is the first year home exercise gyms have appeared as a fitness trend. As the world emerges from the isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, home gym manufacturers will need to make major adjustments, including lowering the price of equipment, to convince consumers that home gyms are a better option than place-based gyms.

3. Outdoor activities

Perhaps because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more outdoor activities such as small group walks, group rides, or organized hiking groups have become popular. For 2021, outdoor activities ranked no. 4. Outdoor activities can either be short events, daylong events, or planned weeklong hiking excursions. Participants meet in a local park, hiking area, or on a bike trail typically with a designated leader.

4. Strength training with free weights

Previous surveys included a category described as “strength training.” Determined to be too broad a category, strength training was dropped in favor of the more specific free weight training. Free weights, barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, and medicine ball classes do not just incorporate barbells into another functional class or activity. Instructors start by teaching proper form for each exercise and then progressively increase the resistance once the correct form is accomplished. Proper technique/movement skills are taught for each new exercise introduced.

5. Exercise for weight loss

Perhaps because of the self-quarantine imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting perceived (or real) weight gain, exercise for weight loss made a comeback in 2022. Most diet programs recommend including some type of exercise program into the daily routine of caloric restriction, adding the caloric expenditure of physical activity into the equation

6. Personal training

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. Personal training includes fitness testing and goal setting with the trainer working one-on-one with a client to prescribe workouts specific to their individual needs and goals.

7. High Intensity Interval Training

HIIT was no. 1 in the survey for 2014 and 2018 and remained in the top 5 each year between 2014 and 2021 (no. 5); however, for 2022, HIIT drops out of the top 5 for the first time to no. 7. These exercise programs typically involve short bursts of high-intensity bouts of exercise followed by a short period of rest. Although there are a variety of HIIT formats and programs available, all emphasize higher intensities of maximum (above 90%) during the increased intensity segments followed by periods of rest and recovery. Despite warnings by some fitness professionals of potentially increased injury rates using HIIT, this form of exercise has been popular in gyms all over the world.

8. Body weight training

Body weight training did not appear as a survey trend option before 2013 because it only became popular (as a defined trend) in gyms around the world within the last decade. Using a combination of variable resistance body weight training and neuromotor movements using multiple planes of movement, this program is all about using body weight as the training modality. Body weight training uses minimal equipment, which makes it an inexpensive way to exercise effectively.

9. Online live and on-demand exercise classes

For 2021, online training was the no. 1 trend. For the 2022 survey, online training was redefined more specifically as online and on-demand exercise classes. One of the big changes within the health fitness industry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic was the temporary closure of clubs around the world, forcing innovative delivery of classes. The challenges of engaging clients at a distance resulted in the use of some very strategic delivery systems. Online training was developed for the at-home exercise experience. This trend uses digital streaming technology to deliver group, individual, or instructional exercise programs online. Online training is available 24/7 and can be a live class (live streaming workouts) or prerecorded.

10. Health/wellness coaching

This is a trend that integrates behavioral science into health promotion and lifestyle medicine programs. 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.

11. Fitness programs for older adults

This trend continues to stress the fitness needs of the baby boom and older generations. These individuals in general have more discretionary money than their younger counterparts do, and fitness clubs may be able to capitalize on this growing market. People are living longer, working longer, and remaining healthy and active well into their retirement years.

12. Exercise is medicine

Exercise is medicine (EIM) is a global health initiative that focuses on encouraging primary care physicians and other health care providers to include physical activity assessment and associated treatment recommendations as part of every patient visit and referring their patients to exercise professionals.

13. Employing certified fitness professionals

The importance of hiring certified health fitness professionals through educational programs and certification programs that are fully accredited for health fitness professionals has remained a steady trend.

14. Functional fitness training

Functional fitness training replicates actual physical activities someone might do as a function of their daily routine. This trend focuses on using strength training to improve balance, coordination, muscular strength, and endurance to improve activities of daily living typically for older adults but also in clinical populations.

15. Yoga

Traditional yoga includes Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Bikram, and Iyengar, but it has taken on a variety of more recent versions (including Power Yoga, Flow Yoga, Yogilates, Hot Yoga, Rocket Yoga, and many others) and is now available as on-demand videos and books.