THE TOP 15 FITNESS TRENDS FOR 2023
The most popular fitness trends change every year. Compare the 2023 survey with last year’s post The Top 15 Fitness Trends for 2122.
Here are excerpts from the 17th annual survey from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) authored by Walter R. Thompson Ph.D., FACSM published in its Health & Fitness Journal, Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2023:
For the last 17 years, the editors of this Journal have developed and circulated an electronic survey sent to thousands of professionals around the world to predict trends in the health and fitness industry for the following year.
The results of this year’s survey could very well be titled “postpandemic recovery impacts the fitness industry” or “what happened to online training and home gyms”? During the COVID-19 era of quarantine, face coverings, social distancing, and health club closures, fitness professionals turned in an impressive way to an online delivery of fitness programming. In fact, the 2021 survey placed online training as the #1 trend. It fell to #9 for 2022 and now is out of the top 20 at the #21 position.
Home exercise gyms was #2 for 2022 dropping to #13 for 2023. The health and fitness industry is returning to the basics, with strength training with free weights the #2 trend, and body weight training as the #3 trend.
Fitness programs for older adults was the #4 trend for 2023. Functional fitness training, a popular form of exercise for the older adult, is the #5 trend for 2023.
Here’s information about the top 15 fitness trends you’ll see this year.
1. Wearable Technology. Wearable technology includes fitness trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices and includes fitness and activity trackers that can monitor heart rate, calories, sitting time, sleep, and much more. These devices are used as a step counter and heart rate monitor, and can track body temperature, calories, sitting time, sleep time, and much more. Initially, there was a question of wearable technology accuracy, but these issues have seemed to be resolved. New innovations include blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, respiratory rate, and electrocardiogram.
2. Strength Training With Free Weights. Focusing on proper movement and lifting technique, this activity incorporates the use of barbells, dumbbells, and/or kettlebells to improve or maintain muscular fitness by manipulating repetitions, sets, tempo, load, and exercise selection to reach specific muscular fitness goals.
3. Body Weight Training. A combination of multiplane body weight and neuromotor movements with body weight as the primary resistance defines this trend. Body weight training uses minimal equipment and space, making it an inexpensive and functional way to exercise.
4. Fitness Programs for Older Adults. This is a trend that emphasizes and caters to the fitness needs of the baby boomer and older generations. People are living longer, working longer, and desiring to remain healthy and physically active throughout their life span.. Changing the atmosphere (including lights and type of music) of gyms to be more older generation friendly during the traditional slow times of the day is the type of trend that seems to be catching on in commercial clubs.
5. Functional Fitness Training. Training to improve balance, coordination, functional strength, and endurance to improve activities of daily living. Exercise programs reflect actual activities someone might do during the day. This trend typically focuses on using strength training to improve essential balance, coordination, muscular strength, and endurance to improve activities of daily living typically for older adults but also in clinical populations.
6. Outdoor Activities. This trend allows for health and fitness professionals to offer more outdoor activities such as group walks, rides, or organized hiking. Activities can be short events, day-long events, or planned multiday excursions along with ECO challenges like stand-up paddleboards, kayaking, mountain biking, and backcountry hiking. Perhaps because of the COVID-19 restrictions, more outdoor activities have recently become popular.
7. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). These exercise programs typically involve repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise (>80% heart rate max), combined with periods of rest. There are a variety of HIIT formats including dumbbells, barbells, sprinting, cycling, bodyweight, and stair-climbing.
8. Exercise for Weight Loss. This trend incorporates weight loss programs with an exercise program. The coupling of physical activity and exercise training with diets and cooking classes may prove to have additional benefits.
9. Employing Certified Fitness Professionals. Emphasis is placed on the importance of hiring certified health and fitness professionals who have completed educational programs and fully accredited health/fitness certifications.
10. Personal Training. Personal training includes goal setting, fitness assessment, and exercise programming with a trainer in one-on-one settings. Personal trainers provide exercise technique instruction, monitor improvement, and progress workouts with each client encounter and based on the client’s progress
11. Core Training. This trend is training that emphasizes conditioning of the stabilizing muscles of the trunk, abdomen, and back. Core training uses stability balls, half-ball balance trainers, wobble boards, foam rollers, body weight, and free weights Exercising the core muscles improves overall stability of the trunk and transfers that to the extremities, enabling the individual to meet the demands of activities of daily living and for the performance of various sports that require strength, speed, and agility.
12. Circuit Training. Circuit training is typically a group of approximately 10 exercises that are completed in succession and in a predetermined sequence. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set duration before a brief rest and moving onto the next exercise.
13. Home Exercise Gyms. Home exercise gyms can use equipment such as resistance bands, free weights, cardio equipment, or many other fitness options. They can be solo or family events and self-guided or following along with online classes. This trend was a popular alternative to going to a gym during COVID-19 quarantine. Home gyms can use minimal equipment or expensive treadmills and bikes.
14. Group Training. Group exercise training involves instructors teaching and leading individuals through in-person group classes (defined as more than five participants). These types of classes are designed for different fitness levels using a variety of equipment to teach many forms of exercise, from cardio-based and indoor cycling to dance-based and step classes
15. Exercise is Medicine. Exercise is Medicine (EIM) is a global health initiative that encourages physicians and other health care providers to include physical activity assessment and treatment as a standard of care when designing a treatment plan. Exercise is Medicine recommends physicians refer patients to evidence-based exercise programs and qualified health and fitness professionals.