Instead of thinking about short-term health and fitness goals for January, it could be more beneficial to look into a longer-term fitness trend. There are plenty of developments in fitness that are set to improve even more in 2016, including wearable tech, tailored workouts and age-appropriate fitness. Investing time and interest into an area of fitness that suits you will see you through the whole year.
We asked the prime minister’s personal trainer, Matt Roberts, for his pick of 2016’s most important fitness trends.
1. Wearable Technology
It’s taken a while for wearable tech to reach the level of accuracy – and trendiness – it has now, but since devices started appearing around five years ago, the industry has boomed. There are devices to wear on your wrist, chest and head to track your body; there are devices built into golf clubs, tennis rackets, bicycles and footballs that track all sorts of sports data; and there are, of course, multiple sensors built into your smartphone.
This is an area that is going to keep on growing and growing, and soon even your clothes might hold sensors. “Fitness tech is continually taking us a step closer to being able to deliver bespoke training for everyone based on the data collected,” says Roberts.
2. Bodyweight Training
The principle of using your own bodyweight to train has been around for centuries, but this has been growing in popularity for the past two years. “There is now a much higher demand for strategic bodyweight sessions that increase strength,” Roberts says. Circuit-style training, suspension training and sport-specific training are all in high demand, and reflect the desire of gym-goers to become strong without getting excessively bulky.
3. Online Personal Training
For those with limited free time, unpredictable working patterns or a limited budget, the gym isn’t always the best option. But online personal training will put some of the world’s best personal trainers at your fingertips, delivering on-demand programmes and allowing you to access training and tuition that would otherwise be geographically or financially out of reach. Live-streaming and online Q&A sessions are also on the way, and will allow you to interact with a top trainer online in the same way you would in the gym.
Visit body.network to train with Matt and his selected group of trainers. Find out what the Men's Fitness team thought of Body Network in the Feburary issue - out now.
4. High-Intensity Interval Training
HIIT continues to be popular because of the rapid results it can produce, and the high mental stimulation of performing short bursts of exercises. “It’s popular across the board with people who enjoy a hardcore, boundary-pushing workout, as well as with those who want a quick fix that won’t take up too much of their time,” says Roberts.
5. Functional Fitness
Replicating actual physical activities someone might do as a function of his or her daily routine, functional fitness is defined as using strength training to improve balance, co-ordination, force, power, and endurance. This trend also taps into the sixth trend – another rapidly-growing area of fitness.
6. Fitness Programmes for Older Adults
This is one of the fastest-growing sectors in fitness. The industry is targeting this rising demand area because of the high demand from older adults with time and inclination to take care of their bodies as they age. “It’s good for both the participants and the industry, and could see a rise in fitness programmes tailored to older people,” Roberts says.
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