As the year draws to a close, experts from all areas of the health and fitness industry have been busy examining the trends that rocked the fitness world and drove the market in 2015.
While crazes such as indoor cycling and Zumba (the undisputed No. 1 fitness trend of 2012) waned, running remained as popular as ever and newer approaches to exercising such as HIIT (more on that below) continued to win over legions of new fans. Here, we look at five of the trends you can expect to be seeing way into 2016 and beyond.
Bodyweight Training
The American College of Sport Medicine’s worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2015 named body weight training as the year’s number one trend. Though this might surprise you, many experts have reasoned that the minimal cost of equipment has been a major draw factor in the sluggish global economy. What’s more, bodyweight training can be done anywhere – at home, at the gym or during lunch break at the office – and is a super-efficient workout that can be tailored to suit any fitness or appearance goal.
Boxing
Though we’ve been hearing about the health benefits of boxing for a while, 2015 was the year it really exploded into the public consciousness. With all manner of celebrities declaring themselves boxing fans and Victoria’s Secret angels extolling the virtues of a boxing workout, 2015 was the year that many of us plucked up the courage to put on a pair of gloves for the first time. It’s no wonder that we love it – its benefits include vastly enhanced cardiovascular health, better hand-eye coordination and reduced stress.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Interval training – that is, improving fitness through short bursts of intense activity – has been a core element of high-level athletic training programs for years, although it only began to find more widespread popularity in 2014. Though its strenuous nature means it’s not for everyone (in particular, seek professional advice if you’re new to fitness or have recently been injured), it’s great for those of us who don’t have time for a full workout or don’t want to pay for a membership to the gym. Give these super-simple beginners’ HIIT workouts a go today!
Fitness Supplements
A report published by Visiongain in October 2015 revealed that the world sports nutrition and fitness supplement market will have brought in a massive $64.17 billion of profit by the end of 2015, with rapid growth due to increasing demand from consumers in a range of age and income categories. As well as the “traditional” users of fitness supplements – weight lifting enthusiasts seeking to buy muscle builders and associated products – the industry has been boosted by the availability of an increasingly diverse range of products including energy drinks, energy bars and protein bars.
