2023 Top 10 Fitness Trends Across the World

With the new year comes new fitness resolutions – have you set yours yet? As we transit into an endemic era in 2023, fitness has evolved to incorporate a good range of options accommodating work-from-home to daily office working routines. As such, finding a suitable routine for yourself is no longer difficult!
Ready to jump into your first workout but have no idea where to start? Or are you sick of your usual routine and want something fresh and hip? Look no further – here are the top 10 local trends for you to choose from.

Jumping to the top, wearable technology has been incorporated into the fitness industry at an exponential rate for the past few years. These devices include fitness trackers, smart watches, and heart rate monitors that continue to revolutionize people’s approach to physical health and fitness. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see a person completing their day-to-day tasks wearing a smartwatch today. New innovations now include tracking blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, electrocardiogram, and many more.

Want to build muscles? This form of exercise uses specific equipment such as free weights, barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, and medicine balls to improve or maintain muscular fitness. It also focuses on proper movement and lifting technique, allowing for progressive improvement by manipulating repetitions and sets to achieve specific muscular goals.

Inexpensive and practical. This form of training is a versatile and flexible option for people who choose to work from home, or want to squeeze in a quick workout before their next appointment. The main source of resistance training? One’s own body weight.

Now that people are living and working longer, there has been an increase in demand for fitness programs catering to older adults. With simple goals of wanting to stay healthy and continue being physically active throughout their lifespan, they are enthusiastic to go to gyms catering to their needs and slightly gentler pace.

The draw of fresh air and nature remains strong as people continue to work from home to varying degrees. Now living in an endemic environment, people seem to have formed the habit of cycling, walking, hiking and swimming either in groups or individually. There’s no wonder why, given how addictive the outdoors can be while completing one’s daily fitness goals.

Not exactly for the faint of heart, this workout is for people looking for a fast-paced, high cardio, full body training. Usually done in groups at a gym, people are led through a series of repetitions with intervals of rests in-between. The high energy that these classes maintain are usually best for adrenaline junkies and those looking for new challenges to boost their mental and physical capacities.

Coming out of the pandemic, weight gain (either actual or perceived) has become another main motivator for people to exercise. The exercise programs they seek are usually best coupled with healthy diet plans, where cooking classes could be beneficial. Most importantly, the main reason for losing weight lies in the betterment of physical and mental health, replacing lethargy with alertness and better motor skills to continue fresh throughout the day.

Not confident in achieving your fitness goal? People have taken to seeking out personal trainers. These are professionals who are more than capable of curating exercise and meal plans to cater to each individual’s needs. Be it wanting to lose weight, gain muscle mass, or simply maintain a light, lean physique, a personal trainer will draw up a prescribed schedule to help their clients reach their goal with maximum results.

This used to be a popular alternative to going to public gyms during the pandemic, and still remains so today! Expensive gym equipments are replaced with simple set-ups of resistance bands, free weights, and treadmills. Perhaps the novelty of not needing to share a machine or waiting in-line to do reps have people sticking to their personalized gyms, even while the world opens up more and more today.

Spin classes, yoga day, kickboxing. Going for workouts with friends and colleagues have begun to increase in popularity as gyms begin to lift their crowd restrictions accordingly. Many are grabbing the chance to revel in the atmosphere of high energy and camaraderie as instructors push them through a hard and sweaty hour. Even better if one finds a free class pass!

Did any routine capture your heart? Well, don’t wait any longer, go for it!
Wishing you a boosted, productive, and high-flying fitness year ahead.

Source, ACSM Health & Fitness Journal