Wellness Coaching(01 of20)
Open Image ModalWellness coaching often uses a one-on-one approach similar to a personal trainer, with the coach providing support, guidance, and encouragement. The wellness coach focuses on the client’s values, needs, vision, and goals.According to this trend survey (and results from past surveys), it seems as though wellness coaching and its principled techniques of behavior change have been adopted by personal trainers and other health and fitness professionals. (credit:Alamy)
Reaching New Markets(02 of20)
Open Image ModalThis is a trend that identifies new markets in all aspects of the health and fitness industry. With many people not having a regular exercise program or a place to exercise, commercial, clinical, corporate, and community programs will reach out to tap into this huge market. (credit:Alamy)
Circuit Training(03 of20)
Open Image ModalCircuit training is a group of 6 to 10 exercises that are completed one after another and in a predetermined sequence. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set period before having a quick rest and moving on to the next exercise. (credit:Alamy)
Outcome Measurements(04 of20)
Open Image ModalThis is a trend toward accountability. There will be efforts to define and track outcomes to prove that a selected program actually works. Measurements are necessary to determine the benefits of health and fitness programs in disease management and to document success in changing negative lifestyle habits. The proliferation of technology will aid in data collection to support these efforts. Accountability to owners and operators of health and fitness facilities will provide important metrics to determine if new programs are cost-effective and if old programs are actually working. (credit:Alamy)
Boot Camp(05 of20)
Open Image ModalBoot camp is a high-intensity structured activity patterned after military-style training. Boot camp includes cardiovascular, strength, endurance, and flexibility drills and usually involves both indoor and outdoor exercises typically led by an enthusiastic instructor. Boot camps also can combine sport-type drills and calisthenics. (credit:Alamy)
Worker Incentive Programs(06 of20)
Open Image ModalThis is a trend toward creating incentive programs to stimulate positive healthy behavior change as part of employer-based health promotion programming and health care benefits. This trend represents a resurgence of corporate health promotion programs as a result of rising health care costs experienced by both small and large companies and corporations. Worker incentive programs also are associated with the trend to provide worksite health promotion programs in an attempt to reduce health care costs. (credit:Alamy)
Yoga(07 of20)
Open Image ModalYoga now comes in a variety of forms, including Power Yoga, Yogalates, and yoga done in hot and humid environments.Other forms of yoga include Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga, Bikram Yoga (the hot and humid one), Vinyasa Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, Anuara Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Sivananda Yoga. Instructional tapes and books are abundant, as are the growing numbers of certifications for the many yoga formats. (credit:Alamy)
Outdoor Activities(08 of20)
Open Image ModalThis is a trend for health and fitness professionals to offer more outdoor activities to their clients. Outdoor activities can be done with family and with friends, with a group or by yourself. Outdoor activities typically include hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and games or sports. Outdoor activities also can include high-adventure programs such as overnight camping trips. (credit:Alamy)
Zumba and Other Dance Workouts(09 of20)
Open Image ModalZumba requires energy and enthusiasm from the instructor and the participants. It appeared as though the popularity of Zumba was growing, with a rapid escalation between 2010 and 2012. Future surveys will determine if this is a trend or a fad. (credit:Alamy)
Worksite Health Promotion(10 of20)
Open Image ModalThis is a trend for a range of programs and services designed to improve the health of workers and incorporate systems to evaluate their impact on health, health care costs, and worker productivity. Many of these programs are physically housed within the company or corporation building or on campus, whereas other programs may contract with independent commercial- or community-based programs. Within the context of health care reform in the United States and rising health care costs, health promotion programs may take on additional importance in the future. (credit:Alamy)
Group Personal Training(11 of20)
Open Image ModalThis trend allows the personal trainer to continue providing the personal service clients expect but now in a small group of two to four, offering potentially deep discounts to each member of the group. In these continuing challenging economic times when true personal income may be decreasing (and almost certainly discretionary spending), personal trainers must be more creative in the way they package personal training sessions. Training two or three people at the same time in a small group seems to make good economic sense for both the trainer and the client. Group personal training will continue to be popular in 2013. (credit:Alamy)
Core Training(12 of20)
Open Image ModalCore training stresses strength and conditioning of the stabilizing muscles of the abdomen, thorax, and back. It typically includes exercises of the hips, lower back, and abdomen, all of which provide support for the spine and thorax. 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. Core training often uses stability balls, BOSU balls, wobble boards, foam rollers, and other pieces of equipment. Some respondents argued that core training may be losing some of its popularity as new forms of exercise are developed. This will be an interesting trend to watch in the next few years. (credit:Alamy)
Functional Fitness(13 of20)
Open Image ModalFunctional fitness may be defined as using strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power, and endurance to improve one’s ability to perform activities of daily living. Functional fitness programs reflect actual activities one might do as a function of daily living. (credit:Alamy)
Personal Training(14 of20)
Open Image ModalAs more professional personal trainers are educated and become certified, they become more accessible to more people in all sectors of the health and fitness industry. Personal trainers are employed by community-based programs, in commercial settings, in corporate wellness programs, and in medical fitness programs. (credit:Alamy)
Fitness Programs for Older Adults(15 of20)
Open Image ModalThe baby boom generation is now aging into retirement, and because they may have more discretionary money than their younger counterparts, fitness clubs should capitalize on this exponentially growing market. It is assumed that people who are retired not only typically have greater sums of discretionary money but they also have a tendency to spend it more wisely and may have more time to engage in an exercise program. Health and fitness professionals can take advantage of this growing population of retired persons by providing age-appropriate exercise programs. (credit:Alamy)
Exercise and Weight Loss(16 of20)
Open Image ModalFor many years, weight loss programs have been trying to infuse a regular exercise program into the caloric restriction diets of many popular commercial programs. Most well-publicised diet plans incorporate exercise into their daily routine of providing meals to their clients. The combination of exercise and weight loss is a trend toward incorporating all weight loss programs with a sensible exercise program. (credit:Alamy)
Children and Obesity(17 of20)
Open Image ModalThe problem with childhood and adolescent obesity continues to be a major health issue in most developed and developing nations. As public school systems continue to face the reality of cutting programs such as physical education and recess to spend more time preparing for standardised testing in a challenging economy, this is a trend toward more programs and a potential new market for commercial and community-based organisations. Health and fitness practitioners see the problem of childhood obesity and its associated comorbidities as an opportunity to positively influence a health issue that not only immediately impacts the health care industry but has an even greater effect on the health of these children as they mature into adults and have families of their own. The health and fitness industry should recognise this chronic health issue and start new programs targeted specifically at these children. Corporate and clinical programs also may see this as an opportunity to develop specialised physical activity programs for children of their staff and clients. Commercial- and community-based programs may find a receptive partner in schools. (credit:Alamy)
Body Weight Training(18 of20)
Open Image ModalBody weight training did not appear as an option in previous surveys because it has only now become popular (as a defined trend) in gyms around the world; this is not to say that body weight training has not been used previously. On the contrary, people have been using their own body weights for centuries as a form of resistance training. Packaging it as an exercise program has now made it popular in all kinds of gyms. Body weight training often uses minimal equipment, which makes it an inexpensive way to exercise effectively. Most people think of body weight training as being limited to push-ups and pull-ups, but it can be much more than that. Body weight training may be a trend to watch as more people get “back to the basics.” (credit:Alamy)
Strength Training(19 of20)
Open Image ModalThis trend calls for both men and women to incorporate strength training into their exercise routines or to use it as the primary form of exercise. Historically, many clients of both community-based programs and commercial clubs trained exclusively using weights, and there are still those who lift weights for body building. However, today, there are many other individuals (both men and women, young and old, and children) whose main focus is on using weight training to improve or maintain strength. Most health and fitness professionals today incorporate some form of strength training into a comprehensive exercise routine for their clients and for patients with stable diseases. It is not uncommon for cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, or metabolic disease management programs to include weight training in the exercise prescription. Strength training remains popular in commercial, community, clinical, and corporate health fitness facilities for many different kinds of clients. (credit:Alamy)
Educated, Certified, and Experienced Fitness Professionals(20 of20)
Open Image ModalHolding on to the no. 1 spot for the last 6 years, this is a trend that continues and drives the need for education and certification programs that are fully accredited by national third-party accrediting organisations for health and fitness and clinical exercise program professionals. (credit:Alamy)