The world’s most commonly known and globally recognized overview; American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) released its Top Ten Fitness Trends for 2018 and is a world-wide survey of fitness trends.
One of the key elements is that the article makes the very important distinction between a fad and a trend, in order to compile the list.
Incredibly, BODYTEC falls into four of the ten listed trends, namely #1 – High Intensity Interval Training, #5 – Strength Training, #6 – Educated, certified and experienced fitness professionals, and #8 – Personal Training.
1) High-Intensity Interval Training
HIIT typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery and typically takes less than 30 minutes to perform (although it is not uncommon for these programs to be much longer in duration).
BODYTEC’s EMS training is an efficient full-body 20 minute, once a week workout that stimulates multiple muscle groups simultaneously, allowing for a repeated activation of the whole body
2) Group Training
Group exercise instructors teach, lead, and motivate individuals through intentionally designed larger group exercise classes (more than five or it would be group personal training). Group programs are designed to be effective sessions for different fitness levels and are motivational with instructors having leadership techniques that help individuals in their classes achieve fitness goals. There are many types of classes and equipment, from aerobics and bicycles to dance classes.
3) Wearable Technology
Wearable technology includes activity trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, GPS tracking devices, and smart eye glasses (designed to show maps and track activity) that were introduced only a few years ago. Examples include fitness and activity trackers like those from Misfit, Apple iWatch, Garmin, EFOSMH, Pebble Time, Juboury, Samsung, Basis, Jawbone, and Fitbit.
4) Body Weight Training
Body weight training has been used previously; in fact people have been using their own body weight for centuries as a form of resistance training. Typical body weight training programs use minimal equipment, which makes it a very inexpensive way to exercise effectively. Although most people think of body weight training as being limited to push-ups and pull-ups, it can be much more than that.
5) Strength Training
Strength training remains popular in all sectors of the health and fitness industry and for many kinds of clients. Many younger clients of both community-based programs and commercial clubs train almost exclusively using weights. In today’s gyms, however, there are many others (men and women, young and old, children, and patients with a stable chronic disease) whose main focus is on using weight training to improve or maintain strength. Many contemporary and innovative health fitness professionals incorporate some form of strength training into the comprehensive exercise routine for their clients and for their patients. It is not uncommon for cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation or metabolic disease management programs to include weight training in the exercise programs for their patients. Compared to conventional weight training, EMS training activates deeper muscle groups which leads to better balance amongst the muscles in the body and increased core stability.
6) Educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals.
This is a trend that continues now that there are third-party accreditations offered by national accrediting organizations for health and fitness, clinical exercise program professionals and a registry designed for exercise professionals. There continues to be sustained growth of educational programs at community colleges, colleges and universities. Clients will always do BODYTEC EMS training under the guidance of a personal trainer who can activate eight muscle groups individually (such as the lower back, stomach, biceps and glutes) according to individual goals and needs.
7) Yoga
Yoga comes in a variety of forms including Power Yoga, Yogalates, and Bikram Yoga (the one done in hot and humid environments). Other forms of yoga include Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga, Vinyasa Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, Anuara Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Sivananda Yoga. Instructional videos and books are abundant, as are the growing numbers of certifications for the many yoga formats.
8) Personal Training
Personal trainers are employed by community-based programs, in commercial settings, in corporate wellness programs, and in medical fitness programs, or are self-employed and work independently. Each BODYTEC studio is run by a qualified personal trainer who will work with clients to achieve personal fitness goals.
9) Fitness programs for older adults
There is a growing market of older adults who are now retiring healthier than other generations. Health fitness facilities should consider taking advantage of this by providing safe, age-appropriate exercise programs for this once-ignored sector of the population. Even the frail elderly can improve their balance and ability to perform activities of daily living when given appropriate functional fitness program activities.
10) Functional fitness.
Functional fitness is defined as using strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power, and endurance to enhance someone’s ability to perform activities of daily living. Functional fitness also is used in clinical programs to replicate activities done around the home.
