With the new year underway, you might have an itch to give the gym a shot again.
But before you undertake your resolution to be more active, only to give up on that resolution three weeks later, let us walk you through the newest trends in fitness.
Exercise science, just like every science, is constantly evolving, and being fit in 2019 doesn’t mean you need to run six miles each day or lift hundreds each gym visit.
Sherri McMillan, the owner of Northwest Personal Training in downtown Vancouver, said some of the newest trends in fitness revolve around improving mobility and pliability. It’s less about being “strong and fast,” she said, and more focused on peak performance, efficiency and injury prevention.
“What we’re seeing more and more of is mobility and release training to help people become more mobile,” she said. “It’s ‘I need to be able to move through my normal joint range of motion pain-free.’ Not just lifting as heavy as you can.”
This all comes down to “using muscles and joints in the ways they are designed to move,” McMillan explained. She said that stretching, and using foam rollers or vibrating, massaging tools have become more popular. People are recognizing more of the importance in breaking down fascia to gain more mobility and decrease tightness. She said that over time, tissue can become sticky and tight.
Think of “lengthening while you are strengthening,” she explained.
“As a society, we’re getting older and people are realizing they need to take care of their body,” McMillan said.
There’s also an emphasis on high intensity interval training, where you focus on performing weight training repetitions to fatigue. McMillan said HIT, as it’s commonly called, can be great for getting in shape fast and efficiently, but she warned of using too much HIT because it can break the body down since it’s so intense. Other options include bodyweight workouts and Yoga. Of course you can also still partake in more traditional cardio and weight-training workouts, too.
The key is diversifying your workouts to keep the body guessing and avoid overuse, McMillan said.
Other trends that seem to be picking up involve a mixture of technology and camaraderie. McMillan said smart watches seem to increase activity through their interactiveness, ability to track activity, and ability to create challenges with families and friends. People can see how much their loved ones are walking, and give them a gentle nudge if they’re slacking. Watches can also track sleep, a necessary part of physical fitness.
“People need that regular feedback on how many steps they’ve taken, how many miles they’ve walked in their regular day-to-day activities,” McMillan said.
McMillan highly recommends finding group workouts. It helps when you’ve got friendly faces to hold you accountable, she said, and it can make your workout more enjoyable.
“It’s important to have your tribe,” McMillan said. “Who’s your tribe? Who’s your community? Who are the people you’re connecting with? The majority of people need a tribe. They need to belong somewhere. They need to fit in. Don’t do it alone.”
