Fitness & Exercise
6 Fitness Trends You Should Get On Board With
Mar
Fitness trends are as plentiful as Real House Wives memes these days and while some aren’t worth their weight in sweat, there are a few #fitnesstrends that you ought to pay attention to. #getonthebandwagon
HIIT
It’s intense, it’s challenging, it’s a proven fat burner…HIIT is a serious game changer. Most people know that physical activity is healthy. That being said, roughly 30% of adults still don’t get enough and the oft-cited reason is “not enough time”. HIIT, which stands for high-intensity interval training, is a time-saver (not to mention calorie-torcher), of a workout.
While most HIIT sessions last no longer than 20-30 minutes, you can torch some serious calories and build muscle at the same time. Moreover, studies have shown that HIIT raises your body’s metabolic rate for hours after your workout is over (good news for fat loss).
Yoga
Yoga is about more than Downward Facing Dog and om sessions. Depending on the type of yoga, you’ll focus on building strength, mobility, balance, awareness and a stronger connection with your body. If you are big into other types of training that are physically harder on your body (i.e. strength or power training, running, CrossFit), yoga is the perfect restorative practice for your off days.
More on the physical and mental benefits of yoga <<
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is essentially a self-applied massage. By now, you’re probably used to seeing a variety of foam rollers at the gym – some are soft, some are rock hard, some have what I like to call, teeth. They’re all used to roll out the “knots” and muscle tension that forms in your muscle as a result of over or under use, stress, overtraining, muscle imbalances or injury.
Imagine your muscle has an elastic band. If you tie a knot in the center and then stretch the band, the elastic around the knot stretches but the knot itself just gets tighter. Now, your muscle is not in an actual knot, but the process holds true. And if you are trying to maximize your workouts and you’re muscle don’t move as well as they should, you won’t get nearly as much from your workout as you could AND you risk further injury.
Group Training
When I ask my clients what their BIGGEST challenges are when it comes to working out, one of the most popular answers is “accountability”. Group training holds you accountable for turning up and for putting all of your energy and focus into the workout. When you KNOW that someone is counting on you to show up, you are far more likely to move your butt out the door and head to the gym.
On top of that, group training offers structure and support. Your coach or personal trainer is there to help you get results! Plus, you can feed off your trainer’s energy and the energy from the group to motivation you through a tough workout. No one wants to fall behind, right?
Functional Fitness
If you’re goals include adding more years to your life, or more life to your years, functional fitness should be in your vocabulary. The idea behind this type of training is to get better and stronger at the movements that you use constantly and consistently in everyday life. If you can hold a plank for 3 minutes but you fear pulling a muscle when stopping to pick up your child, functional fitness is for you.
This kind of training focuses primarily on basic movement patterns: squatting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting…movements that you are always doing but maybe not paying attention to. Training to improve functional strength will have you working on balance, core training, coordination, range of motion, starting and stopping, as well as strength training.
If you are interested in functional training, the best place to start is with an assessment from a trainer. A good trainer will be able to move you through a variety of assessments and identify muscle imbalances that you might currently be dealing with. They can also help you set up a routine to fix those imbalances and create a workout program that directly relates to everything you like to do outside of the gym: sports, hiking, playing with kids or pets, etc.
Which leads me to…
Hiring a Professional
You hire a professional to do your taxes. You hire a professional to clean your teeth. You hire a professional to clip your dog’s toenails but you don’t hire a professional to help you get your body on track?! You be great at being you, let them be great at being them and help you get results.
Most of us work harder when we’re encouraged and held accountable by another person. A professional coach can help you devise a plan that is 100% YOURS – based on your goals, your abilities and your preferences. They can help motivate you when you don’t want to work out. They can encourage you to do more than you might push yourself to do on your own.
Your personal trainer is on your side. They’ll make sure your questions are answered, your workouts aren’t wasted and you feel supported at all times.
