Seven Workout Trends Worth Trying
It seems there is a new fitness trend popping up every day now. From Zumba to CrossFit to Spinning, the abundance of exercise options are endless. Having too many choices with workouts, like any other facet of life, can be darn right overwhelming and a bit confusing especially for those just getting back to a regular exercise routine. But don’t give up quite yet! There is bound to be a workout trend that can help you reach your fitness goals, fit your schedule, and suit your personality type. For those who find yourselves stuck in the same ole routine, with so many options and numerous years of exercise “research” behind us, NOW is the perfect time to branch out and try something new!So don’t be shy. Give one or all of these trends a try to see what exercise is right for you!
Source: Chapin Yoga
BODY RESISTANCE TRAINING
Body resistance workouts are made for all levels of exercisers, from complete beginner to elite athletes. Exercises like body squats, push-ups, bear crawls, burpees, tricep dips, pull-ups, lunges, and planks are among the numerous body weight exercises that can help you tone up, build endurance, gain muscle, and lose weight. Body weight training workouts are great for those on-the-go who do not wish to purchase a gym membership, are limited on space, and do not have access to expensive equipment. Body resistance exercises can be modified for those perfecting form or just beginning the workout, or they can be intensified for those of you looking to advance your fitness levels. This workout can be done just about anywhere, anytime!
DANCE
Que the music! From ballroom, to line dancing, to hip hop, sometimes a beat is all you need to be motivated to get up and move. Of the most trending now is a fast paced and upbeat latin-inspired dance fitness class called Zumba! Invented by Beto Perez, Zumba offers easy-to-follow recurring steps and upbeat music for classes that can be performed at different abilities and intensities. Zumba has reached the masses globally by offering party-like dance DVDs and group exercises classes. Dance classes like Zumba appeals to those of you looking to get out of your boring, tedious workout routines and have some FUN!
HIIT
High Intensity Interval Training has been around for a few years now and has thus been determined to have greater impact on fat burning than a traditional cardio workout. Tabata style workouts are a great example of how to perform HIIT exercise. Common Tabata workouts encourage exercise with intense 20 second efforts and 10 seconds rest, for a total of eight rounds or four minutes. With HIIT, the key is to perform your 20 second exercise with an all-out effort, and choose exercises that challenge your aerobic and anaerobic capacities like burpees, sprints, light weight squats, plyometrics, and mountain climbers. With HIIT or Tabata workouts, you can achieve an effective workout in a short period of time!
Source: Nimble Fitness
SUSPENSION TRAINING
Perhaps you are looking to have a workout that can hang with your busy lifestyle. Well then, suspension training is made for you! For those on-the-go or at home, TRX has developed light-weight, heavy-duty suspension trainer straps that can be set up safely just about anywhere. With use of this portable equipment, exercisers can expect to focus on total-body weight training combined with balance and flexibility training. TRX sells strap kits with additional equipment options in addition to workout DVDs and books to walk you through the numerous exercises that can be performed with the straps. With such versatility and portability, TRX’s “one piece of equipment with unlimited possibilities” is a sure winner for those of you wanting to try out a new workout!
YOGA
If your fitness goal is improved flexibility, balance, and toning up, yoga may be the workout trend that is more your speed. Traditionally, yoga was a physical, mental and spiritual practice developed thousands of years ago in India. With its development stamped so far in the past, yoga has transformed into a popular workout across nations, proving to improve flexibility and balance, increase strength and muscle tone, decrease weight, maintain a healthy metabolism, encourage cardiovascular and circulatory health, promote mindfulness, and protect against injuries. Presently, there is a long list of yoga options like Vinyasa or Flow, Hot, Restorative, Ashtanga, Hatha, Rāja, or even Ariel yoga. With so many choices, there is definitely a style of yoga that suits you!
CROSSFIT
If you are looking for a high intensity workout and aren't afraid of pulling some weight, CROSSFIT is the fitness trend you should try! Utilizing various exercise techniques like heavy lifting, WODs (workouts of the day), interval training and more, CrossFit entices exercisers looking to improve strength, agility, power and speed. CrossFit has been tagged as the sport of exercise with competitions like, the Apex and CrossFit Games. These competition opportunities allow athletes at all levels to test new-found abilities further developing the CrossFit culture that has swept the nation. This workout trend can be found in specialty gyms that create an uplifting fitness environment and design effective workouts.With workouts designed to graduate all levels of athletes to an advanced level of fitness, the CrossFit culture is also working its way into traditional gyms through equipment and group exercise classes.
HEART RATE TRAINING
Achieving and maintaining a healthy heart is a fitness goal for many of you, so heart rate training may just be the workout that teaches you how to achieve that goal effectively and safely. Heart rate training is a term given to cardiovascular exercise that targets and maintains certain heart rate zones for a given amount of time with periods of recovery when necessary. Fitness facilities like Orange Theory has brought this training style out of the box. By utilizing different cardiovascular machines like spin bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines in combination with light weights, suspension trainers, balance equipment, and other strength-based equipment, this fitness facility specializes in workouts that can target your heart rate zones. Orange Theory also provides its participants with heart rate monitors in which results are displayed on monitors in front of you and others while you exercise. This use of heart rate monitors is a sure-fire way to encourage you to keep your heart rate in the appropriate heart rate zone to reach your goals of toning, losing weight, gaining muscle, improving balance, and most importantly, maintaining a healthy heart.
