The end of 2020 is here, and many of us have been working from home due to the current pandemic. And when you aren’t going for walks on your lunch break or even to the water cooler or the local coffee shop for your morning caffeine, we are lacking that bit of blood flow our bodies need to help stay healthy. The 150 minutes of vigorous exercise we need to be getting, is a necessity every week – 52 weeks a year, has been greatly diminished for those of us not leaving the house to venture out to the office or even the casual shopping we used to like to do. Let’s try and fix that! Make your health a priority in the new year with these 2021 fitness trends!
Physical activity 101
Making a positive impact on our health includes making sure we get in our weekly workouts. This includes when we are less physically active in general such as when we’re on vacation or staying in because it’s chilly outside.
Physical activity is crucial for our health. Exercise is medicine, and we can use it to treat and manage a variety of conditions. Not only does it help us maintain and improve our overall health but it also results in a lower risk of a range of illnesses and conditions, including:
- high blood pressure
- coronary heart disease
- stroke
- type 2 diabetes
- metabolic syndrome
- breast cancer
- depression
Additionally, people who make physical activity a consistent part of their everyday lives are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and composition. They are also less likely to experience fractures. For people with chronic pain, exercising on your own terms can help you manage the pain and reduce progression.
So, we’ve established that exercise is important for all seasons of the year. But what can we do to stay motivated? Here are 4 fitness trends for 2021 that you can begin even before your New Years’ resolutions kick in.
2021 fitness trends #1: Short HIIT workouts
There is research that contradicts the 150 minutes of exercise a week guideline. The premise: that much time is not needed when we are able to workout at the right intensity for shorter periods. This is good news for those who feel that they are too busy to workout regularly for long periods of time.
HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. It is based on research that found that high-intensity workouts at a target heart rate level for shorter periods are just as effective as lower-intensity, longer workouts for a range of health measures like heart rate and metabolism. It’s quite popular within the fitness industry and is on trend to remain so in 2021.
Are you ready to make HIIT training a part of your workout routine? Check out the thousands of examples on YouTube and find one that works for you!
2021 fitness trends #2: Streaming workouts and workout apps
Worried about Covid-19 or having time to get to the gym? Or has a poor experience in the gym environment turned you off? Now you can carry out a fitness-coach led workout from the comfort of your own home, thanks to streaming and wearable technology.
You can subscribe to workout channels and apps, often at a fraction of the price of what you would pay monthly at the gym. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can even stream workouts from there including workouts such as 8-minute abs, full body pilates, and power yoga.
You can find hundreds of other online workout programs that are easy to follow from home. Some even include a fitness community where you can track your progress and share it on social media or on the app community.
Some fitness centers may offer personal training or group training via live-streaming classes. Check to see if your local gym offers such options and take advantage of free trials or new year’s specials to end your year right.
2021 fitness trend #3: Audio guided-runs, bikes and treadmill workouts
There are brand new technologies coming out what seems like every day. One of the biggest of 2020 has to be the Peloton Bike. The Peloton bike is very costly, but Peloton’s benefits are what make people look past the cost and go all-in. The bottom line is that if you are going to faithfully use a Peloton bike, it might be worth the cost. Keep in mind there are also added subscription costs.
A cheaper alternative could be that old stationary bike gathering dust in your basement. Why not dust it off and take if for a “ride”? If you aren’t sure what to do with it, this next trend will be very helpful.
Now, you can download audio-guided runs, bike rides, and treadmill workouts. The audio trainers will keep you motivated, tell you when to amp up your intensity and even when to cool down. There’s no need to worry about timing or adjusting your schedule to make it to your gym’s spinning class.
2021 fitness trend #4: Mind + body workouts/combining meditation and runs
The meditation app Headspace teamed up with Nike to create guided runs that help you to work on your mental health while also improving your physical health.
Meditation in itself can be very beneficial to your overall well being. Physical exercise has also shown to be beneficial to improving your mental health.
This is all good news! To really enjoy the holidays, it is important to be in a relaxed and open mental state. Mind + body workouts with guided meditation can help you achieve that.
Most of us feel a tremendous amount of stress as the end of the year creeps up. From party planning to completing professional to-do lists to holiday shopping to spending time with family and loved ones to wrapping up our goals from this year, we often feel rushed and overwhelmed. Any other additional obligations to self-care may fall by the wayside as we try to merely keep up.
Let’s make fitness happen in 2021!
Going into this new year, let’s set specific goals to prioritize our health. Let’s make sure to make the time in our schedules each day to do exercise and eat right. Luckily, we have some up-and-coming trends that may be beneficial to making sure we end our year and start out the new one with the right workout routine for us.
Got other ideas for your 2021 fitness plans? Give them a try! Dance workouts, functional fitness training, cardio for weight loss, circuit weight training for muscle gains and more are all at your fingertips. Thanks to highly qualified personal trainers, easy-to-use fitness trackers and personalized and affordable fitness programs, making fitness a part of your daily routine has never been more convenient!
Which of these 2021 fitness trends are you most excited to try?
We want to hear about your successes in the comments below!
What topics related to fitness trends would you like to see us research?
Email us at info@painresource.com with your ideas!
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very helpful info. Thanks for sharing.