Top 8 Fitness Trends Which Are Worth The Hype In 2023!
Almost no service sector remained the same after 2020, but the fitness industry is arguably the one that saw the biggest change with more and more fitness trends popping up left, right, and center.
With nowhere to go and all the time in the world for a while, the creative juices started flowing and people came up with all sorts of new fitness trends. These included gym instructors and fitness influencers who saw this as the right opportunity to be more socially active.
We saw the rise of virtual Zumba/ Yoga classes as well as socially distanced workout methods like stationary bikes. Fitness enthusiasts came up with different ways throughout the year to be in shape. This gave birth to competitions like virtual marathons.
While some of these fitness trends faded with time, some were so innovative and effective that it would be unfair to call them a ‘trend’ anymore!
Check out the latest fitness trends which managed to make an impact in the pandemic & post-pandemic era, and are here to stay for a long time.
- Working ‘OUT’
- LISS workout
- HIIT workout
- Cycling at home
- Wearable tech
- Virtual fitness challenges
- Hybrid training classes
- Fitness scheduling software
Let’s dive right in and see what the hype is all about! 🤔
1. Working ‘OUT’
The first one on the list is the most obvious!
Even though home quarantines have literally saved millions of lives during the pandemic, humans were not made for confinement. As things are slowly getting back on track after vaccination rounds and proper precautions, people want to go out more and more.
Thankfully there are places where you can work out outdoors, without being in contact with people. Some of these include mountain trekking routes, natural cycling pathways, or a simple run around the block. Exercising outside can improve physical as well as mental health.
Gyms and fitness studios also hopped on this trend and gave their clients an option to work out in public spaces like parks. Small group sessions which take place outside definitely give an even bigger serotonin boost because of the previously trapped situation.
For a more guided workout session, you can also include this type of workout at your gym. Check out how to make outdoor fitness classes a part of your gym’s offerings.
Hence, call it a trend or not, but after year-long confinement, more and more people will start to go out and try to be active outdoors.
2. LISS Workout
Low-Intensity Steady State workout is nothing new, but it gained traction after COVID hit. LISS is an aerobic exercise designed to keep your heart rate at a sustainable rate, but still pushing your limits.
In 2020, people all over the world started experiencing the benefits of a good workout routine. LISS workout is designed to put less stress on your heart and lungs and thus can be done to be physically active.
Exercising at a lower intensity for longer periods not only improves the endurance of your body and the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood but also keeps your mental well-being in check.
Over the course of last year, people took to various exercises to not only keep their physical but also mental health in check.
Forms of exercise like Yoga and Pilates include breathing, concentration, control, precision, and flow. Meditative exercises like these have helped people get through some tough times and they are here to stay in 2023 as well.
3. HIIT Workout
You would think that HIIT or high-intensity interval training is everything that goes against the LISS form of workout.
Why would anyone do that?
Well, the reason is simple – LACK OF MOTIVATION!
What does that mean?
With tons of time on hand during the pandemic, many people tried the latest workout trends, to come out of the quarantine with the hottest of bods. But as time went on and no one knew when things would get back on track, they started losing motivation.
HIIT is one such workout method that acts as a cheat code for the brain. You can trick your brain into thinking that you’ll only work out for 25-30 mins and get over that initial lethargy. The short burst of energy that is required for a HIIT session also elevates your mood and releases endorphins to make you feel good.
As things are starting to get back on track, HIIT workouts will retain their place as a form of exercise that doesn’t take much time and still yields great results.
4. Cycling… at home
Other than being a personal favorite and an excellent means of transport, cycling has always been a vastly popular form of exercise.
But last year, this rose to stardom and achieved even greater heights than ever before. That was made possible thanks to stationary bikes. Because the activity is isolated, people could do it from the safety of their homes.
In September, the interactive fitness platform’s CEO John Foley said it was aiming to have 100 million paying subscribers one day following growth in sales of its high-tech bike – much like a spin bike – in 2020. The bike was so popular that it went out of stock in most stores for some time and Peloton grew 350% in 2020, per Forbes.
This shows no sign of slowing down in 2023 either. Cycling will remain a crowd favorite for a long time.
5. Wearable tech
Need is the mother of inventions, but sometimes you get to know that you needed something only after you see it work.
Wearable tech is one such thing. It can be smartwatches that give you every little detail of what’s going on in your body – from sleep tracking to Oxygen levels, they tell you about your heart rate as well as how much you walked today.
All this information not only gives a sense of achievement when you reach your set goals for the day but also helps you decide the right course of action to reduce that persistent belly fat. 🙂
Another example includes NURVV Run, a new smart device designed for all runners offering a unique running insight. Their insoles have a whopping 16 precision sensors on each insole, and in turn measure your footstrike, cadence, pronation, and more – from your feet.
Waterproof wearable tech also allows swimmers to collect data from their swim resulting in better results.
Pre-existing tech like VR headsets was also used to exercise outside of the gaming domain that it was originally intended for. VR headsets brought the outside world to home as more and more people got into VR-instructed workout videos.
In 2020, smart wearable tech gave birth to many fitness challenges and virtual marathons. You put on your smartwatch and run the course of your choice. In the end, your watch measures the distance in the given time, and the winners are decided.
2023 could see more of these competitions which would connect people regardless of the physical boundaries of the world.
6. Virtual fitness challenges
This age of technology brings us to the next innovation – virtual fitness challenges. These burst onto the scene during the lockdown period. When many professional athletes and fitness influencers started nominating people for these challenges, it became a trend.
Although originally meant to keep people busy during the quarantine period, fitness challenges quickly became a way to appeal to fitness enthusiasts and gain popularity all over the internet.
Virtual fitness challenges instantly connect people to their favorite athletes and create a sense of community. It brought meaning to ‘staying far apart yet being together’.
With the growing number of people who are interested in this trend, online fitness classes became a thing. Professional trainers converted this trend into a full-fledged business idea that became an instant hit among fitness enthusiasts.
Curious about how to adapt to this style of business?
Check out our blog on how to start an online fitness business to get all the details.
Influencers and professional athletes also see this as a medium to connect with their fans and grow their social media followers. So, this is a trend that we definitely expect to see more in 2023.
7. Hybrid Training Classes
After following different guidelines depending on the precautionary measures that need to be followed in different areas, businesses are slowly starting to get back to in-person meetings. But 2020 gave a convenience-based training model to fitness instructors which will try to become the new normal in the future.
A hybrid training model would simply mean that online personal training will be pre-recorded videos or live online classes (according to the needs of the client) for workouts + diet plans. The clients can later schedule an in-person appointment for advice about their posture or workouts as needed.
Even more than a trend, this is the need of the hour. Along with increased safety, this gives people the freedom to work out without worrying about the time they need to take out of their day to go to a gym.
8. Fitness scheduling software
Another fitness trend that will continue becoming less of a trend and more of a norm is the application of online scheduling programs at gyms and other training-providing businesses that work on a system of appointments.
As the fitness industry gets back to normal and grows due to increasing attention to health, managing the number of appointments that trainers get is going to be difficult.
Fitness and gym scheduling software such as Appointy helps fitness professionals and businesses with their appointment scheduling needs, sends personalized email reminders, and even manages their admin work.
Final thoughts
The gym and fitness industry is something that always sways in the direction of people who keep up to date with the current fitness trends in the market. It becomes almost a necessity for gym owners to incorporate these fitness industry trends as part of their offerings. It helps them appeal to people who are always looking to try out some new method of training.
Another segment of society that is always on the lookout for trendy workout ideas is those who have problems committing to a workout routine. Keeping up with these health and fitness trends also helps you retain your current clients.
Trends in the fitness industry help them sign up for some training routine and then as a gym owner/ fitness instructor, it now becomes your job to keep up with trends and retain these clients.
In order to increase your clientele, incorporating these fitness trends isn’t enough. You need to market your business well to reach the right audience.
Check out these fitness marketing ideas to get more clients.
Stay trendy!
About Appointy
We at Appointy, help business owners grow and run their businesses with our online scheduling software. This blog was a part of our ‘Manage your Business’ category, where we provide expert tips, and resources, or simply talk about the challenges that small and medium businesses face every day.
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