3 Hot Fitness Trends of 2012

Every year, there are new trends in fitness. Some last longer than others. Some are more effective than others, making them more than a "trend."
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Tae Bo, spinning, Zumba... Every year, there are new trends in fitness. Some last longer than others. Some are more effective than others, making them more than a "trend." That's my job, to sift through the latest and greatest and deliver to you the top three that are more than just "trends" and are a new development in fitness worth checking out.

1.I got the power! Power production and the ability to be reactive is a quality that we lose as we age. The good news is that if you include certain exercises as part of your exercise program, you can develop power, elasticity and reactivity. You may have seen some of the tools that work great for developing power on trendy TV shows such as The Biggest Loser or in the movies, which make them seem like fads or trends, but they are more than that. At Results Fitness we use tools such as kettlebells, ropes and medicine balls to improve our clients' abilities to generate power. In addition, you can work up to explosive exercises such as box jumps. Power exercises using all of these tools are hot right now, but are also more than just a trend. Start to incorporate power development into your fitness routine.

2.Women are taking over the strength-training floor. For so long, women stuck to the cardio machines and aerobics classes when it came to their fitness programs -- but the latest, hottest trend is women taking over the strength-training floor. I'm not talking about pink, two-pound Barbie weights, real weights. Women are realizing the benefits of lifting weights may outweigh other types of exercise that they can do, according to various small studies. No longer afraid of bulking up, women are going after the fit, toned look they always wanted while gaining the benefits of strength, decreasing their risk of osteoporosis, boosting their metabolism, and reducing their risk of injuries. Most strength training floors are starting to get infiltrated with women, pushing the men aside to lift weights.

3.Trainers aren't just for celebrities anymore. Personal training started as an elite service that only celebrities had access to, along with their chefs and their maids. This has changed dramatically in the last few years with the rise of group fitness coaching, instead of the outdated, one-on-one personal training model done in the past. Fitness trainers coaching individuals in semi-private sessions and groups is something we have found at Results Fitness to be more effective for results, and makes fitness coaching accessible to a larger audience. Plus, who wants someone standing there staring at just you for the entire hour while you are exercising? It isn't necessary, and programs can still be designed individually for each client getting all of the benefits of one on one personal training, without the elite price tag. In addition, research has shown that having social support is one of the keys to long-term success on a weight loss or fitness program. One-on-one personal training is a thing of the past, and the newest, latest, hottest trend of semi-private and group fitness coaching is here to stay.

To get caught up with these trends, find a gym to join where you can participate in group or semi-private fitness coaching with a knowledgeable trainer who incorporates power development and strength training as part of the program.

For more by Rachel Cosgrove, click here.

For more on fitness and exercise, click here.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE