Let's look to 2022 with optimism, hoping that the pandemic will go away for good and free us from its control. Online training is still on the rise and is here to stay, but gyms will fill up again and we will all adjust the way we live and train as we get used to the new normal. And of course, with technological advances, there will be new opportunities and new challenges for fitness lovers.
Let's start this article with some more obvious and widespread trends, and end with some different suggestions - we think!
Hybrid Memberships in Gyms
We are starting to notice a clear increase in gyms offering membership packages with in-person training - in the gym - and online training. This trend appears as a response to the changing habits of society, which adopted online training en masse when all traditional alternatives were no longer available. Now the clubs, who saw online training as a competitor and a threat, have realized that this trend can be a strong ally and complement to the service that the clubs already offered. In this way, hybrid memberships aim to provide consumers with a level of convenience that they not only expect, but already demand.
Low Impact Workouts
As popular as high-intensity training is, there's plenty of room for low-impact training to grow like never before. Exercises like Yoga, Pilates or Rowing can be great strengthening workouts without being too harsh on the body and, as more people simply look for solutions to live a healthier life, these effective but less impactful exercises will be a training trend growing.
Reverse Running - running backwards
This was one of the surprises we had for you! Yes, Reverse Running is in fashion and should continue to grow in 2022. According to some studies, this type of running has less impact on the knees and, being a different movement than usual that recruits muscles that are not used to training hard, it makes caloric expenditure is higher. In addition to these advantages, it is also mentioned that running backwards improves the cardiovascular conditions of those who practice it. But be careful, you must start slowly and in a spacious park because in the first runs controlled falls may occur as the center of balance will be altered.
Exercises with variable weight
No, we are not talking about weight training in the gym or classes with weights. The trend is different: jumping rope with a heavy rope and doing the hula-hoop with a heavy bow ! During the pandemic and lockdowns, we all had to adapt our training to be able to train at home. And jumping rope or doing hula are back in fashion! But now the ropes are heavier and so are the hula bows. The advantages are numerous, from increasing cardiovascular capacity to strengthening abdominal, back, shoulder and arm muscles. Furthermore, according to the Crossrope website, the weight of the ropes creates more resistance, resulting in greater muscle involvement and greater calorie burning compared to rope jumping with light ropes.
Inclusive training
Making training increasingly inclusive and diverse is a goal for clubs, gyms, studios and even training apps. And it's up to the industry to realize that the public wants more diversity and that there are people who don't want to "train hard" and prefer to have fun. And it is in the mix of inclusion and fun that we find an app that is on the rise - Joyn - body movement without judgment or censorship.
ZUU Workouts and Animal Flow
The return to our origins and inspiration from animal movements are the definition of these types of training. ZUU is HIIT (high intensity interval training), intense, fast and with a high level of difficulty, the beauty of this training being the simplicity of its movements and their fluidity. It was created to strengthen all planes of movement, countering traditional training trends. Animal Flow is also a type of movement using only your body weight. It's a non-choreographed, fun, controlled and challenging workout. The biggest difference between this training and ZUU has to do with the state of calm and tranquility that is achieved since this is supposed to be a training in harmony with nature.
Summary
While no one can predict the future, it's clear that changing consumer behavior and technology will continue to drive change in training. As it is increasingly clear that the world is approaching health and fitness in a completely different way than it did before the pandemic, fitness will increasingly focus on alternatives that complement physical well-being with mind-body balance. .
