COVID-19 impacts fitness trends

Given the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it only makes sense that online training would be the top fitness trend heading into the New Year.

That ranking and others appear in the American College of Sports Medicine’s “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends.” Now in its 15th year, the annual survey ranks the top 41 fitness trends projected for 2021. The electronic survey received more than 4,300 responses from personal trainers, health/fitness directors, physical therapists, doctors, nurses, and others.

The top five fitness trends identified in the 2021 survey are:

1. Online training. It is available 24/7 and can be live streaming or prerecorded workouts. Online training jumped to number one, up from number 26 the previous year, most likely due to COVID-19 and the shift from fitness clubs to homes.
2. Wearable technology. It had been the number one fitness trend since it was first introduced on the survey in 2016. The technology includes fitness trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices.
3. Body weight training. This form of exercise uses minimal equipment and is an inexpensive way to exercise effectively. It previously ranked as the seventh most popular fitness trend.
4. Outdoor activities. Ranked 13th last year, outdoor activities are becoming more popular, perhaps due to COVID-19. These activities includes walking, biking, and hiking.
5. High-intensity interval training. This has been a top 10 fitness trend since 2014. It typically involves cardio activity with short bursts of high-intensity exercise, followed by a short period of rest or recovery.

Other top fitness trends (listed in order by ranking) include:

• Virtual training. It happens in real time via a video conferencing application like Zoom or Skype. As with online training, its appearance in the top 10 may be a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Exercise is medicine. This is a global health initiative that encourages primary care providers to include physical activity assessment and treatment recommendations as part of every patient visit.
• Strength training with free weights. It involves instructors who teach proper form for each exercise and progressively increase resistance once correct form is accomplished.
• Fitness programs for older adults. These programs address the fitness needs of Baby Boomers and older generations and include age-specific resistance, strength, and endurance training. Dropping out of the top 20 for the 2021 survey are circuit training, children and exercise, and worksite health promotion and workplace well-being.

Dropping out of the top 20 for the 2021 survey are circuit training, children and exercise, and worksite health promotion and workplace well-being.