With the new year comes new fitness resolutions – have you set yours yet? As we transit into an endemic era in 2023, fitness has evolved to incorporate a good range of options accommodating work-from-home to daily office working routines. As such, finding a suitable routine for yourself is no longer difficult!
Ready to jump into your first workout but have no idea where to start? Or are you sick of your usual routine and want something fresh and hip? Look no further – here are the top 10 local trends for you to choose from.

Jumping to the top, wearable technology has been incorporated into the fitness industry at an exponential rate for the past few years. These devices include fitness trackers, smart watches, and heart rate monitors that continue to revolutionize people’s approach to physical health and fitness. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see a person completing their day-to-day tasks wearing a smartwatch today. New innovations now include tracking blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, electrocardiogram, and many more.

Want to build muscles? This form of exercise uses specific equipment such as free weights, barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, and medicine balls to improve or maintain muscular fitness. It also focuses on proper movement and lifting technique, allowing for progressive improvement by manipulating repetitions and sets to achieve specific muscular goals.

Inexpensive and practical. This form of training is a versatile and flexible option for people who choose to work from home, or want to squeeze in a quick workout before their next appointment. The main source of resistance training? One’s own body weight.

Now that people are living and working longer, there has been an increase in demand for fitness programs catering to older adults. With simple goals of wanting to stay healthy and continue being physically active throughout their lifespan, they are enthusiastic to go to gyms catering to their needs and slightly gentler pace.

The draw of fresh air and nature remains strong as people continue to work from home to varying degrees. Now living in an endemic environment, people seem to have formed the habit of cycling, walking, hiking and swimming either in groups or individually. There’s no wonder why, given how addictive the outdoors can be while completing one’s daily fitness goals.

Not exactly for the faint of heart, this workout is for people looking for a fast-paced, high cardio, full body training. Usually done in groups at a gym, people are led through a series of repetitions with intervals of rests in-between. The high energy that these classes maintain are usually best for adrenaline junkies and those looking for new challenges to boost their mental and physical capacities.

Coming out of the pandemic, weight gain (either actual or perceived) has become another main motivator for people to exercise. The exercise programs they seek are usually best coupled with healthy diet plans, where cooking classes could be beneficial. Most importantly, the main reason for losing weight lies in the betterment of physical and mental health, replacing lethargy with alertness and better motor skills to continue fresh throughout the day.

Not confident in achieving your fitness goal? People have taken to seeking out personal trainers. These are professionals who are more than capable of curating exercise and meal plans to cater to each individual’s needs. Be it wanting to lose weight, gain muscle mass, or simply maintain a light, lean physique, a personal trainer will draw up a prescribed schedule to help their clients reach their goal with maximum results.

This used to be a popular alternative to going to public gyms during the pandemic, and still remains so today! Expensive gym equipments are replaced with simple set-ups of resistance bands, free weights, and treadmills. Perhaps the novelty of not needing to share a machine or waiting in-line to do reps have people sticking to their personalized gyms, even while the world opens up more and more today.

Spin classes, yoga day, kickboxing. Going for workouts with friends and colleagues have begun to increase in popularity as gyms begin to lift their crowd restrictions accordingly. Many are grabbing the chance to revel in the atmosphere of high energy and camaraderie as instructors push them through a hard and sweaty hour. Even better if one finds a free class pass!

Did any routine capture your heart? Well, don’t wait any longer, go for it!
Wishing you a boosted, productive, and high-flying fitness year ahead.

Source, ACSM Health & Fitness Journal

The fitness scene had a booming year in 2021, with credits going to the seemingly never-ending pandemic, which contributed to the increasing number of fitness enthusiasts. As we grapple with pandemic fatigue, many take to exercising to maintain their physical health and mental wellness. With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, the fitness scene looks set to reach new heights this year.

Whether you are a newbie or a die-hard fitness fanatic, we’ve picked out 10 local fitness trends you might want to try in 2022.

As work-from-home arrangements continued for most parts of 2021, it is natural to get an innate desire to head outdoors to burn some pent up energy after staying home and staring at screens for most parts of the day.

2021 shows a continued upward trend in small group cycling, group hikes and jogging as the pandemic lingered. It’s hard to resist the pull of fresh air and nature, the thrill of exploring new routes, all these while getting a decent workout in the process!

Even as more are exercising outdoors, there are also a significant proportion of people who choose to stay home to work out instead. With exercise equipment being increasingly accessible and affordable, coupled with the abundance of fitness apps and online workout classes, it is easy to achieve a decent workout in the confines of your own home.

Wearable technology has been one of the top trends for the past few years. It is now the norm to find fitness functions like activity trackers and heart rate monitors incorporated in smart watches. More sophisticated fitness wearables boosts functions like tracking blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate while you train. Wearable technology has revolutionized the fitness industry, allowing users to track and better customize their exercise regimes according to their body needs.

Not sure how to plan your daily workout or getting bored of your usual workout regime? Harness the trove of exercise apps available online to freshen things up. Ranging from free to paid, these apps offer a whole myriad of activities and customizable workouts for you to take your pick.

With the uncertainty of COVID-19 situation and the volatility it presents, fitness classes have taken to offering online live and on-demand exercise classes. These classes appeal to the time-squeezed individuals or those who prefer to work out with the peace of mind without worrying about the hygiene and sanitization standards of the gym.

High Intensity Workout Training (HIIT) is known for being fast and furious, and is ideal for those who are looking for a full body, cardio intensive workout and massive calories burn. Group HIIT classes have been a hit in recent years, with its appeal of being part of a like-minded community and feeding off the high-energy dynamics as they power through and push against body and mental limits to meet their goals.

If you are looking for something more exciting other than cycling outdoors or pushing through a HIIT workout, a spin class might be what you are looking for. Unlike a typical gym session, spin classes are known for the adrenalin rush, high-energy group dynamics while cycling in a club-like environment with upbeat dance and pop music. These sessions are cardio intensive yet low impact, offering a full body workout while you get a great dose of fun.

2021 saw an increase in the number of gym users who prioritise sanitization, hygiene and social distancing measures during their workouts, with many opting for small boutique studios instead of big fitness chains. Most of these boutique studios offer a more personalized training experience, helping you to tailor your workout programme to meet your fitness goals.

As the saying goes, we are unique individuals. So are our bodies and fitness needs. Achieve your goals; be it weight-loss, muscle gain or strength-training with a customized fitness programme that is specially designed for you by a personal trainer. Some trainers even help to tailor dietary plan to achieve your goals. In short, it’s about strategic exercise and achieving maximum results.

Mindfulness and self-care have taken a strong narrative in the 2021. More than exercising to keep in shape, fitness has been embraced as part of a bigger picture of keeping a healthy diet and lifestyle, managing stress and maintaining psychological health.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing temporarily closures of fitness facilities worldwide in 2020, fitness clubs, trainers and fitness enthusiasts had to pivot their regular fitness experiences to take on virtual fitness and wellness experiences.

With American College of Sport’s Medicine’s annual global survey for 2021, we have an insight into the fitness categories that will be necessary to focus on throughout the year

Make sure your fitness facility is prepared to accommodate the changing times with this list. Together, let’s make 2021 a safe, healthy and invigorating year

Created for home workout, online training has been growing significantly over the past year and no signs of it slowing down. Online training can be accessed through live-streams or recordings and can be done at exercisers’ convenience. Many fitness facilities and trainers have offered online training within their services, as it keeps exercisers and clients engaged and connected.

Always in the top 3 since it was first listed in 2016, wearable technology includes smart watches, fitness trackers, heart-rate monitors and GPS tracking devices. With an estimate to be around a USD100 billion industry, wearable technologies are use to track workouts, heart rates, measure oxygen levels, monitor sleep and myriad of other options.

COVID-19 pandemic has caused exercisers to review their normal workout routines and focus on exercising with limited space and equipment. By combining a variable resistance body weight training and neuromotor movements using multiple planes of movement, body weight is used as the training modality for this training program.

Due to the temporarily closure of clubs, people are seeking opportunities to explore outside and enjoy the fresh air, while maintaining a safe distance from others. The pandemic has probably led to the increase in outdoor activities such as hiking, trekking, biking.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been the top 5 fitness trends since 2014. HIIT includes strength training, cardio training or a combination of both. HIIT programs involves bursts of high-intensity exercise, followed by short periods of recovery, thus allowing exercisers to complete efficient workouts in 30 minutes or less.

Virtual training is group training workouts that are displayed on large screens in fitness facilities. This method of training tends to attract fewer exercisers than live stream workout classes, but it allows exercises from a variety of fitness backgrounds to participate in the workout at their own pace.

Exercise is Medicine (EIM) is a global initiative to encourage doctors and healthcare workers to assess every patients’ physical activity levels and refer them to evident based exercise programs and qualified professionals.

Strength training involves kettle bells, barbells, dumbbells and medicine balls. This mode of training focuses on the proper exercise form and technique. Once form and technique are correct, increased resistance and new exercises will be added to build progressively.

Trending in the top 10, we can’t emphasize enough how important fitness are to the baby boomers and older generations. Fitness clubs could benefit from this growing market, as the baby boomers age into retirement. Many certified health and fitness professionals are creating suitable fitness programs to keep the older adults healthy and active.

With the growing accessibility to online, fitness and health clubs, home and workpalce that provides fitness facilities, personal training continues to be a strong trend in the fitness industry. Personal training includes fitness testing and goal settings with the trainer, to allow trainer to provide specific workouts to meet the goals and needs of their client.

With this 2021 top 10 fitness trends, we wish the best for all fitness facilities, trainers and exercisers as we move into 2021. Let’s stay safe and healthy together!