Dr. McDougall’s Top trends for the fitness industry in 2019

Top trends for the fitness industry in 2019 include innovative approaches and brand new twists to some good old fashioned favorites. Time is of the essence these days and so getting more bang for your buck, or more training effects for your time, is trending. Also, with the ever increasing presence of social media, the personal trainer is available to more clients online, but more importantly, is gaining more and more access to top notch educational resources to help deliver a higher level of service.

 

1. Strength Training with Eccentric Loading. Flywheel technology has been around for more than a decade in Europe, and is becoming staple at the college and professional level of sports in the US and Canada, but recent advances in production quality have made these devices more affordable and accessible for use in fitness environments.  Look for the Exxentric kBox to pop up in your favorite gym that has an eye for innovation. Useful for populations that want a safe alternative to traditional deadlifting and squatting..
2. Small Group Strength and Conditioning.  Also becoming popular for youth sports, this trend stems from the new and increasing opportunities to learn from renowned coaches of Olympic and professional athletes. The types of exercises and training methods can be applied to the weekend warrior, runner looking for an edge, skiers wanting more specific dry land training, or any level of competitive athlete.
3. Personal Training– as stated above, the certifications available to the ambitious trainer out there has never been better, so the services, expertise, and overall quality for this professional is getting better and better. A subset to this category is the online personal trainer. When the exercises are easier to learn, and all a client needs to know are the progressions for a periodized block, the information is easily transferred online. This trend is also usually much more affordable and is growing fast in the Power Lifting community.
4. 30 Minute Fitness Classes- HIIT training. Our lives are busy and the time we have to dedicate to extra-curricular activities is increasingly limited. Gyms and classes are popping up that exclusively cater to the person needing a proven methodology for increasing their metabolism, VO2 Max, and burning calories in the most efficient way possible.
5. Barre Classes– Once a dancer always a dancer. The immediate appeal for this trend is to all the dancers, used-to-be-a-dancer, and always-wanted-to-be-a-dancers, but this class is also appealing to many more. These are classes, with foundations in ballet barre exercises, that are excellent for core control and strengthening, flexibility, body awareness, and toning muscles .
6. Power Lifting– not new at all, but with increasing numbers of sanctioned competitions being held, this classic of strength training has seen a mushrooming of online trainers, well-equipped gyms, experienced trainers, and participants inspiring others to join the movement.

 

Dark horse- while I don’t see it as a trend for 2019, there are niche methodologies that have a proven track record and have stood the test of time. One such example is Gyrotonics.  Along with the ebb and flow in popularity of the more known Pilates (and it’s latest iteration, Lagree) Gyrotonics deserves a mention because it has the history in Europe and places like New York City to lend it credibility, and because of the addition of a new teaching population in Vancouver. This will make Gyrotonics, a rhythmic, machine based core blaster and leg toner, a strong alternative for the alternative fitness industry followers.

To connect with Dr. McDogall, you can book here.