NUTRITION

Top ten health and

fitness trends of the decade: 1 2 3 4

Personal Trainers – the idea of the decade which promoted one-on-one bespoke training and took what had been the preserve of the rich and famous to the masses.

Outdoor exercise – green gyms, boot-camps, Nordic walking; the past 10 years has seen exercise move into less traditional surroundings and into the great outdoors.

Health and Exercise Technology – fitness apps, mp3 players, Nike plus, pedometers, heart-rate monitors, GPS tracking gear, games consoles like Wii Fit and Nintendo Kinetic.

Dancing as exercise – the rising popularity of television programmes like Strictly Come Dancing has had people

dusting off their dancing shoes and joining classes like Zumba, Salsa and even pole-dancing based classes.

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Yoga and Pilates – no longer niche disciplines both are now staple classes for most gyms and leisure centres.

Group training – the trend started by Bodypump and spinning has now led to TRX, Powerplate, and cross-

trainer classes.

The anti-shoe – barefoot technology has made the leap between gym and street, with people embracing shoes that claim to work muscles harder and improve posture.

Core and functional training – working abs has come to mean more than just a six-pack, it’s

all about strong core stability whether through exercise like Pilates or the use of equipment.

Youth-based fitness – specific training/exercise classes for children have taken off as the industry

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works on ways to get youngsters more active.

Wellness for life - the industry and consumers alike are

slowly moving toward the thinking of an inclusive approach to fitness, and nutrition. It’s no longer just about getting beach-fit, it’s about holistic life-style changes including eating well.

Robin Gargrave, Director of Innovation

and Development, Central YMCA “The appearance and dominance of pre- choreographed group exercise and fitness formats and franchises; the universal acceptance of the need for a qualified workforce in exercise and fitness; the proliferation of instructor training providers; the emergence of the FIA and the

voluntary regulation of exercise instruction (REPs) are all for me the greatest changes to the industry in the last 10 years.

“Looking back now if I had to choose I think indoor cycling has had the greatest impact in the last 10 years but group exercise on treadmills seemed utterly pointless to me. However, what I’d really like to see the back of is gym users (it’s always men) using mobile phones and sitting on machines and benches between sets while watching TV!

“I also hope employers increase their investment in their staff in order to attract and retain the very best. I’d love to see an industry that insists on the highest qualify training, staff development and qualifications and hope REPs and SkillsActive continue to raise the bar in terms of standards.”