New = exciting right? It’s a chance to be on top of something. To be better. To be better faster. After all, we’re a generation of fad and trend-crazed fitness junkies, looking for ways to fit more in, to evolve. In today’s blog we’ll break down some of the fitness fads and trends of 2015 and what’s sure to come for 2016. “Every year the ACSM conducts a survey among thousands of fitness professionals to determine the top fitness trends in the industry, as well as finding out what may have been a fad and seen its time pass…In the ACSM survey results, they define a trend as ‘a general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are behaving.’ A fad is defined as ‘a fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period.’ These two definitions, combined with the nine years of results, help us understand why things like Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals and Strength Training have remained strong fitness trends for years. It clarifies why things like Body Weight Training and HIIT Training have risen steadily into the trend category, and why activities such as Zumba had instant success but quickly faded from the list. Indoor cycling may not have made the list, but it is a staple activity in most full-service health clubs.” Our general opinion is: Don’t believe the hype, chances are if it’s too good to be true…you know how it goes. Remember that results take time. Be weary of reviews (celebrity endorsements, customer testimonials, etc.). But really, try anything once, see what works for you and your lifestyle, and don’t take yourself so seriously. Fitness will last longer and you will be more consistent in your pursuit, if you enjoy it. Let’s break it down. Debunk the fads. Give them a go.

1. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – A trend of 2014, 2015 and sure to stay for the coming year. Short bursts of exercise mixed with brief recovery periods allows you to get in a full (body) workout in less time. Why it’s ideal – fits into a jam-packed schedule. You can wrap your head around it. Possible to burn more calories in a short amount of time. Dismisses the treadmill. No gym required. Routines might include: jump lunges, box jumps, burpees, mountain climbers, plyometric pushups. Think fractional crossfitting. The 2016 ACSM survey indicates HIIT as #3 on the list, “Last year’s #11, HIIT isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With busy schedules, most everyone is looking for a solution that is both effective and efficient. HIIT fits that bill.” 
2. Strength Training – What my brain knows as vital to injury prevention and advancement, yet it’s the thing I make little time for. It’s true that a form of it plays a part in most comprehensive programs, but, it’s been a top trend for the last half decade and deserves to be considered independently in addition to your training. Strength training is known to aid in protecting bone health and muscle mass, helps develop better body mechanics, and it can play a role in disease prevention (“If you have arthritis, strength training can be as effective as medication in decreasing arthritis pain. Strength training can help post-menopausal women increase their bone density and reduce the risk of bone fractures. And for the 14 million Americans with type 2 diabetes, strength training along with other healthy lifestyle changes can help improve glucose control.”)
3. Fit Teas/ Detox Tea or Teatoxes – In being bombarded by fit tea ads that read as personal, in-the-moment, just having my morning tea inspirationals, I was curious about just how trend or faddy tea has become. “Bloggers who are more than likely just naturally skinny will pose with the teas and caption…These teas claim to get rid of toxins in your body which in turn will help you shed pounds. Registered Dietician, Cynthia Sass points out since teas are often encouraged to be used alongside diet and exercise, it’s difficult to decipher their true effectiveness. These teas typically contain a mixture of laxatives to flush out your colon and diuretics which trigger the loss of ‘water weight.’ True fat isn’t being lost. In fact, if you ever stop drinking the teas, that weight will return.” The potential positives: most fit teas give an energy boost that helps encourage your metabolism to get rollin’. To reach for tea as a supplement to your meals, encourages more hydration, and less of an opportunity to reach for unhealthy items.
4. Indoor Surfboards – “Tamara Hill-Norton, founder of celeb-loved active wear, Sweaty Betty, has hailed Surf Set as the next big fitness thing. ‘…you’re on a mechanical surfboard that moves and shakes while you have to use your core to keep your balance while following the instructor through a series of exercises such as squats and jumps,’ she explains.” Positives: Mental escape from the cold. Focuses on cardio, stability and resistance training. Boutique fitness at its most fun? I can’t jump on board with this one, but I’m all for those who can.
5. Squats – Fueled by Kardashian Kulture & Instagram, “Gym classes that promise a plump posterior are in high demand…The U.S. booty business is getting a big bump.” Noah Neiman, Master Trainer at Barry’s Bootcamp says, “The pursuit of the most instagrammable and internet-breaking ass will be top on the wish list of many a gym-goer.” Squats is probably always a good idea, but if I could filter the amount of see-through spandex pulsating booty workouts that crowd my feed, but still feel inspired by dat booty, I’d be grateful. We are possessed by glute activation. It is the trunk of us. A part to the whole. If it isn’t turned on, it’s turned off…so to activate, strengthen, develop it, is a good idea. But not to the point where it’s the only thing you should focus on. 
6. Partner Yoga – Two or more people joining together to deepen the impact and experienceof a yoga practice. Uses traction, leverage and kinesthetic awareness. Has ancient roots in Tantric lineages. From one yoga teacher – “I’ve noticed that when students have to engage with each other, it can immediately wake up the room. People have to pay attention and take care of each other, and I like that it helps people share their practice.” On the other side there’s a yogi and guru by the name of Dharmanidhi Sarasvati Tantracarya, who founded Yoga Mandala, one of the few yoga studios in the U.S. that is also a functioning Hindu temple. Dharmanidhi considers that “…teachers who use partnering exercises to help their students gain more sensation and awareness ‘might have their hearts in the right place,’ but what they’re doing isn’t yoga. As Dharmanidhi explains, the goal of yoga is to ‘achieve union with your essence,’ through a combination of physical and metaphysical means, including postures (asanas), breathing exercises and meditation. (Unlike the impression given by most American yoga classes, physical postures make up a very small part of this package.).” So why do I, personally, have a distaste for partner yoga? I think I was heartbroken once, saw a couple twirling each other in the air by sheer foot strength and clasping hands and thought, “Gross. Love.” That’s my only problem. Still, it seems people are concerned with the terminology. Whether it’s traditional, stems back from Tantric, a function of yoga or a function of acro, it’s exercise and it’s about reinforcing the positivity in touch, which will always be good things to incorporate, but maybe not on hillside tops as the sun sets? Ok, that’s ok too. 
7. Wearable technology – Fitbit, Apple Watch, clip-on trackers, etc. Anything that tracks activity, whether in daily steps, calories burned, distance traveled or quality of sleep. There are top of the line items & there are cheaper, more basic alternatives. “It’s all about ensuring that the data you get from the device tells you something compelling that helps keep you hooked,” says Eddie Hold, NPD, in regards to how long wearable technology might be of interest. “There is plenty of conjecture that activity trackers could be a passing fad but the adoption rates do not reflect this view. People are increasingly using technology to improve their health with fitness tracking an important extension of this trend.” There are endless articles written about how technology is a distraction from our naturally in-tune ability to check in with our progress, and that it causes us to be in a competitive atmosphere more of the time. We compete with others, with ourselves. To compete with others and ourselves to a point is thrilling, helpful, and can push us out from ruts or stagnant fitness levels, but if we’re always turned on, checked in, competing with yesterday, I think wearable technology is more distracting than helpful. As with all things, moderation and time alone with you is useful in combination. 
8. Train-your-waist belts (#waisttraining) – “The idea is that you will gradually shed inches off your waist by wearing the constricting corset-device for sometimes up to 12 hours in a day. From the website of a popular brand of waist training corsets: ‘…high quality Reshaping waistshaper is a unique latex material which attacks unwanted fat and impurities within your body. Our reshaping line will strengthen your core all the while improving your posture. The thermogenisis created within your body will allow your body to rid itself of harsh toxins and impurities, through perspiration. While wearing a garment or waist trainer, the tight compression will help to reduce food volume intake which will help achieve the healthier practice of smaller meals, more often, rather than three large meals a day.’ Now while that might sound like enough to get you to pull out your credit card and throw it in the bag, health experts like Christopher Ochner PhD insist there are no shortcuts to weight loss: ‘Spot reducing doesn’t exist,’ says Ochner. ‘You can’t reduce the collection of fat in any one particular area of your body…'” The upside – it does seem to aid in posture-betterment. But please don’t think wearing a waist trainer or wearing a shock ab-belt will be the thing you’re missing to get you to that next level. 
9. Online training (BBG, FitnessBlender, etc.) – A new trend has emerged where lifestyle planning overtakes weight loss programs, with emphasis on the individual becoming a healthier, happier version of his/herself. Less about a number and more about feeling good in your body. Programs like BBG  by Kayla Itsines, a personal trainer from Australia, has blown up, though even she can’t escape the, “Earn your bikini body – Start my 12 week program today” slogan. For a monthly fee, you get a program which includes specs on cardio, LISS training, circuit workouts, resistance training, HIIT, how much and how often; it can also include a nutrition guide, and/or a bundle option. It’s a brilliant system – the price of a gym membership +, without the gym, and you have to have your own materials, i.e. 2 hand weights, a medicine ball, jump rope, bosu ball, plus a bench, exercise mat, and anything else you can stock your at-home gym with. You’re encouraged to track your progress pictures and post them, which does the marketing for her. The program is approachable because of the “before” photos and because of the length of commitment needed, and then, if you’re done, if you quit, you’re on the “outside,” you’re not “in” anymore, which isn’t fun, so you jump back in. Ah, it’s mostly glamorous because it speaks to community, to women coming together, to admitting via social media the things we’re not proud of but own, and celebrating one another on the strength it takes to be “open.” But, I’d say, save your money and follow at-home programs for free; you can still post before-and-afters, and we’ll still be your community, here, liking. Celebrate yourself with the thousands upon thousands of Youtube videos which offer free workouts, free HIIT, free yoga sessions, free core. Anything – you name it, you can find it on Youtube (i.e. BeFit, FitnessBlender)

Fads that (mostly) flopped: toning shoes, Shake Weight, Thighmaster, Zumba, vibrating belt or pads, etc.
Sources: Fitness Fads and Fitness Trends: What Will Drive the Market in 2016?, 7 Reasons to Add Strength Training to Your Workout Routine, Lies You Tell: 3 Popular Instagram Fads That Won’t Help You Lose Weight, Why I Hate Partner Yoga, Is Fitbit an Activity Tracker Fad or a Long Term Investment Trend?