Summer's Hottest Fitness Trends

The basic principals of exercise always stay the same: Move your body, break down and rebuild muscle fibers, burn more calories than you take in. Bing, bang, boom: You lose weight and get fit. But the options for how you decide to exercise are always changing—and that’s good news for anyone struggling to find the perfect workout.

“It really is important to find a program that fits into your lifestyle, and not one where your lifestyle has to fit into someone else’s program,” says ExerciseTV founder Jake Steinfeld.  Even then, you can benefit from something new. “If you do the same routine over and over again, it gets a little boring and you plateau,” says Steinfeld, noting that once a routine becomes too repetitive, your body adjusts by burning fewer calories. “It’s important that you’re able to find and try different things,” he says. With that in mind, here are six new fitness trends worth changing your routine for:

Rolling Away Pain:  Using your body weight against a simple, inexpensive foam roller—less than $10 online—can help loosen stiff muscles and prevent injury. “It results in an increased range of motion in different areas of your body,” says Lisa Austin, an ExerciseTV trainer.  “It’s a great pre-workout warm up that will increase blood circulation to the muscles you will be working, as well as great post workout recovery tool to aid in diminishing muscle soreness.” Top trainers have been using foam rollers in injury prevention for years.  By spending just a few minutes before and after your workout, you’ll start to see increased results. “By simply taking about five to 10 minutes before your workout to roll through your body, you can start to feel a benefit,” says Austin. “Spend a little more time in the tighter spots by simply holding your body still until some of the pressure dissipates. Immediately after your workout, use it for another five to 10 minutes rolling through the entire body to regenerate for the next workout.” For more tips on how to use the foam roller, check out the links to Austin’s videos.

From Stripping to Spiritual: Forget Strippercise and pole dancing classes. “People are tired of overly sexy dancing,” said Carol Espel, director of group fitness for Equinox Fitness Clubs. Their Temple Dance class, which incorporates scarves, live music, and candlelight, features ancient and traditional dance moves rooted in rituals and religion. The result is a more spiritual and psychological experience. “Not only are you moving constantly and getting a great workout, but people leave the class feeling relaxed and recharged,” says Espel. Around the country, other clubs are following suit, offering belly dancing, lyrical dance, and other classes that focus on spirituality and introspection. JourneyDance, a new combination of yoga and aerobics, promises to “discover and celebrate inner strength” while burning calories. Find a teacher at JourneyDance.com.

Taking a Global Perspective: “Techniques from other countries are very enticing and exotic to Americans who are burnt out on traditional means of working out,” says Jackie Warner, owner of SkySport & Spa and star of Bravo’s “Workout.” According to Warner, this trend extends from dancing to fighting. Keep your eyes open for several popular international imports, including Asian sword fighting, called Forza, and Indian-inspired dance classes called Masala Bhangra. At your local gym, you can probably find the popular Israeli martial arts, Krav Maga, also offered at SkySport, as well as the increasingly available form of Asian martial arts, Muy Thai.

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA): Mixed Martial Arts became famous thanks to ultimate fighting—you know, those big guys beating the tar out of each other on late night TV. But the style has also trickled down to those who just want to lose weight or gain confidence. “They’re just looking for a different style, whether it’s to get fit, tone muscle, lose weight or feel good,” says Robert Carvajal, a personal trainer specializing in MMA. “I have clients who are already in shape, and they like martial arts for the discipline and because of the stress relief they get from just kicking or punching.”

Smart Technology: There’s no machine that can lose weight for you, but technology is making it easier for you to get a more personalized, more efficient workout. “The current machines allow you to get a specialized program based on your weight and fitness needs,” says Espel. “People are busy, and they want to ensure that the time they spend at the gym is used wisely.”  At Equinox, members can plug a USB device into the LifeFitness Elevation 95T and download and track their workout information. Meanwhile, several Web sites and software programs exists to track and monitor your weight loss progress. Sensei, a program for your cell phone and PC, serves as a dietician and trainer. It e-mails you a personalized diet plan based on your fitness goals, level of activity, food likes and dislikes, and schedule (if you’re always on the run, they offer restaurant meals; if you like to cook they send recipes). It also sends alerts to your cell phone, reminding you when to exercise and eat. Just be sure not to rely on the advice of a virtual personal trainer over that of a doctor or medical professional.

The Old Becomes New: While some people love incorporating new technology and classes into their workout, others are returning to fitness fundamentals. “I’m seeing a back-to-basics approach to training,” says Steinfeld, noting classic moves like push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups are making a comeback. Fitness fans are using these moves as part of a circuit training routine that raises the heart rate, burns calories and uses good old-fashioned body weight to tone ands sculpt. “It works,” Steinfeld says, “and it’s fun.”

Keep up with all the fitness trends by visiting the WHAT’S HOT section at www.exercisetv.tv.

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