This week we see the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. Here is a roundup of this year’s top fitness trends for 2015. Did you follow any of them?
Wearable tech. From activity trackers to GPS systems on your watch, people loved uploading their daily totals online and sharing them with others. It kept people motivated and seems to be doing what wearable set out to do: get everyone more active and engaged in their physical activity levels.
Essential oils. Did you get invited to some kind of essential oil party? Even hospitals are touting the benefits of oils. You can ingest some of them or rub them on various parts or your body. Runners love their healing benefits and how it relaxes the muscles. The oils are fairly inexpensive and provide more of an Easter medicine approach to healing–no prescriptions needed.
Listening to podcasts. We all love our iPods and cell phones while we run. Runners are changing it up from listening to standard music to more of an educational approach while running. From popular podcasts such as Serial to something comedic like Marc Maron’s WTF, people aren’t only downloading the Top 40 hits anymore. They are using their running time to learn something instead.
Interval training. HIIT, which stands for high intensity interval training, is the newest craze and started to take off in the endurance world as well. Instead of going long and steady, runners are now adding in sprints to their long runs. They are also interspersing their run training with elements of CrossFit and bootcamps.
Rucking. Lately I’ve done races in which I see people with weighted backpacks. Turns out, it’s the newest thing: adding a weighted pack to your back. It helps to burn calories faster, helps you stand upright (especially for those with desk jobs or students who sit all day) and builds up your hip muscles–which is great for running.
We’ll see what 2016 brings!