I was handed a copy of March 2017 Muscle and Performance magazine by a co-worker recently. She was excited to point out an article that featured the annual American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends” and she was happy to tell me all of the trends that HOTWORX currently offers within the top 10 for this year. I pay close attention to this list every year, as any fitness professional should. To come up with the list ACSM interviewed 1800 fitness authorities and researched over 40 distinct trends. Here is the list:
ACSM’s Top 10 Fitness Trends for 2017
- Wearable Technology
- Bodyweight Training
- High-Intensity Interval Training
- Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals
- Strength Training
- Group Training
- Exercise is Medicine
- Yoga
- Personal Training
- Exercise and Weight Loss
The number one trend is wearable technology. I would argue that wearable technology for the wrist is the most important of these devices. People want a watch that can deliver the data that they need. The chest strap heart rate monitor is too inconvenient and wrist devices have become much more accurate and reliable. HOTWORX studios offer a proprietary, “Burn Off” app that works in concert with any (1) wrist device so long as that device has a heart rate sensor. The Burn Off App lets users rely on the algorithms of their own preferred device. The Burn Off app allows HOTWORX members to track their individual 90 day calorie burning progress with the infrared sauna workouts and it resets for them automatically every 90 days.
Bodyweight Training is number two. Wrist and ankle weights have been around for decades, but the weighted torso attachments are relatively new. (2) We do have customers who use these tools to enhance their HOTWORX isometric workouts. HIIT makes number (3) and HOTWORX recently introduced the first ever 15 minute infrared HIIT workouts with Hot Row and Hot Cycle.
Educated staff with experience in fitness is extremely important to ensure that customers understand the types of workouts that are offered by any club, studio or gym and to ensure that the workout experience is top notch. (4) A degree in exercise and experience in fitness club management are preferred for general managers of HOTWORX 24 Hour Infrared Fitness Studios.
(5) Strength training is part of the HOTWORX studio experience. Within the FX Zone where all of the functional training tools are kept, there is an opportunity for members to follow the (9) silent trainer on the screen through a band workout or a suspension training routine. Of course, there is plenty of opportunity for strength gains with the (8) isometric workouts as well, especially given the infrared “anabolic effect” (please take time to read my blog article, “Sauna Anabolic” to gain a better understanding of this for strength training).
Of course, there is the importance of group training. It has been proven that people workout with higher levels of intensity when they workout with others. (6) That is one of the reasons why we designed the original isometric workout sauna to accommodate three users per session with a patent pending 63 square foot design. (7) Higher workout intensity levels lead to greater results for a healthier life. Fitness is viewed as medicine now. It is well understood that exercise leads to a higher quality of life. Now we can combine infrared energy and all of the positive benefits into the act of exercise making for an even higher quality of result in less time.
The final top 10 trend, exercise and weight loss is particularly relevant to HOTWORX. I call the HOTWORX infrared sauna the weight loss wizard! That is because I see incredible weight loss results for customers from the workouts every week. (10) Members rave about the accelerated weight loss results from their HOTWORX routines.
So there you have it, HOTWORX studios incorporate all of the elements of the top ten fitness trends for this year.
