Body Weight Training & Yoga Trending in 2015

• November 20, 2014

What is your favorite exercise routine? What is the buzz of the moment? What is Jennifer Aniston or Brad Pitt going to be doing to stay chic in 2015? I can’t tell you for sure what these two will be doing, but I can tell you that Body Weight exercise is in, and Yoga continues its upward trend!

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) just published the results of their annual survey into exercise trends for 2015 in their Health and Fitness Journal.

Body weight training has rocketed to the #1 spot in just three years. Now, you might argue that this is not new, and that grandpa popularized pushups over 80 years ago. True, and he was very smart. There is abundant evidence that resistance exercise has significant health benefits. Body weight training is cheap, safe and portable. Watch this space, we’re going to hear a lot more about it …..

I’m happy to share that yoga is predicted to be #7 in 2015, up three from its #10 rank in 2014. I’m delighted to support this trend. Yoga addresses several valuable fitness needs – stretching, balance and coordination, strength (you can consider it a form of body weight training), and even aerobic exercise in the hard-to-keep-up-with classes. Equally important from my perspective is the emotional and spiritual contribution. It’s hard to quantify this benefit as an exercise scientist, but there is no doubt in my mind that it is a strong driver of BodyWHealth!

And if you do Zumba, Pilates, surfing or rock-climbing, don’t worry that they’re not in the top 10. Keep going. Exercise is good. Period. Do what you enjoy, and do it often!

Have fun, and keep moving,

Roddy