Fitness First accounts for the hottest fitness trends of 2014

As 2014 comes to a close and Australians prepare their fitness goals for the year ahead, Fitness First has taken a look back at the fitness ‘hits’ of 2014, with industry leader, Fitness First’s National Personal Training Manager Michael Cunico sharing his personal views on the successes of the year.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
In 2014 the mantra among gym goers was the ‘harder the better’ with the rise of short, intensive workouts like High Intensity Interval Training (commonly known as HIIT) the ‘it’ workout for fitness enthusiasts across Australia.

HIIT is designed to use big movements that involve every muscle in the body working together at maximum intensity for a short period of time over intervals - combined with recovery time.

Cunico (pictured above) explains “HIIT workouts have really taken off in 2014 and will continue to gain in popularity in 2015. 

“These short, intense workouts provide improved athletic capacity and condition as well as helping to boost your metabolism.

“Fitness First’s fitness philosophy - Dynamic Movement Training (DMT) - also focuses on this ‘total body’ approach.

“DMT is a new new kind of training that uses the body's natural movement patterns with a series of three dimensional exercises that work the entire body. 

“This style of training provides three times the benefits of traditional isolation training, by improving dynamic strength, fitness and function at the same time.”

Small Group Training
The popularity of high intensity workouts has also driven a movement towards small group training with people choosing to workout in groups where a sense of competitive comradery keeps people accountable and motivated.

Cunico states “Australians are really embracing group training, gone are the days when people exercised alone or in silo, these days people want to be able to train in a group using a variety of equipment and their own body weight.”

Signature freestyle group training classes at Fitness First have an average of only 16 people at a time and offer an environment in which participants are encouraged to support each other through the workout.

Cunico adds “classes like HIIT, Power and Strength are designed to have members engaging with others in the class and cheering each other on as they push their fitness limits throughout the workout.”

TRX
Suspension training like TRX continued its popularity in 2014. This style of workout leverages gravity and bodyweight to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability.

Cunico highlights that “suspension training will remain popular in 2015 however, now with the addition of more performance equipment such as battle ropes, sleds and lifting platforms – people have more diversity with their training than ever before.”

Fitness First and Michael Cunico’s predictions on the fitness innovations set to become popular in 2015 will follow tomorrow (19th December).

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