NZREPS reviews the top Exercise and Wellness Trends for 2019

Whether a development is a trend (one that is new but comes with a sound base and likely to stay around), or a fad, (which is less likely to have scientific basis and may well go out of fashion fast) is important to make sure you aren’t engaging in exercises that are, at worst, likely to cause injury, or at best, likely to cost money with little result.

The fantastic thing about exercising is that there are new developments and scientific updates that offer more options to keep exercise interesting, and to make the work that goes into exercising worthwhile.

Every year for over a decade the team at the internationally recognised American College of Sports Medicine put out a survey designed to confirm or to introduce new trends that have a perceived positive impact on the industry according to the international respondents. This list is made up of trends that have some basis, and are likely to stick around.

Commenting on the contents of the list, New Zealand Register of Exercise Professionals (NZREPs) registered exercise professional Shane Way, a wellbeing coach at My Way Wellbeing says “as an exercise professional, this is what I want to see - people accessing physical activity no matter their demographic. Understanding that age, disability and health aren’t a barrier to exercise, in fact, exercise is the key to get a better and longer quality of life.”

We all know that exercise and being active is an important part of the wellness journey. We also know that one of the best ways to stay motivated is to keep your exercise and activity varied to avoid boredom. That’s why keeping up to date with science and innovation is important.

The exercise industry isn’t just about personal trainers and gyms, so the survey looked at four areas of health and exercise; corporate, clinical, community and commercial, as these areas also have impact on health, and are sources of exercise information.

REPs registered exercise professional Abby Dutton from Studio Glow in Hamilton has a focus on exercise beyond just fitness. She says, “I believe it is becoming more important than ever to create opportunity to educate the community on the benefits of exercise as medicine, and ultimately the prevention of illness in the first place.”

With over 2000 responses to the survey from all over the world, you can be sure this is a list to take notice of.
 
The 2019 Top 10 Exercise Trends List is:
  
1.    Wearable Technology. 
2.    Group Training. 
3.    High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  
4.    Fitness Programs for Older Adults. 
5.    Bodyweight Training. 
6.    Employing Certified Fitness Professionals (exercise professional registration). 
7.    Yoga.
8.    Personal Training. 
9.    Functional Fitness Training.  
10.  Exercise is Medicine. 
 
A statement from NZREPs advised "one of the more interesting results was the trend #6 Employing Certified Fitness Professionals in the top 10.

"There has been a significant shift to elevate the credibility of the exercise industry globally, and it is very interesting to see this shift being recognised from a worldwide perspective in the trends survey results.

"Gone are the days of operating in the industry as a personal trainer with little or no formal education. We are fortunate in New Zealand to have a world class exercise professionals register called REPs which ensures that those registered meet industry mandated standards to deliver safe and effective exercise advice."
 
Click here to view the full survey results.

For more information on NZ Register of Exercise Professionals go to www.reps.org.nz