Looking for a new way to spice up your workout? We take a look at some of the hottest fitness trends that are set to take Australia’s fitness industry by storm this year. According to a survey conducted by the Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF) of leading industry experts and professionals, the top fitness trends for 2021 are:  

Wearable Technology

Wearables can track the number of steps you take, your average heart rate, how long you sleep, and more. This data can then be synced with your smartphone or computer, so you can see trends and patterns in your activity. On AIF’s top fitness trend for 2021, AIF CEO Steve Pettit said: “Wearable technology has come a long way in a relatively short space of time and, these days, everyone from young kids to grannies are wearing devices to monitor their steps, sleep, heart rate and more. For some Australians, the personalised data and insights from wearables have a novelty element – but for many others, wearable data is increasingly being used as a valuable tool to shape and track fitness, health and wellness progress.”  

Exercise is Medicine

Like the name suggests, Exercise is Medicine is a health initiative that encourages primary care medical professionals, like your GP, and other health care providers to refer patients to appropriately trained allied health professionals to deliver exercise treatment services.  

Mind and Body Training

A form of exercise that combines body movement, mental focus, and controlled breathing to improve strength, balance, flexibility, and overall health. Examples include yoga, Pilates, breathing work, meditation and tai chi. AIF’s Head of Training, Kate Kraschnefski commented that: “The fitness trends for yoga, Pilates, breathing work, mindfulness, meditation and broader mental health training have intensified during the pandemic, with more people opting for combined training that involves both mind relaxation and physical fitness. This collective training approach will continue to increase in popularity in 2021, as mass fitness consumers place dual value on physical and psychological health.”  

Virtual Fitness

Virtual exercise is all about using technology for your workouts, for example following a guided class through your smartphone, tablet or TV in your home. There are heaps of apps available for download that take you through guided virtual exercises with everything from yoga to martial arts. Kate Kraschnefski said Virtual Fitness is likely to continue its popularity into 2021 and beyond: “Virtual fitness has been emerging for a while now – however, 2020 has seen an explosion in this area in line with the increased need to train at home. Many fitness businesses and professionals quickly evolved to offer virtual solutions and rapidly expanded the virtual fitness market. Consumers were forced to go virtual and many discovered they liked it – as did many of the professionals delivering the programs.  

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT is a combination of short, very-high intensity bursts of cardio exercise followed by equal or longer periods of rest. This could be 30 seconds sprinting, followed by a minute walking or slow jogging. Repeat this cycle for only 10 minutes, and that’s a HIIT workout.  

Functional Fitness Training (FFT)

Functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together. You use different muscles in your upper and lower body at the same time which emphasises core stability. FFT enthusiasts say there are seven basic movements the human body can perform, and all other exercises are merely variations of these seven: Pull, Push, Squat, Lunge, Hinge, Rotation and Gait. Because Functional Fitness Training mostly uses your body weight, it’s simple and safe for almost anyone.  

Health and Wellness Coaching

Coaches assist to identify and prioritise client’s health and wellbeing needs. Areas can include nutrition, physical activity, stress/mood, fatigue, sleep and management of chronic disease.  

Personal Training

Personal trainers have the skills and ability to design safe and effective fitness programs. They instruct and assist people in reaching their personal health and fitness goals. This typically happens one-on-one.  

Group Training

Similar to personal training, group training is where a group of people are doing different exercises together at their own rate of speed, intensity, and ability. The session is still run by a trainer and usually has a limited number of people in the groups and can be a great motivator.  

Outdoor Activities

Outdoor activity is how it sounds – doing different fitness activities outside. Outdoor activities have always been popular, however, with COVID-19 restricting our ability to be indoors like at the gym, outdoor activities are predicted to continue to be the rage in 2021. Activities can range from organised sport to individual exercise or trainer-led group training. AIF’s CEO noted the shifts to the global fitness industry following COVID-19, as fitness businesses, professionals and consumers have been forced to adapt to how and where they train. “The shutdowns and challenges the fitness industry has endured in 2020 have paved the way for large-scale technology disruptors and major evolutions in fitness offerings… As we prepare to, hopefully, reset in a new post-COVID world next year, we expect to see many of the fitness developments from 2020 continue to endure, evolve and gain popularity throughout 2021. Regardless of how the pandemic pans out, the fitness world has been forever changed – and there’s plenty of positive takeaways for those willing to continue riding the wave,” Australian Institute of Fitness CEO, Steve Pettit.   Another trend we’ve seen here at Supps R Us is the rise in popularity of people getting their supplements delivered to their homes. While our stores are still up and running many Australian’s are also choosing to get their supplements delivered to their door. That’s probably because It’s really easy, super-fast and so convenient. Some of our best selling and highest quality products include Dymatize - ISO 100, Optimum Nutrition - Gold Standard 100% Whey, Muscle Pharm - COMBAT 100% WHEY and GHOST - WHEY. So whatever fitness trend you’re into this year there’s always a great range and great quality products available at Supps to support your fitness goals!