10. Exercising Harder Is Better than Exercising Longer
If
spending hours at the gym isn’t your thing, take heart. Recent studies
report that shorter bouts of exercise at a higher intensity can improve
fitness more than working out at a moderate pace for longer periods of
time. In one study involving over 10,000 adults, people who walked
slowly — even for up to an hour — saw no preventative benefits, while
those who walked briskly or jogged cut their risk of metabolic syndrome
(which includes hypertension, high blood sugar and extra weight) by
nearly half. The same trend held for weight loss; people who exercised
at a moderate level for 30 minutes a day lost more weight than those who
slogged through hour-long sessions. So even if you don’t have time, rev
up the intensity of your workouts to still reap the benefits of
physical activity.
9. Exercise Can Change Your DNA
Physical activity can certainly change your physique, but the latest research shows it can change your DNA
as well, even after a single workout. Scientists monitoring volunteers
who exercised to their maximum activity levels on a stationary bike
reported that working out muscle triggers genes that prime muscle cells
to soak up nutrients and enzymes in order to burn calories and generate
energy. Each bout of exercise can make the entire process more
efficient, which means getting off the couch really does a body good.
8. Drum Your Way to Fitness
You don’t have to be in a band to take advantage of this fitness trend, which lets you release your inner rock star. Pound,
a workout created by California-based drummers Kirsten Potenza and
Cristina Peerenboom, involves hitting the ground over 1,000 times during
cardio workouts with lightly weighted drumsticks called Ripstix. The
session mixes conditioning and interval training, and is available at
studios and gyms nationwide, including Crunch. Drums Alive is another drum-based workout; it incorporates aerobic dancing and jamming on exercise balls.
7. Fitness Programs for Children
With
obesity rates continuing to rise, gyms are turning to the newest
population of would-be exercisers: children. The programs are a welcome
substitute for school-based physical-education classes, which are among
the first to be sacrificed when budgets shrink. Thanks in part to First
Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, which encourages youngsters
to become more physically active, child-focused gyms and wellness
centers are hoping to build good exercise habits in kids so that they’ll
become part of a lifetime routine. Teaching children about the
importance of exercise early on can help make them fitter adults, which
in turn might finally lead to a drop in chronic diseases such as
diabetes and heart disease.
6. Workout Tracker
If you’re going to exercise, you might as well make it count. Literally. Uber-tracking devices like Fitbit and BodyMedia
products record every move you make (or don’t make when you’re
snoozing). The data on body heat, perspiration and sleep quality are
sent to an outline profile so users can keep a tally of daily totals.
And runners can take advantage of RunKeeper and Nike+,
with apps that monitor distances and use verbal cues for interval
training. RunKeeper syncs up with smart-phone GPS apps to track runners’
time, distance, pace and calories burned. And what’s all that sweat
worth if you can’t share it? Both apps allow runners to share their logs
with friends on Facebook and Twitter.
5. Strong Is the New Skinny
Heavy
strength training and high-intensity boot camps are having a moment.
According to the American Academy of Sports Medicine, strength training
and body-weight training are expected to be the top fitness trends in
2013. Women are particularly attracted to the trend, since cultural
ideals of femininity are gradually focusing on strength over slimness,
with fitness becoming a priority.
4. Working Out for God
According to Pastor Rick Warren, author of the best seller The Purpose Driven Life
and leader of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., Scripture not
only urges followers to live a better life but also can motivate them to
lose weight too. Warren created the Daniel Plan for his congregation, a
wellness program inspired by the Book of Daniel in which Daniel refuses
the decadent royal feast offered to him by King Nebuchadnezzar and
instead asks for vegetables and water. The Daniel Plan consists of
eating programs, workout classes and small-group meetings designed to
help people make changes in their lifestyle in order to improve their
health. More than 15,000 members of Warren’s congregation have signed
up, collectively losing 260,000 lb.
3. Hate to Exercise? Make It a Party
Forget
three-martini lunches and steak dinners. Spin classes are the new place
to schmooze clients. Powering through a workout is a good way to break
the ice, say fitness experts who see more business meetings in their
studios, and commiserating over a punishing session can quickly
establish a common bond. Even bachelorette bashes are moving from the
bars and into the gym with bride-to-be customized yoga sessions. Plus,
it’s the ultimate in multitasking: you take care of business and get
your workout in too.
2. P90X
Nothing
makes a workout trendier than a political endorsement. Special thanks
to vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan for popularizing the killer P90X
workout series, which he credits for his 6%–8% body fat. Ryan —
sometimes joined by P90X creator Tony Horton — even leads P90X sweat
sessions with fellow Hill staffers. For those without passes to the
Capitol, the home-fitness package by Beach Body includes 12 workout DVDs
and nutritional guides. The workout, which doesn’t require any
equipment but relies on using the body’s own weight as a tool, stretches
over 90 days of plyometric exercises, weight training and even yoga.
The mash-up of different ways to work muscles is intentional and meant
to keep users from falling into fitness ruts. If followed religiously,
Horton claims, the program can transform bodies from flabby to fabulous.
1. Bespoke Fitness
It’s harder to skip a workout if the fitness regimen is customized for you. That’s the idea behind fitness concierge services like FITiST and SIN Workouts,
which build personalized workouts around people’s fitness goals and
busy schedules. Most of the sessions are scheduled at boutique fitness
studios or with coveted trainers in cities of the clients’ own choosing.
High-paying gym junkies can mix up their workouts with different
goal-oriented sessions at multiple gyms while tapping into the industry
knowledge of fitness concierges who will sign them up for the sweatiest
boot camp or trendiest yoga instructor. It’s taking off with frequent
travelers, who never have to take a week off Pilates. Like any good
hotel concierge, a fitness concierge can provide workout options in
unfamiliar cities. But the services are pricey, with triple-digit
monthly consulting fees on top of individual studio fees.
