Predictions of Fitness Trends for 2008 by Karen Toth

The Hottest fitness trends in 2008
1. Dance there will be more dance classes offered at health clubs. Clients of clubs such as The SportsClub LA, and Heavens Fitness, Calgary have been asking for more dance type aerobic classes. After watching Dancing with the Stars people want more fun and dance favorites such as Cha-Cha, samba, hip-hop, swing, African dance, tango and Salsa . There are also specialized dance clubs springing up outside the gym. In these new venues you will see not a young crowd, but a crowd of 40+ year olds having fun socially as well as building their physical selves. Do what you love without considering it exercise or a chore.

2. Yoga and Pilates will be hot this year. Flexibility, balance and “core strength” are components recommended by Doctors, Chiropractors, and massage therapists. There are lots of offshoots such as Yoga-Pilates, Pole-lates, pool-lates from these modalities telling me that they will be around for a while. Not sure what Joseph Pilates would say, but his dream was to make Pilates a household name. New in this category will be the Feldenkrais ® Awareness Through Movement (ATM). This method has been around since the 1950’s. There were 13 original students in the first training, which took place in Israel. The first American training was in 1973 in San Francisco, CA. Now after 30 years of teaching and training others in the Feldenkrais Method it is becoming something to look for in your area. Feldenkrais ATM’s are done very slow, very small and with awareness, awaken the brain to work at peak performance level. These slow small movements will increase alignment to reduce pain and create vitality in children, adults and peak performers. Imagine what this would do for your child’s education. Pilates trainers like Elizabeth Larkham use the combination of Pilates, Feldenkrais and Franklin Methods to create amazing results in the way people move. There are other honorable members in the Yoga community that are adding the ATM’s to their movements to make Yoga movements more accessible to a larger population.

3. Weight bearing exercises and movement such as, weight lifting, Bones for Life ®, walking, hiking, and running are in the top trends for 2008. With a youthful aging population, weight bearing movement will keep and increase bone density to help prevent things such as Osteoporosis a disease which causes bones to break easily. Bones for Life ® is set to give optimum alignment as well as weight bearing. Bones for Life ® created by Ruthy Alon, 1 of the original 13 students of the Feldenkrais Method.

4. Sports specific and personal training. People want to be and do their best. Golfers have the opportunity to learn skills to prevent back pain and reduce their strokes. Gardeners want to enjoy their gardens as long as they can strong bones and ‘core’ go a long way in assisting. With busy life schedules personal time and attention to detail by an extra set of eyes and the skills acquired by personal trainers is of great value. Toning, building bulk or getting ready for a vacation, will keep the gyms and personal trainers busy. Today you don’t have to be a celebrity to have a personal trainer. There are many trainers that will come to your home and train you. One waitress I know says “I have no excuses, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30am my trainer is at my door.”