Keep Your Resolution with These 2015 Fitness Trends

By Allison Wilkinson –

No matter how cliche it may be, after the many indulgences of the holidays, you cannot help but to add a fitness-related item to the top of your list of New Year’s resolutions. To help keep your commitment, adopt one of the following top fitness trends of 2015:

Push Your Limits With HIIT

HIIT (high intensity interval training) has gained a cult following in recent years and it’s not going away anytime soon. Named one of the Top Trends for 2015 by the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual survey, this style of training is quick and dirty, with each workout taking only 30 minutes in total. Each short burst of exertion is followed up with an equally short rest period, just enough time to catch your breath before the next activity.

Common HIIT moves include burpees, jump squats and various plank combinations, making this style of fitness ideal for anyone looking to improve their muscle tone, agility and endurance from a single workout.

Track Your Progress

Between wearable fitness tracking devices, apps like MapMyRun and RunKeeper and even the iPhone 6’s native Health dashboard, it has never been easier to keep track of your workouts to help reach your fitness goals. All of this technology provides one less excuse for not keeping your New Year’s resolution, so get moving.

While this type of health tracking is robust, it’s only as effective as you make it, so be sure to learn all about the offerings when getting started to really get the most out of your fitness technology. Are you competitive at heart? Most fitness trackers offer friend-finding features so you can compete with people you know or even strangers to help push you a little harder to reach your personal best.

Unique – Alternative Workouts

Ever dream of running off with the circus as a kid? Well with Trapfit, one of the latest new fitness class crazes, you can revive that dream with fitness routines designed around trapeze bars.

Boutique gyms like Crunch offer this creative and fun workout, which uses low trapeze bars to offer a full-body workout that focuses on cardio, stretching and strength training. If you struggle from boredom with the typical forms of exercise then this class will challenge your idea of exercise and help you get excited about fitness again.

Use Hobbies for Recovery

As your body gets acclimated to your new fitness routine, it’s essential to give yourself ample time to fully recover from intense workouts in order to prevent muscle strain or injury. Since weak muscles fatigue more easily, which can cause you to overuse muscles that are already strong, this is all the more important when beginning a new workout that targets muscles your don’t typically focus on. To boost recovery and prevent injury, physical therapist David Reavy recommends taking a full day to recover in between intense workouts.

To ensure you keep exercise time carved into your daily routine, use it for less strenuous hobbies such as gardening, hunting or yoga. If you are taking on a new hobby for the new year, outfit yourself with the necessary specialized gear to improve your abilities quickly. Splurge on that new scope before hitting the shooting range to perfect your shot or that new set of yoga blocks to improve your flexibility. By doing so, you can boost your skills to make these recovery day activities just as enjoyable as your workouts.