With the strict lockdown coming to an end soon – in some countries it has already ended completely – Reebok decided to ask fitness industry experts to see that the top trends will be in their opinion post-lockdown. The study dubbed 'Fitfluence' revealed the most popular types of workouts and diets among fitness enthusiasts from around the world.
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Not surprisingly and especially considering they can be performed anywhere using any type of home gym equipment, interest in HIIT workouts has seen a massive spike in search volumes in the last couple of months as people started looking for ways to keep fit at home.
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HIIT is revealed as the most popular workout trend for lockdown with a 57% increase in search interest, followed by Yoga, Crossfit and Pilates. People also searched for Zumba, martial arts, weight training, bootcamp and spinning more than before.
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As for dieting, intermittent fasting revealed as the most popular diet trend with a 32% increase in online articles during lockdown, followed by plant-based vegan diet, keto diet and paleo diet.
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Emma James, physiotherapist and founder of EJPhysio suggests "there will be a shift in how people exercise moving forward in a positive way, as exercising virtually helps to break down the barriers and fears that some people have about exercising in front of other."
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Joe Mitton, Personal Trainer at MittFit comments, "lots of people are seeing the benefits of HIIT workouts and the ease of doing them from home combined with the abundance of great trainers offering incredible daily workouts across the world. The soar in popularity will continue post-lockdown now that people have seen the benefit and created the habits."
"HIIT can be super effective in getting your metabolic rate high, which lasts for hours after exercise, and it can be done anywhere - with or without equipment. For instance, you could do sprints, burpees or grab a skipping rope and give yourself a pretty extensive workout, for free, at your convenience." says Keith McNiven, Personal Trainer at Zone Body Fit.
George Pearse, Personal Trainer at Fresh Fit London comments, "yoga will continue to grow in popularity as people explore new, exciting methods of moving their bodies and calming their minds."
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Top 5 fitness trends beyond lockdown
1. Virtual training
"The majority of people have adapted smoothly to virtual training. Armed with no more than a couple of dumbbells, perhaps a kettlebell and some resistance bands, people have been enjoying new ways of training outside of the big lifts." says George Pearse, Personal Trainer at Fresh Fit London.
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2. Yoga for mental health
"Bodyweight training and running have been people's favoured ways of training this past 7 weeks. Yoga will continue to grow in popularity as people explore new, exciting methods of moving their bodies and calming their minds. Whilst gyms remain closed and social distancing measures stay in place, I can see a rise in the outdoor bootcamp market, as people begin to interact with one another once more." says George Pearse, Personal Trainer at Fresh Fit London.
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3. Group training
"The lockdown has brought people together into fitness communities like never before and I think there will be a surge in people continuing with group training whether it be online or offline" says Joe Mitton Personal Trainer at MittFit.
"Personal training and boot camps in parks will see a big boom this year, as will small private studios and virtual one-to-one sessions." says Keith McNiven, personal trainer at Zone Body Fit.
4. Coping without gyms
"People will miss the gym, but the fact that they are adjusting so well to having intense, effective workouts at home and outside will change the mindset for many - plus, it will be a while before they feel safe in gyms again." says Keith McNiven, personal trainer and founder of Right Path Fitness.
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5. Instagram live fitness sessions
"The rise of Instagram live sessions has seen the public exposed to a huge range of different options." says Personal Trainer George Pearse, at Fresh Fit London
People have been really keen to keep training, despite the gym being out of bounds. The need to keep moving, even if it's not exactly like they were doing before. This raises interesting questions on the other side of lockdown - will people want to rush back to the gym floor? The customer is going to be a bit more discerning on the other side."
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