According to the annual ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal® worldwide survey for fitness trends of 2023,wearable technology came in as number one, followed by Strength Training with free weights and Body Weight training. If you look at the entire list you will find that Dynabody Fitness and Health is involved in almost all the trends!
Although wearing technology and mobile apps are great for keeping you accountable, they are only tools to help you be active, but they don’t directly improve your strength and mobility. But we know that don’t we?
If you go over the complete list you will see that Dynabody Fitness & Health is involved with each trend - one way or another. No matter how you look at it, exercise is the one thing that not only increases your Life-Span but your Health-span also.
Doing a multi-functional workout with dumbbells or your own bodyweight not only works your major muscle groups but also activates your core stabilizer muscles. This would be considered Functional Training – the meat and potatoes of my classes. Not only does this improve your strength and mobility but carries over into better posture and control as you have to isometrically maintain stability while working the other side of the body. This neurological adaptation brings a natural progression of your fitness abilities. You activate more muscles fibers while concentrating on form. It has been a staple of my workouts for years!
Most of the newbies are surprised at what they can do when they take on a “can do” attitude and stop thinking that they “can’t” do that weight. Of course safety is always number one priority, and when using a heavier weight maintaining the load throughout the motion is much easier on the body. With a heavier weight there is less jerking and snapping of the joints, and thus, less chance of injury.
Plus you build strength rather than just go through the motions. I like to use the example of painting a ceiling, you can do it for a long time and your shoulder gets sore. But you didn’t strengthen the shoulder. It’s just like going to the gym and seeing someone grab that 10 lb weight and rattle of 20 reps while chatting to their buddy. A total waste of time!
Following the latest trend is not necessarily a bad thing. You just have to realize that there are no magic pills, no short-cuts, no special diets, machines or routines that will result in
you being in great shape without effort. If they help you to move ahead that’s great.
It is important to create a lifestyle that works for you and that you will maintain for a healthy life. The best results come from a long-term strategy involving permanent change in both eating and activity habits. You can live your life in good health – it’s your reality - start now!
ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal 27(1):p 9-18, 1/2 2023. | DOI: 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000834
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2023/01000/Worldwide_Survey_of_Fitness_Trends_for_2023.6.aspx?context=FeaturedArticles&collectionId=1
