A big part of every Personal Trainer's job is to keep ahead of top industry trends.
Because there’s constantly new exercises kicking off within the fitness industry we’ve put together a list of the hottest, plus ways you can introduce them to your clients and work them into fitness routines.
Functional Training
Functional training trains the body for activities performed in daily life, and provides clients with strength, stability, power, mobility, endurance and flexibility. Think basic movements like pushing, pulling, squatting, rotating and carrying (great for clients entering Tough Mudder races too). Functional training exercises, such as bicep-curls and step-ups with weights, can incorporate bands, balls, free-weights, and plyometric exercises to condition the body. Tried and true exercises that don’t require equipment are perfect for this too, such as; lunges, squats, push-ups, and burpees.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT dropped to number two on the fitness trends survey this year. But this technique, which alternates intense bursts of exercise with short recovery periods, isn’t going anywhere. The reason: It’s super effective. Clients no longer want to slave away at the gym for hours each day, when they can blast fat in as little as 20 minutes, and who’d blame them?
Here’s an example: Sprint for 30 seconds and then rest for 60 seconds — repeat 10 times. HIIT exercises can include planks; burpess and mountain climbers, take your pick. You can use functional training exercises too; that way you’re using two top new trends in your client’s routine (win win).
Treadmill Training
Treadmill-based training is becoming the new ‘it’ workout because it’s truly beneficial for clients. Treadmill workouts can improve clients running through speed, incline, and interval-based workouts.
With less strain on bones, joints and tendons, you can focus on clients form, specialise and program intensity, and be wholly engaged in their runs. Try an exercise such as; a 10-minute warm up, 20 minutes of random intervals, and a 10-minute cool down. Incorporate race simulations, hill repeats, tempo runs and speed, to mix it up and keep it interesting.
Recovery Efforts And Foam Rolling
Too much intense training can throw bodies out of whack, leaving it open for potential injuries, which is why recovery is essential. Foam rolling, balls, core strengthening, dynamic stretching and full recovery days need to be incorporated in a client’s regime.
Try using foam rolling for recovery, because it’s become very popular and is a great tool for working out the knots in muscles, and flushing out toxins. Here’s an example cool-down workout with a roller, targeting the hamstrings; client places the roller under their thighs and roll from the knees to the buttocks. To increase the pressure, they need to roll one leg at time, turning their leg in and out.
By incorporating some of these into the routines of your client base, you’ll not only keep things interesting, but position yourself as an expert within the industry.
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