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Before making fitness resolutions, learn what the nation’s most popular fitness trends are

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Before making fitness resolutions, learn what the nation’s most popular fitness trends are

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If 2025 is the year you’ve decided to maximize your health and fitness — or simply take your workouts to the next level — you’ll want to know what others with similar goals are doing about it. 

Good thing for us, then, that the American College of Sports Medicine recently did its annual nationwide survey of some 2,000 clinicians, researchers and practitioners in the fitness industry to see where the pursuit of fitness is headed. 

Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting findings from the American College of Sports Medicine’s list of the Top 20 Fitness Trends for 2025.  

Wearable technology and exercise apps 

For the fourth consecutive year, experts cited wearable technology as the No. 1 trend in the fitness industry. Whether it be professional athletes, elite junior competitors, weekend warriors or nine-to-five office workers just trying to stay in shape, wearable technology has never been more popular with the active crowd. 

The field of wearable technology is constantly advancing and allows real-time self-monitoring and feedback from devices such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices. These devices can provide information such as physical activity (i.e., steps, active minutes), health markers (i.e., heart rate, ECG, glucose), sedentary behaviors, sleep, and even stress (i.e., heart rate variability).

These activity trackers can support healthy lifestyle behavior change through goal-setting, personalized coaching, or connecting with apps to provide actionable insights. The potential compatibility of wearable technology with the use of mobile exercise apps is why the latter came in as the No. 2 fitness trend.  

However, experts did note that despite the positive benefits of using technology to facilitate behavior change and more productive workouts, there still remain concerns about the validity of the information produced by the devices, as well as the reliability of the apps, and their potential to compromise users’ data privacy. 

Fitness programs for older adults 

As the nation ages — and more baby boomers reach retirement age daily — the need to stay active, ambulatory and independent becomes ever more vital. This is why fitness for the Social Security crowd came in as the No. 3 trend. 

In their fitness plans, folks in this demographic should focus on preventing the development, or progression, of sarcopenia — the age-related loss of muscle mass, function, and strength production. Absent a fitness program to mitigate sarcopenia, older folks become more vulnerable to falls and fractures. 

Developing appropriate programs for seniors and the elderly requires extra care and often creativity. Experts noted that increasing seniors’ “functional fitness” — that is, the ability to do daily tasks like cleaning, carrying groceries, getting in and out of cars, negotiating curbs and stairs, etc. — should be part of a multi-pronged approach to improve their balance, coordination, functional movement, strength and endurance. 

Other notable findings 

More exercise enthusiasts are adopting the “quality over quantity” approach to training. That’s why high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — which are short bursts of near-maximal aerobic effort followed by active or passive recovery periods that enable a person to repeat the brief near-maximal training — have been a perennial top 10 finisher in the annual trend list since 2018 (this year it’s No. 6). 

And with so much emphasis being placed on mental health, it’s no surprise that exercise for mental health came in as the No. 8 fitness trend. Professionals in the fitness field explained that this trend focuses on exercise plans designed to improve aspects of mental health — such as reducing feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression. 

And while no specific exercise guidelines for mental health benefits have been established, copious anecdotal evidence has long suggested that the production of endorphins associated with exercise has a mood-elevating effect. 

While we’ve detailed the importance of fitness for older folks, younger folks are also getting in on fitness trends. 

Ranked just outside the top 10, the No. 11 trend was youth athletic development. It emphasizes the importance of the physical and cognitive development of children and adolescents for sport participation. Guidelines have been established to guide exercise professionals in how to evaluate a youngster’s fitness, physical development, and skill level in order to create the most productive and sustainable fitness programs.

As you might expect, millennials and Gen Zers also have a strong online presence when it comes to fitness. Thus, the rise in social media and digital technology have led to the American College of Sports Medicine adding a new entry to its top 20 trends: influencer/brand ambassador-led fitness programs. 

Debuting as the No. 12 trend, this one involves using health and fitness entrepreneurs and enthusiasts to provide content and promote brand awareness via online social media platforms. Influencers typically have an expanded reach across platforms such as Instagram and TikTok and can promote exercise to their followers. 

And rounding out the organization’s predictions for the top 20 fitness trends in 2025 are contemporary cold and hot therapies. Among the most popular of the former is cryotherapy to reduce inflammation and enhance feelings of well-being, while heat-based therapies, such as spending time in a sauna, have been linked to accelerated post-exercise recovery and reduced muscle soreness. 

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