You might not have noticed, but… it’s December and Christmas is almost here!

Which means that it’s time for my annual fitness year in review.

Sadly, as a nation, America keeps getting fatter. The epidemic of overweight and obesity is rising at an alarming rate. In fact, one of the fastest growing sectors of the obesity crisis is our youth.

Yes, our children are getting fatter and sicker each and every year. Adult diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, are now found in children in large numbers. In fact, half of all new cases of Type 2 Diabetes are children.

However, on a positive note, I feel that 2009 will be host to several growing fitness trends that will provide the long-term answers to solve this ever-growing problem:

Fitness Trend#1- Semi-Private Training &Fitness Boot Camps Will Rise, One-On-One Personal Training Will Fall

If you listen to the news, you’ll know that our economy is struggling right now. Because of this, the average American does not have the disposable income for typical personal training rates that run about $50-$100 per session.

However, with every problem emerges a solution; Group training is the answer. Semi-Private training, such as my Body Sculpt Rapid Fat Loss classes, are probably the hottest thing in fitness right now. The group training business model creates the ultimate win-win for trainers and clients making the one-on-one alternative obsolete. Fitness trainers get to better leverage their time and maximize profits by working with an unlimited number of clients per hour. Fitness clients are able to better access personal training services in a unique and dynamic team environment that provides better social support and accountability for only a third of the cost of typical one-on-one training rates.

If you are trying to lose weight & feel great in 2009, do yourself a favor by saving your hard-earned money and get better results by joining a local Semi-private training class.

Fitness Trend#2- Interval Training Trumps Aerobic Training For Improved Fat Loss And Fitness Success

High-Intensity Interval Training is rapidly gaining popularity as the best form of improving both fitness and fat loss. Thankfully, 2009 will see more people doing sprints and less people doing marathons to lose weight. However, make no mistake about it, lots of people are still going to do hours of snail-paced cardio to try and burn fat.

Aerobic or endurance training is essentially going at a slow, low intensity pace for a long period of time (typically at least 30-60 minutes). In other words, the focus of endurance training is on the total volume of exercise (not quality). Think about all those cardio bunnies you see every New Year running for hours pounding the pavement or treadmill to get rid of that winter blubber. Sadly, this results in minimal fat loss and lots of overtraining injuries.

With interval training, the focus is on the intensity of exercise (quality). Intervals consist of alternating between shorts bouts of all out high-intensity effort and active recovery periods for a much quicker and focused amount of time (typically 10-20 minutes of intervals works best). This approach is scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat AND leads to faster improvements in fitness than the aerobic alternative.

Two landmark scientific studies come to mind here:

The Tabata study compared the effects of four minutes of high-intensity interval training with 45-60 minutes of low to moderate intensity cardio. The interval training group burned just as much fat as the endurance group and also had greater improvement in both anaerobic (think sprinters) and aerobic (think distance runners) fitness… in only four minutes!

The Gibala study compared the effects of 20 minutes of interval training (30 second sprint followed by four minutes of rest) with 90-120 minutes of endurance training in the “heartrate zone.” The conclusions of the study were that both methods of training lead to the same improvements in oxygen utilization (or aerobic fitness). In other words, intervals accomplished what endurance training did from a fitness standpoint in only a sixth of the time!

The time is now to jump on the interval training bandwagon. Come 2009, do yourself and your body a favor and start sprinting to look better naked.

Fitness Trend#3- Fruits, Veggies, And Fiber Are The Carbohydrate Addict’s Answer For Improved Health, Performance, and Body Composition

Americans are carb addicts. We simply can’t get enough starches and sugars in our diet, and we have the bulging midsections to prove it. One of the biggest misconceptions about diet today is that eliminated starches and sugars from your diet automatically means low carb. Better said, eliminating grains (even whole grains) and refined sugars still allows for consumption of the other carbohydrates: fruits and veggies. These nutrient-dense carbs are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber and create more stable blood sugar levels to keep your body burning fat all day long. All of my clients who have lost the most fat have followed my guidelines of unlimited veggies all day long. In other words, eat lots of veggies and very little of the other stuff if you want to see your abs!

Fiber (ideally obtained from fruits and vegetables, specifically green vegetables) helps slow digestion for a more steady supply of nutrients and sustained energy, it prevents overeating at each meal, and it helps keep you full between meals.

Without a doubt, people will be consuming more fruits and veggies next year, and their bodies will reap the rewards of this.

Well, those are the top fitness trends for 2009 according to my crystal ball. I hope the information in this article gives you the push you need to be the trendsetter for your own body and the bodies of those whom you care most about in the New Year!

And if you haven’t done so already, be sure to opt-in for your free My Fit Life Fitness updates… I’ll also send you a Free 34 page ebook that shows how to get more results in less time by using fitness tips and tricks of top personal trainers.

Be sure to leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Alexander Morentin
Author/Success Coach
Fullerton, CA

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Tags: bootcamp, fat loss, fullerton, group fitness, lose weight, orange county, personal training

This entry was posted on December 18, 2008 at 11:25 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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