Looking back, looking ahead in the world of fitness

By: MICHELLE ROTELL - Staff Writer | Friday, December 23, 2005 11:19 PM PST ∞

This is the last fitness article of 2005 for me. It has been a great year in fitness. There are so many new ideas to try to incorporate into our programs. There have been crazy inventions, hopeful inventions, successful and unsuccessful inventions.

Here is a review of 2005 and my predictions for the upcoming year of 2006:

Mind, body and spirit have been the main focus this year. People are more in tune with their bodies and how they should feel.

Core training has become very popular. Core training is incorporated into all facets of fitness. Core training has brought us to a more functional approach to fitness. We will incorporate several muscles and joints together to help people perform their daily activities with less discomfort and pain. By using balance and exercises that mock daily activities, your body will then recognize your strengths and you will be able to function with greater ease.

Group fitness classes have focused more on Pilates, abdominal training, strength training and balance.

Men are coming back into the group fitness arena. Spinning, kickboxing, weight training and core/functional training have made classes more desirable for men to take. Step, aerobics and dance are still very popular means for a fun workout.

The stability ball has become a very popular exercise tool. It was originally designed for basic exercises such as crunches and leg lifts. As time went on, the ball became a balancing tool, a healthy way to sit at your office desk and is now used for many other exercises.

Resistance bands and tubing are used more often. They are easy to travel with and are multifunctional. One band can be used for any fitness level, according to how tight you make the resistance.

In-home training has become more popular, yet gym memberships have increased significantly. There are also many more gyms to choose from to meet everyone's needs. This means that there are significantly more people working out than there used to be.

Express gyms were a large market in 2005. They will continue to grow, however many have discovered that 30 minutes may not be enough for a more fit person. That is why we need not waste time while working out and we must train effectively. Our lives only get busier and fitness cannot be neglected.

Family atmospheres at local clubs are going to come back. Customer service and a well-trained, knowledgeable staff will be the key elements for a successful gym. People are less focused on the "meat market" of gyms and want to involve their families and lifestyles around the gym. This also will bring more children into fitness.

Children's fitness will grow. Kids and teenagers are using personal training and group fitness for sports-specific training. Younger children are getting involved with kid fitness classes.

We went through a year of the "low carb" craze that we all knew would fade as fast as the acid wash jeans in the 1980s. Low carb stores started popping up everywhere at the beginning of 2005, only to see them close by June. Some shelves were cleared of bread at the grocery stores to be replaced with "low carb" donuts. Nobody factored in how much fat was actually being replaced for the carbohydrates. Those "low carb" donuts were soon to be replaced with good old-fashioned whole grain bread that people have been eating for centuries.

So, as for the "low carb" craze, it is out. However, protein is a great exchange for high sugar treats for a snack. People are replacing chips with beef or turkey jerky. We will see in the year 2006 that a healthy diet is a combination of all naturally grown good foods. Our diets will combine a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in moderation. We will continue to try to eliminate high sugar and processed foods.

Exercise and nutrition have come such a long way from leg warmers and Muscle Beach. I can't wait to see what we think of next.

2006 Goal
There will be no resolutions set on Jan. 1. We are going to make an ongoing pact to ourselves to live a healthier, more conscious lifestyle. Set sticky notes in familiar places to remind yourself and others that a healthy lifestyle has so many benefits. Use your own affirmations, code words, reminders and motivational phrases to keep you focused: