Fitness Trends survey reveals Muddy Plimsolls ahead of the game

This month, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) released it’s 9th annual Worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2015: What’s driving the market. Here’s the infographic.

This thorough and widespread survey reflects and predicts those serious trends (rather than flash-in-the-pan fads) that influence how fitness is perceived by the general public and taught by professionals. And for 2015, the top three trends are: bodyweight training, high-intensity interval training and the use of educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals. Which is great news for Muddy Plimsolls clients because we combine ALL THREE in our personal training service and we have done so since 2008. Here’s our take on why these trends are so big now.

1. Bodyweight training

When my wife and I created Muddy Plimsolls in 2008, bodyweight training was nowhere near this list of top ten fitness trends, let alone the top 3. But we understood the power of such training early on. This form of exercise is so easy to get started with, for all fitness levels, and quickly becomes a challenging (i.e. effective) form of exercise. We teach bodyweight exercise as a natural form of movement, to increase confidence. Plus, work outs can be performed anywhere without any fitness equipment making it so convenient for busy people. Because Muddy Plimsolls takes clients outdoors, there is no opportunity to rely on the big machinery of indoor gyms so our trainers have become more and more inventive when it comes to bodyweight exercises.

Our clients love it because they can jump straight in and whilst the learning curve can be steep, they don’t have to master pieces of fitness equipment to make gains. Instead, they learn how to use their own bodies, sometimes for the first time. And they get results: rapid weight loss, impressive improvements in strength and addition of muscle tone to their bodies.

2. High-intensity interval training

The second biggest fitness trend for 2015, also known as HIIT. This form of training is actually a way of programming exercise volume within a workout, rather than utilising any particular new exercises (because there really aren’t that many!) . A key feature is keeping a tight rein on rest and recovery periods within a workout and/or using the heart rate to structure the exercise. As such HIIT works very well with bodyweight training and outdoor training in general.

3. Educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals

Muddy Plimsolls has always looked to work with trainers who are not only super-qualified but also have a background/experience in bodyweight training for themselves. Too many trainers jump onto the body weight band wagon and think that all it amounts to is some push-ups and pull ups or madly running around a field, exhausting their clients with excessive burpees. We apply the highest level of care and attention to our clients from their initial assessment, through early sessions and onwards. Awareness of overtraining, managing old injuries and keeping clients moving pain free are our priorities.

Our 4 week Training Plans will help get you started on the road to mastering bodyweight exercise and achieving your fitness and wellbeing goals in 2015.