The health industry is always changing with new ways of improving fitness and wellness. These are some of the most-talked health and wellness trends that gained popularity in Singapore, and could shape how we approach a healthy lifestyle in 2020.
Experiential Fitness
The grand idea of this workout is to experience life while becoming more fit. More classes are popping up that focus on becoming fit while trying something new and fun. A few examples of experiential fitness are: dance fitness classes, obstacle course training as well as rock climbing.
Boutique gyms have also sprung up with their own unique experiential fitness offerings – with added social interaction as classes are often conducted with small groups. Working out with like-minded people can keep you motivated to stick with the healthy activity.
Hybrid Interval Training
You’ve heard of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and how effective it is. Hybrid interval training is aimed at those who find HIIT too intimidating. This new workout regime combines interval training, resistance exercise training and functional training.
Piloxing (pilates, boxing and dancing) is a fine example of a hybrid interval training. Because exercises include both low and high intensity intervals, it’s more appealing to those new to fitness, plus it can be tailored by personal trainers to suit individuals.
The Freestyler
The Freestyler is about functional training. It helps to condition the body for the activities performed in daily life, with the additional use of resistance bands to build strength, or tone muscles depending on the workout type.
As all the limbs are joined by the resistance bands, whole body coordination is needed to perform the exercises. An added advantage of this trainer is that it can easily be done at home, or in the gym as a group exercise.
Plant-Based Diets
A plant based diet is a diet that involves consuming mostly or only on foods that come from plants, with the occasional meat or dairy products. Plant-based foods are gaining traction locally, with international brands such as Omnipork, Quorn, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are reproducing the taste of real meat using nothing but plants.
Plant based diets are high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and water content from fruit and vegetables. This may help to keep people feeling fuller for longer and can help to burn more energy when resting as complex carbohydrates will work the digestive system harder.
Photo credit: McDonald’s
The Ketogenic Diet
The most talked about diet fad has to be the Ketogenic Diet, also known as the “Keto Diet”. This diet focuses on low-carbohydrates (carb), high-fat food intake to put the body into “ketosis”, which forces it to burn fat for energy instead of glucose. As such, ketogenic diets are said to help reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, along with other health benefits.
Most people will find it easier to track the amount of carbs and following a certain percentages of calories coming from fat and protein. This fad also brings out the next health fad which is…
Meal Subscription
The 19th century makes a comeback with a modern twist. With the rise of fad diets, comes the burden of meal preparation. While purists insist that self-prepared meals are the best, health-conscious patrons are spoilt today with many meal subscription services offering plans for those who need to watch their macro intake.
One such meal subscription provider even records your age, height, weight, gender and daily level of activity, to generate a recommended meal plan. Sticking to a strict diet is now a lot easier than you expected!
Connected Gym
We’ve been through wearables and smartphone applications. For 2020 and beyond, the machines are gaining smart features. Imagine stepping into a gym wearing just an RFID tag with your smartwatch. The machines read your profile and adjust themselves to the right settings, from the seating position to the weights.
What’s more, these smart machines are able to analyse your motion, log your reps and sets and monitors your fitness progression through machine learning. How smart can a dumbell be? Very, indeed.
