Do you know who the ACE is? The American Council on Exercise is considered the fitness authority in America and they offer certifications for personal trainers, fitness programs and more. The Council dedicates a great deal of their research into fitness industry and more. Every year, they offer their 10 fitness predictions for the year to come.
According to their research, 2007 will bring programming that offers low-cost fitness options and alternative forms of exercise for different populations from the young to the old. Among their other predictions are:
- Specialized fitness programs will be expanded for older adults – while we know exercise is beneficial, continued exercise as we age can help to keep the body limber and reduce the risk of injury to joints and more
- Increasing the amount of small-group personal training – most of us would enjoy working with a personal trainer, but the option is not always cost effective whereas small group personal training involves a group of five individuals or less to work under the technical supervision of a personal trainer – this is a great option for family and friends and proves more economical
- More focus on youth programming – this trend has continued to grow for the last few years and is a reaction to the growing obesity problem in the United States
- Team Building through personal training – it’s not enough to just work with a personal trainer, the body requires a team effort from doctors, nutritionists, psychologists and trainers to condition it well
- More research into viable alternatives for working out whether it’s sports, back to basics or the development of a new aerobic program (think Tae Bo and more)
- Research into more equipment that can increase the flexibility and exercise options from foam rollers to Bosu balls and more
- Increased emphasis in the areas of the mind and body exercise forms from Tai Chi to Pilates to Yoga in order to incorporate them into exercise activities – the idea is to unite the fitness of the mind, the heart and the body
- Balancing the professional certification requirements for personal trainers to ensure that individuals will receive the right personal trainer for the job
- Increasing research and development into equipment that measures accountability and focused programming to help document an individuals training from pedometers to heart rate monitors and more
- Research in time efficient workouts to help busy individuals get the right amount of exercise in schedules that are growing increasingly tighter
If the American Council on Exercise is correct in their predictions – 2007 looks to be a banner year for those of us in the Fitness industry and everyone looking to improve their own personal fitness.
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