Health & Fitness Trends 2021

Your Elmbridge Magazine Jan 2021

Each Month Fundamentally FIT Coach Andy Strong writes for local magazine Your Elmbridge. Here you will find past articles a month after publication. For the latest article and all current local news and events check out Your Elmbridge for the free digital edition.

A New Year means new possibilities and reasons to be positive. To help you plan for the year ahead here are some of the trends the fitness industry is expecting to see in 2020 and it has never been so focussed on health.

1.Confidence Building

According to one study it is expected that as many as 73% of people plan on sticking with the alternative exercise regimes, they started in 2020. The flexibility of training outside and the advances in online options means that many will look to retain aspects of this into next year.

While the pandemic is not yet over the prospect of a vaccine, faster testing and better treatments means that as we move through the year, gyms will be pushing hard to regain trust and confidence. This will likely see big changes to our regular gym models as well as more self-employed PT’s going it alone both in the local parks and with online services.

Whoever makes people feel most comfortable will pull people to them throughout 2020, Joe Wicks may even feel a little uneasy on his throne as an online fitness guru.

2. Health Focus

One of the undeniable themes of the pandemic has been the importance of resilience and good health. This is especially important for those who are overweight, have underlying health conditions, and the older populations.

2021 will see the fitness industry striving to address this health deficit as people have never been more engaged with this message and its importance. Fads will fall to the sustainable as people are waking up to the importance of good health and lifelong resilience.

3. Mental Health & Fitness

While Yoga and Pilates have been growing In popularity for many years due to its health and mental health benefits, I expect to see the partnership of mindset, or proactive positive mental health, coupled with exercise as one of the biggest growths in the industry as a whole.

People remain time poor and just like the trend towards nutrition coaching within Personal Training over the past five years, mindset is very much the next component of the expanding remit of the fitness professional.

You will see more focus being placed on exercise for mental health as we all look to tackle the next stage of the pandemic, ongoing home schooling and the challenges of restrictions on daily life.

Wishing you all a healthy and Happy New Year ahead whatever your 2020 goals may be.

Andy Strong