The Biggest Fitness trends for 2024

As January draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to consider what the key trends might be across the fitness sector for 2024.  There will be the usual mindset trends I imagine where people wish to get ready for their ski holiday or create a healthier lifestyle in January but I wanted to take a look at what else is going on.

Mobility is becoming more important

Awareness of how we feel after sitting at a desk for long periods of time is becoming more important to those of us who are feeling a little stiffer or restricted with movement.  Joint health and posture are being talked about more and this is leading to people looking to move more in mindful and flowing ways. With celebrities like Harry Styles talking about their fitness regimes and the importance of slow, strong movements, it is encouraging Pilates, yoga and other holistic styles of exercise to come back into fashion.

Fitness and wellness holidays

More of my clients seem to be talking about taking active holidays this year.  Whether you wish to go to The Body Holiday, St Lucia (a high end holiday offering fitness classes, massages and wellbeing treatments); a yoga retreat in Ibiza or taking an active skiing holiday, movement definitely seems to be a more popular choice.  Choosing to go on a holiday with a focus on wellbeing, seems to be at the top of people’s lists for what they want from their time away from work – if the whole family can get involved, so much the better.

Alcohol free or low alcohol

As we prioritise sports or movement at the weekend and add activity into an already busy week, it feels like we are less willing to compromise how we feel the day after a night out. Alcohol substitutes are already on the rise and are predicted to increase so that we aren’t comprising our busy lives and our exercise sessions. The ritual of having a drink is still achieved, but the aftereffects are negated meaning we can still have a productive day the next day.

Recovery aids and focus will increase

The demand for plunge pools or ice baths, massage guns and leg compression boots are all likely to increase in popularity in 2024. Recovering quicker and being able to do more by using cold therapy seems to be a big focus at the moment. New research shows that a cold shower, a plunge pool or an ice bath can reduce inflammation and increase blood flow to our muscles. Blood carries many beneficial nutrients in addition to oxygen, including repairing amino acids and glucose (fuel for the muscles to use – this reduces the feeling of fatigue).   Cold therapy (repeated) also reduces cortisol production in the body reducing stress and increased resistance to infection.

Sociable exercise on the rise

As work commitments increase and meeting new people in real life becomes harder, loneliness is becoming an increasing concern.  By doing some form of social exercise we can help to overcome this.  Park fun runs to club music or HYROX competitions, which combines a 1km running and traditional work outs are becoming more popular, and can be a great way to meet new people with a shared interest.

Smart tech will give you more data

Technology continues to get smarter, with more and more metrics being measured. Body battery and time of the month performance data will also likely grow as the use of technology for motivation becomes more important. Health data is fairly commonplace now with tracking of steps and sleep quality so companies like Apple and Garmin will look for more sophisticated metrics to dazzle us with to keep us coming back to wearable tech. 

Focus on feeling better day to day with movement and good gut health

The rise in use of projects like Zoe and other glucose monitoring projects, to help reduce sugar crashes will continue as we learn more about how to feel better through what we eat to fuel a busy lifestyle. Feeling better seems to be the new looking better and I think this is a valuable change for the good.

If you would like to chat about how you can introduce more movement to your week and feel your best in 2024, please give me a shout and we can schedule a no obligation chat.