Trends in Fitness – Jazzercise, Aerobics, CrossFit® and Others

A side benefit of being on this earth for a while is that I’ve seen many trends firsthand. I lived through plaid and flared pants in the 70’s (and have the pictures to prove it), Jordache jeans and big hair in the 80’s and platform shoes in the 90’s.

In terms of fitness, I’ve also seen and participated in many fads. When I was in elementary school, I shouted “kiai” with a bunch of my classmates at a karate school in East Boston. In high school, I joined every other young woman in my hometown at the local aerobics studio. I remember my Mom “sweatin’ to the Oldies” with Richard Simmons during his daily talk show. In college, I continued with aerobics, minus the leg warmers. I tried Jazzercise, ran laps around the UMASS, Amherst campus, lifted weights and swam at one of the many on-campus pools. Ok, swimming and wearing a swim cap isn’t exactly “hip,” but I’ve always loved it. [clearfix]

When I moved to London in 1998, I discovered Pilates and took a train across the city to what was known as a “dodgy” area of Kings Cross to do it. I was also the proud owner of the “Pilates Body” (the book, my body never actually looked like the model who was shown demonstrating all the moves). I also continued running, swimming laps and started doing yoga in yet another part of London in someone’s basement flat.

Prior to joining Zen Planner a year and a half ago, I was sweating via P90x and Shaun T’s “Insanity” program regularly in my basement. Once I joined the company, I figured I needed to at least try CrossFit® (talk the talk, walk the walk and all that). I figured I would do it for a month at most and then I would get the heck away from wall balls, air squats, cleans and box jumps. Like many who discover CrossFit®, I got hooked and now I usually start my day at 5 or 6am with a WOD. I’ve also been lucky enough to be exposed to MMA classes, barre programs, dance fitness and many types of bootcamps as a result of working with our customers. [cleanfix]

What’s interesting to me is that we are seeing many fitness owners diversify their offerings. Traditional martial arts schools are adding in MMA-type classes. Spin studios are adding in bootcamps. Boxes are offering yoga. We are also seeing aerial gymnastic programs, new HIIT classes, an expansion of cheer camps and yoga on surfboards.

It’s said that you “can’t understand where you’re going unless you understand where you’ve been.” With things continually changing in the fitness space, we thought our readers would find it helpful to see an infographic of fitness trends. Let us know what trends you’re seeing after you’ve checked it out.