Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that other good stuff!
Get ready and get set for my mystical look into the future at what will be big in the fitness world for 2011. (Also known as….How smart will you sound when you tell your friends what you learned here and then it happens!)
The following predictions are what I see happening in the fitness industry for 2011 and beyond…But, how do I make such bold predictions without the worries of looking like an idiot? Networking with trainers all over the world doesn’t hurt, as we are always bouncing ideas off one another and experimenting in our “test kitchens,” also known as training myself or my faithful sidekicks. (Every exercise you do at bootcamp) has been scrutinized by myself and when a second opinion is needed, my “Fitness Consigliere”, will let me know what he thinks – seriously that guy is great at unique exercise ideas!
2011 Predictions:
1. Fitness TV shows will be big! This might have made the list because I am trying to create a reality show about the fitness industry, but there is definitely something to this prediction… The Biggest Loser, Workout, The Last 10lbs Bootcamp, these shows are hot and will continue to get even hotter as the need for health and fitness increases. (50% of Canada is overweight and America is known as the fattest country in the world) – Let’s change that!
2. There will be a large increase of participants (60%) at your local gym in January. 90% of these individuals will be gone by the end of February. Unfortunately, most of them will head to the cardio machines (which are so boring!) to lose weight – is it any wonder why most people don’t stick with their New Year’s Resolutions? For one, you have to dig deeper with your reasoning for being there! Saying your New Year’s Resolution is to lose 20lbs is not good enough. What is that driving force behind your desire to change? Is it the because you want to be the best you can be, is it because your doctor told you to start exercising, or do you want to be around so you can play soccer with your grandkids?
Find your source of inspiration, find that source of emotion, and as i like to say…USE IT!
3. Is Fasting the answer? There will be more talk about starving ourselves or at least limiting our caloric intake. If that guy on the twinkie diet could lose 20 odd pounds from lowering his caloric intake then people will try all sorts of things. Lowering calories is a great idea for weight loss, but do it gradually. A sudden drop triggers your body’s survival mechanism which stores fat on your body – and don’t go lower than 1200 calories!
4. The circuits and the intervals will rule the fitness world. It’s no coincedence that I run a bootcamp company. I could see this coming a year ago and it will only increase as the years go by. These are the most efficient and funnest (i’ll leave that to your personal interpretation) of shedding unwanted fat and getting you healthy.
5. Weight lifting will become more popular and cardio less popular. Lifting heavy is cool, but there’s is more than just coolness behind this fundamental skill. Resistance training actually improves cardio! In fact, it was proved in a 12 week study on Norwegian cross country skiers (some of the fittest people in the world). This study showed that weight lifters were better at fighting off fatigue than skiers who did only cardio. The science behind it: Increased upper body muscle may improve the blood flow to the working muscles during activity. Moving oxygen more efficiently = better results…And don’t forget to breathe.
6. The Bootcamp Effect – what a good name, I wonder if it is taken… Why would someone pay $50 more per session to workout 1 on 1 with a trainer when they can do it in a group? When you work out in a group, you get better results because you get to work with that trainer on a regular basis. I’ve watched trainers in my gym for hours giving the same workout to different clients. Do you want that kind of service, or do you want exercises modified on the fly for you? There is just no way you can get the combination of: group support, personal training, coaching, and an awesome themed workout in a gym or with one on one personal training. The fitness world is catching on and there are so many bootcamps out there, and beware of 2011, it will get insane, we might even have to rename it “Attack of the Bootcamps”, because everyone and their sister is going to start a bootcamp.
And with that,
7. The best bootcamps will definitely rise above the others. The best boot camps in your city will be the ones with the best trainers and the best equipment, which give you the feeling you are getting trained in a fitness centre. There are only so many ways you can do bodyweight exercises, and then you tend to develop muscle imbalances from doing too many pushups, and quad dominant exercises (which may lead to a myriad of joint issues). The thing is, we need to focus on the antagonistic muscle groups of these exercises for the general population! Alas, if your bootcamp has become a glorified cardio session, you should leave! The best bootcamps will have TRX suspension bands, kettlebells, medicine balls, bosu balls (but not excessive use of them), ab wheels, resisistance bands, dumbbells (lots of them-and you should never have to bring them yourself). And it is all about the training – the best trainers with the most knowledge, experience, and charisma will have the ability to make fun, creative, and challenging classes day in day out.
8. It’s all about metabolic finishers – these are going to be the new cool in the inustry – a sort of post workout cardio session, but not in the traditional sense, I am talking about kettlebells swings, kettlebells cleans, tabata burpee circuits, offset farmers walks…
9. Foam rollers and dynamic mobility exercises will grow in popularity. These are already in high use by the best in the business, and I implement them as the first thing I do before every workout. Foam rolling is great for getting the body heated and loose, and dynamic mobility is like 10 minutes of cardio while increasing strength and flexibility – decreases the chance of injury. These are the types of things you should be doing at your desk every hour or so to prevent bad posture.
10. Jillian Michaels will learn how to do a kettlebell swing. (Nobody’s perfect).
And unfortunately, other trainers will still promote infomercial products purely for profit. Damn you Jennifer Nicole Lee and your ab circle pro!
Heres what a Ph.D in exercise physiology from University of Michigan (Go Wolverines!) had to say about this product: “The extreme rotation of the ab circle pro may put dangerous torque on your spine, and its effectiveness as a cardio workout is questionable.”
And most importantly….
11. You will have your best year of fitness ever in terms of looking better, feeling better, and moving better! You are already on the right track by reading this blog – you have found someone that lives this sh*t, that doesn’t take days off, and doesn’t take christmas vacations. (It doesn’t seem like work for me – well ok, this blog has felt a little like work, as I am hungry and trying to finish it.) But you know what you have to do, if you want something, if you really want it, you will just do it. I love the Nike slogan, it is by far my favorite company slogan, and it is perfect in every sense of being an action taker and achieving your goal. If you are unhappy with the way you look in the mirror, do something about it! I know deep down you have the “brainiacal fortitude” to see it to the end.
JUST DO IT.
Josh Saunders
The Bootcamp Effect
P.s. Stay tuned for my next blog post regarding my 2010 year in review and my personal and professional goals for 2011.
P.P.s. 2011 – The year of Nike’s return to the forefront of fitness apparel?
