San Angelo's Top 10 Fitness Trends of 2015

The new year is here and physical fitness as at the top of many San Angeloan’s priority lists. With gym memberships becoming more affordable and 24-hour access, people are becoming more proactive in healthier living. 

Starting up a new fitness plan after being idle for a stretch can be daunting at first, even with the local array of gyms, health clubs, boot camps and upcoming 5K fun events. Trends in fitness programs and types of workouts offer variety to sport enthusiasts, and may help one decide whether a home gym or guided classes offer the ideal type of support.

Every year the American College of Sports and Medicine polls thousands of health and fitness experts from around the world to determine what the biggest workout trends will be. This year’s list is excellent for the practical penny pincher and ideal for anyone looking to step up their workout game. Below are the top 10 fitness trends of 2015. 

1. Body Weight Training

The core purpose of this training is to build strength through the use of your own body weight. This exercise utilizes basic calisthenics such as push-ups and lunges, a real back-to-the-basics workout that improves movement and relative strength. This is a very affordable way to get back into shape in that you can literally do it for free.

2. High-Intensity Interval Training

HIIT involves intense short bursts of activity, followed by an equal amount of rest or recovery. These are exercise programs that generally last 30 minutes or so. These are definitely not workouts for beginners, as they are very high impact.  Popular HIIT workouts include P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, Brazil Butt Lift, Slim in 6, and 10 Minute Trainer. San Angelo YMCA offers HIIT classes and Insanity classes for a reasonable rate. Many of these workouts can be done with little or no equipment and can be implemented in everyday routine.

3. Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals

Knowledge is the key to unlocking everything. This certainly holds true when in search of a guide to lead you down the path to good, healthy fitness habits. In the quest for your fitness guru, be mindful and look for professionals certified by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCAA).

Most gyms offer a personal trainer. Or you can choose to go outside of the box and seek out more disciplined forms of activity such as Tai Chi. In San Angelo, Concho Yoga Tai Chi at 227 N.Main St. offers beginners and advanced classes instructed by Steve Haidinger. Haidinger has been practicing for 15 years and was trained in the birthplace of Tai Chi, the Wudong Mountains in China. He is also a member of the American Tai Chi and Quigong Assocaition, and is certified through the Health Perservation Association. 

4. Strength Training

In sports, strength training is an essential and central part of the athlete’s regimen. Used for football, bodybuilding, weightlifting, wrestling, basketball, hockey, discus throw, shotput and pretty much any other sport that requires you be an absolute gladiator to contend, you can bet strength training is for the truly dedicated, definitely not for quitters. Anytime Fitness at 4471 Sunset Blvd. offers the convenience of a 24-hour gym with strength training equipment, and if you go to their website you can get a free seven day pass.

5. Personal Training

This ties in right with #3 in that people are looking to professionals for motivation and to lay the groundwork for a personalized exercise regimen. Should I train before or after work? Am I stretching correctly? Should I eat carbs or proteins after my workout? These are questions your personal trainer can answer for you.

A lot of personal trainers have started small classes as a way to lessen the impact on the pocketbook of their practitioners. Boot Camp classes have become popular in this sense. Xtreme Fitness Boot Camp at 412 W.Washington seems to be popular in San Angelo, with morning and evening classes available.

6. Exercise and Weight Loss

Nutrition is important, as is exercise, and the combination of the two are equally crucial when it comes to weight loss. There are a lot of different diets out there, including Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Atkins diet, 28 day Fat Burning Diet, The Biggest Loser, the list could go on and on.

Choosing the right diet for your body and weight loss goals can be difficult. It's always a good idea to discuss any new diet / exercise program with your doctor, as their expertise could lend to a successful outcome in your goal to healthy weight loss. InShapeMD at 3270 Sherwood Way offers customized diet plans, dietary supplements, and energy boosting products like B12 injections.

7. Yoga

It's no surprise yoga made the top 10, given its age and popularity among individuals of all ages. Yoga is versatile in style, meaning you don't have to be a fitness buff to do it; sessions can be as low impact as they need to be depending on the practitioner. 

There are many benefits to practicing yoga, such as increased muscle strength, tone and flexibility, improved posture and balance and it is also an excellent stress reducer. Staci Jones at Concho Yoga Tai Chi, 227 N.Main St., is a certified RYT 200 instructor (Registered Yoga Teacher registered with the Yoga Alliance), who offers four different forms of yoga. There are scheduled class plans you can pay for or just walk in on a class for a reasonable fee.

8. Fitness for Older Adults

More and more seniors are being urged to hit the gyms to stay active.  In just about every health club there are programs designed for seniors, with affordable memberships. San Angelo Community Health Club at 3336 W. Loop 306 offers a senior fitness program loaded with classes that are tailored for just that. As always, you are urged to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.

9. Functional Fitness

The main focus of this exercise is to build a body capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of weight in an idealized posture created by a gym machine.

Functional fitness focuses on exercises that simultaneously use multiple muscles and joints to improve muscular endurance, overall strength, coordination, balance, posture and agility. An example would be to stand at the bottom of a flight of stairs holding a 5-8 pound dumbbell in each hand, then climb up the stairs while performing bicep curls, and repeat five to 10 times. There are a plethora of functional fitness exercises that require little or no equipment to execute. The workouts are suitable for all fitness levels, and can be adjusted by intensity as you grow stronger.

10.Group Personal Training

In challenging economic times, many gyms and trainers are offering group training options. Sharing your trainer with one or two friends is a good way to get the benefits of a personal trainer and have the support of your friends, who get to share in your workout woes.

In addition, local trainers suggest that scheduling fitness sessions with friends and trainers may actually help you stick to your plans, rather than cancel on someone who is counting on you.