5 Fitness Trends to Give Your Workout a Boost

So, you’ve been working out diligently, hopped onto the #cleaneating bandwagon and have seen great results, but, sadly, you’re not quite at your fitness goal just yet. With summer only a few weeks away, now is not the time to panic; rather it’s time to get serious about trying to shed those last couple of pounds. Before you go into the back of the closet and exhume your Shake Weight or Brazilian Butt Lift DVD, kick your exercise regimen into high gear by trying one (or all) of my favourite fitness trends for 2016.

1. Enlist a Personal Trainer

As the temperature creeps closer to the upper twenties, everyone is working hard to burn that last bit of fat and gain some more muscle before the arrival of summer. Unfortunately, putting in more hours at the gym or adding an extra kilometer to your evening run may not be enough to help you achieve your goals. In order to get the most of our your fitness routine, hiring a personal trainer is a pretty good idea. As a certified personal trainer, I might be a little biased, but there is no denying the benefits of working out with a professional. Not only will a personal trainer motivate you to go beyond your self-imposed limits, but they can also help you avoid plateauing. With all of the unique routines that personal trainers often have up their sleeves, throwing a trainer into your pre-existing fitness regimen will get you to see those results that you desperately desire.

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2. Practice Your Lotus Pose

Rather than listening to the constant clanking of exercise equipment or that guy who insists on letting the entire gym know just how hard he’s pumping iron, try the calming environment of a yoga studio. Bikram yoga, Ashtanga yoga and Yogalates are great alternatives to the gym that can help with weight loss, increasing flexibility and improving vitality. The abundance of instructional apps and YouTube videos can also help you unleash your inner yogi before heading to that first studio session.

3. Explore the Outdoors

Now is the time to get out of the gym and enjoy the fresh air. Participating in outdoor activities, such as rock climbing, canoeing or heading to the park and playing a game of pick-up basketball are great ways to have some fun in the sun while getting fit. Bring a friend along or turn your workout into a family event if you need some motivation to get outside.

4. Get Fit with Friends

Let’s face it: exercising can be a solitary sport. Walk into any gym and you’ll see that it’s a less than communal space. Sure, there are people working out beside one another, but are they really working out together? Probably not. Take a closer look and you’ll notice the deadpan expression on their faces, which is a telltale sign that they’re in the “zone”—that place where everything (and everyone) around you disappears and the only thing that matters is annihilating calories. For the more sociable person, a gym may hinder your fitness goals because you feel isolated; thus are less motivated to workout.

In these last few weeks before summer, ditch the solitary gym setting and gather your squad for a few group personal training sessions. Research has proven group training to be quite beneficial and a recent study showed that nearly two thirds of women push themselves harder when exercising with a friend. Working out with a few buddies is also beneficial because it breeds an atmosphere of support, accountability and a healthy dose of competition, which is largely absent when getting fit alone.

Click here to learn about the group personal training services offered by Total Body Fitness.

5. Sport Wearable Tech

You may be asking yourself: How is a piece of tech on my wrist supposed to help me shake those last 10 lbs.? Well, fitness trackers such as the Fitbit can help you pay attention to and record how much you move throughout the day, which is essential for healthy and prolonged weight-loss. These devices have completely changed the fitness game because they can track your steps, total distance travelled and calories burned all in one tiny (and stylish) piece of technology. When trying to give your exercise routine a bit of a boost, set a daily step goal and use a fitness tracker to help you monitor your step count and progress towards your goal.

Photo cred: Tikkho Maciel, courtesy of Unsplash / Courtesy of Men’s Fitness / Matthew Kane, courtesy of Unsplash / Pete Nowicki, courtesy of Unsplash / John Fedele, courtesy of The Huffington Post / Courtesy of Fitbit