Motus

It’s that time of the year again. The time when 2018 fitness trends are predicted and drooled over. Marketers are busying designing new logos and writing franchise plans, while personal trainers are hard at work designing new workouts.

Unfortunately, at first glance, the 2018 trends look like they are designed to capture the consumer’s attention instead of being what the consumer really needs.

If I were to pick on one trend in particular, it would be LIIT, or Low Intensity Interval Training. Yes, there’s evidence that training at a lower intensity can provide health and fitness gains. Just like is evidence that High Intensity Interval Training can do good things. And weight training. And yoga. And walking! One can find supportive, and sometimes suggestive, evidence that just about any fitness or movement program under the sun can do good things.

I think it’s great that in today’s world there are so many options out there for people to get fit and stay healthy. But things like LIIT seem to clearly designed to capture the attention of a HIIT practitioner simply looking for the next best thing.

What I want to see happen in 2018 is more of fitness professionals telling people what they may not want to hear:

• You can’t keep changing your workout if you want to make a change in your body
• Old school is often the best stuff
• This all takes time
• In fact, it may take a lot of your time

After all, there’s no app for a six pack of abs.