2023 Fitness Trends to Watch Out For

What’s on track to keep fitness fresh next year? Lean in because we’ve got the scoop on all things healthy, fun and fulfilling. Plenty of trends are still going strong (We see you, pickleball, HIIT, and pilates!) but here’s what we see in store ahead. Here are YouFit Gym’s 2023 fitness trends to watch out for:

Wellness Wearables

While congress debates over consumer data practices heat up, “what’s clear is people want more of their own data,” says YouFit Gyms’ Senior Fitness Director, Raphael Konforti MS. Versions of fitness trackers – think FitBit, Apple Watch, and more – have been around for years but consumers are still in the infancy of using these gadgets to their full potential. Look for Apple Watch in particular to push headfirst into adding extra sensors to improve tracking accuracy and add more data. Other trackers will add new workout options like dance and yoga. Pedometers and heart rate tracking companies like Whoop and Oura will continue to shine. And even big players like Amazon and Google are throwing substantial money into tracking wellness and recovery. That’s right. Your watch may soon start telling you how much energy you’ve used, and give input on how to rest and repair for ultimate health and wellness going forward.

Mini Workouts

No time for a full workout? Research shows that breaking up a 30-minute workout into 10-minute chunks works just as well. In fact, GoodRx reports that, “ongoing research shows that even just 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous daily exercise can improve your health.”

If you’ve only got a little time at the gym, here’s a 10-minute starter routine. Simply repeat as many times as you can inside 10 minutes.

10 Minute Tabata Routine

10 bodyweight squats
10 pushups
20 jumping jack.
20-second plank
10 glute bridges
20 seconds of rest

Tabata

Insiders say this Olympic-caliber training routine is on the rise for 2023, and it’s no joke on your body. Tabata training consists of a simple pattern: 20 seconds of serious cardio bursts separated by 10 seconds of rest before jumping back in. If this sounds familiar to HIIT, that’s because it is. In fact, HIIT is a broader category of the same kind of burst-and-break exercise. All Tabata is HIIT, but all HIIT is not tabata.

Here’s how it works:

8 work-and-rest cycles make up a 4-minute round in Tabata.

You get 1 minute to recover in between rounds.

4 rounds go into a full 20-minute training circuit.

What kind of exercises go into Tabata?

Push-ups

High knees

Skate lunges

Mountain climbers

Burpees

Squat jumps

Crunches

It’s basically an even more intense version of HIIT. Think HIIT 2.0 on the rise in 2023.

Try HIIT+! YouFit Gyms tabata-style small group training.

Looking for Longevity

“Remember life in the pre-Covid years,” asks Konforti? “Back then, fitness was mostly about looking great naked. But fast forward to the peak of the pandemic and health became a primary goal for fitness. That’s because research showed chronic disease having a disproportionate impact on Covid severity – and recovery. As a result, living longer, and living better, sprang back into our collective consciousness. Working out can help fight off nearly every significant chronic condition.” In fact, experts say physical activity reduces many major mortality risk factors including arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Forget diet and smoking. Simply exercising gives people an incredible advantage, decreasing the chances of death for any reason by about 30% to 35% compared to those who aren’t active.

Mental Wellness

Gen Z is making mental wellness a huge trend for 2023 by consistently turning in survey results that indicate mental wellness as a key concern, even demanding benefits from employers to help. Exercise can be a significant piece of that puzzle.

Everyone knows about the physical benefits of exercise (see above: everything from looking better naked to living longer). But news about the psychological benefits of exercise has only scratched the surface. First of all, working out has both short and long term benefits for your mental health. Remember the last time when you dragged yourself to the gym and left feeling better? That’s the immediate return. In fact, exercise is increasingly being prescribed to treat depression and anxiety. The Mayo Clinic reports that “doing 30 minutes or more of exercise a day for three to five days a week may significantly improve depression or anxiety symptoms. But smaller amounts of physical activity — as little as 10 to 15 minutes at a time — may make a difference.”

And it works over time too. “As a professional personal trainer,” says Konforti, “success stories are changing. Clients still share about the pounds and inches they’ve lost, however now the proverbial ‘weight off their shoulders’ holds equal importance. More than one client has expressed how working out helped them resolve suicidal thoughts and gain critical self-confidence.”

“It’s not news that working out can change your physical appearance, but looking to 2023, we’re expecting clients to embrace our facilities for everything from reversing chronic health conditions to improving mental fitness. What we used to call fitness is morphing into a broader desire for wellness, across all generations.”