Summer always seems to bring out the best in everyone when it comes to diet and fitness. It could be the nice weather, which gets more people outdoors, or the fact that beach days make everyone more conscious of how their bodies look. In any case, whatever the cause, more time spent on health and fitness is always a good thing.
With that in mind, here are some of the fitness trends that are on our radar this summer:
Body Weight Training
This summer, machines and heavy weights are out and exercising using your own body weight is in. For one, body weight exercises are a great way to ease into a workout routine—we all remember the push-ups, pull-ups, and crunches we had to do in gym class. Now, some experts are saying that these exercises are actually quite effective. Routines based around body weight exercises tend to be easier to comply with, because they can be done anywhere, with little or no necessary equipment. Because of the more manageable weight involved, these workouts also have lower instances of injury, which is a definite benefit.
FitnessBlender.com
If you’re tired of sticking to the same workout routine every day, or if you just can’t seem to make it out to the gym as much as you’d like, you might want to try out the website fitnessblender.com. The husband and wife team that runs the site has hundreds of different workout videos that can be filtered by workout length, difficulty, and targeted body areas. Best of all, every video on the website is completely free.
High-Tech Workouts
As improvements in technology grow at an exponential rate, more people are able to afford the kinds of workout-tracking methods that were available only to elite athletes a few years ago. Take Athos, for example. The company just released a line of smart clothing that tells the user everything from his or her workout heart rate, to which muscle groups are being worked, to whether the user is overcompensating with one side of his or her body. The prices, while not prohibitive, are on the higher range, with $500 for the computer/shirt/shorts combination.
Ancient Grains
Low-carb diets are still extremely popular, but in 2015, the so called “ancient grains” are having a moment: quinoa, millet, buckwheat, spelt, freekah, faro, and amaranth. The idea is that these grains, which occurred naturally before humans started farming, are healthier than the more recent varieties like wheat or corn, which were hybridized by humans to improve farming yields. Many of these ancient grains contain valuable amino acids not found in conventional grains, and the health-conscious are taking notice.
Whether you’re more likely to rely on ancient grains or on modern technology for your fitness needs, take note of these trends when considering your health-enhancing options this summer.
