Summer is right around the corner, which means it will soon be time for sundresses and swimsuits. Summer typically brings more people outdoors. The fresh air and change of scenery is perfect for reinvigorating your workout. If you want to look your best this summer, as well as feel great, check out these top fitness trends for summer.
HIIT
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training and is a perfect exercise to bring into summer and outdoor workouts. HIIT means you alternate with intervals of high intensity or all-out effort with a short recovery period. Think sprinting when you’re jogging, or even having some running intervals during your walks. HIIT works for all fitness levels and can be worked into any type of workout. Just increase your intensity for certain intervals.
Self-Care
Self-care is more than just a buzzword these days, but a way to take care of yourself. In our over-scheduled lives, we often don’t schedule time for our health. Self-care workouts like yoga cannot give you some much-needed time-out; it can also restore your body through stretches and stress relief.
Competitive/Recreational Sports
You don’t have to be a top athlete to join a community sports team. For summer, think volleyball, (hello beach!) baseball, soccer, or even adult kickball. Joining a community league sports team accomplishes a number of motivational factors. Primarily, it holds you accountable. Knowing if you don’t show up you’re letting a host of people down is a strong motivator to get out the door. Team sports, whether they’re competitive or recreational, also create a camaraderie, making it fun while you’re getting exercise. This, in turn, releases the endorphins that make your workout more effective. In addition, you’re less likely to get bored with a team sport than by doing something routine on your own.
Fitness Bands
Speaking of competition, fitness bands such as a Fitbit are becoming more and more mainstream. Knowing just how many steps you’ve taken, what your heart rate is and logging your data lets us compete against ourselves and our goals. Not to mention, the apps that go along with fitness bands allow us to compete against our friends and family for bragging rights.
Strength or Bodyweight Training
You don’t need fancy equipment to get strength training in. Body weight training is as popular as ever and it’s all about using your body’s weight to work out. Think push-ups, squats, Burpees, etc. Taking these outside and mixing it in with your run is a great way to combine the great outdoors, some HIIT, and strength building all in one.
Functional Fitness
This is probably the newest buzzword floating around today. Functional fitness is about training for real-life situations. And by real-life, we mean climbing stairs, hauling groceries, and more. Functional exercises are about integration, and teaching the muscles to work together. This is the opposite of the isolation exercises we may be used to with traditional gym equipment.
