Last month I wrote about the top 10 trends. Here are the rest 11 to 20 and my opinion from my decades of teaching.

Lifestyle Medicine. This at number 11 is popular due to a consumer focus not not just longevity but health span which is a high quality of life years. Medical professionals promote behaviors align with the priorities such as improving nutrition (food as medicine), reducing stress, and enhancing social well-being. – I like this one.

Outdoor Fitness Activities. Activities led by exercise professionals occur in public parks, plazas, or hiking trails and are led by exercise professionals. encourages community engagement and social well-being. – I’ve been teaching outdoors for ten years and I love this trend! Some studies show being outside help with depression, anxiety, addictions, PTSD and insomnia.

Health and Wellness Coaching. Coaches integrate behavioral science principles and theories into health promotion and lifestyle medicine programs, helping bridge the gap between the clinic and community. The model positions the client as the authority on his or her behavior-change journey while the coaching professional partners to provide support and feedback using evidence-based behavior-change techniques. Coaching sessions can be individual or small group. – This one is great for those who are ready for change, I was a coach for Optum Health Partners for five years.

Functional Fitness Training. This trend is a training modality that improves balance, coordination, functional strength, and endurance to enhance activities of daily living. – Everyone can benefit from this one and it is especially important for older adults and clinical populations.

Yoga. Yoga lands at the number 15 spot in the 2024 trends list. Any mindfulness practice is a great way to reduce feelings of stress, improve mental wellness, and promote self-awareness. As a training modality, yoga is scalable for many fitness levels and safe for special populations. – With the levels of anxiety increasing I think yoga is more needed that ever. It is clinically proven to help with eating disorders which is why I teach it at Park Nicollet.

Exercise is Medicine^® (EIM). It encourages health-care providers to include physical activity assessment and treatment as a standard of care when administering a care plan for patients. EIM recognizes that certified exercise professionals are an integral part of the health-care continuum. Physicians refer patients to evidence-based exercise programs and qualified exercise professionals. – Heck yes!

Traditional Strength Training. Focusing on proper movement and lifting technique, traditional strength training incorporates equipment like barbell, hand held weights and varies the tempo, load, and exercise selection. – I love this one old school strength is tried and true. Muscular strength is a component of fitness.

Data-Driven Training Technology. Clients can use real-time data output, such as heart rate, velocity, and speed, to guide their workout experiences. This type of training allows for individualized coaching and instruction even in a group setting where there may be various fitness levels, with only one exercise professional. – I think it is a great idea again as mentioned last month if you don’t get obsessed with the numbers. I’m just too frugal to use it or buy it for my classes. Good technology is expensive right now.

Online Personal Training. Online personal training uses digital technology to deliver online individual and group instructional exercise programs. – Not something I’m doing however I can see the benefits. You usually will need your own equipment where sometimes in an in person training the trainer will provided that for you.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT involves repeated bouts of short, near-maximum effort exercise (usually about 80%), followed by longer active or passive recovery periods. Recognized for its health benefits like improved peak aerobic capacity, improved cardiovascular health, and better insulin sensitivity. – It is not good for all people so medical approval should be obtained. However the studies I read still show benefits.