Make Sure Your Fitness Center Meets The Acsm Trends For 2018

Every year, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) surveys more than 4,000 fitness professionals to find out what they see as the fitness trends for the upcoming year. The list of the top 20 for 2018 came out in the fall, and now’s a good time for fitness centers and gyms to make sure they’re addressing at least some of the trends.

Are You Covered?

Making sure that you’re on trend isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Many of the top 20 overlap. For example, High-Intensity Interval Training and Group Training were the top two on the list. Working HIIT into a group training schedule at a club is something that you’re likely already doing. Make sure that it incorporates Body Weight Training (fourth) and Strength Training (fifth) and you’ve already got four of the top five taken care of.

What You Can Do If You’re Not

Most fitness centers of any size can address quite a few items on the list without too many headaches. Most can be added by taking a look at your small group training offering and creating a more comprehensive offering. Group classes can be developed around exercise bikes, functional training stations like SYNRGY360, free weights and more. And they can be carefully crafted to fit different demographics and exercisers with different training goals. As far as versatility goes, it’s hard to beat small group training.

Paying Attention

Being aware of the list is really the essential takeaway. It can guide your programming and equipment decisions. And taking note of each year's trends provides an interesting snapshot of where fitness has been and where it is going. A good illustration of this is Wearable Technology, something that wasn’t even on the fitness radar a few years ago has made its way into the top three, and was actually first on the list in 2017.

Know How It Benefits You

The ACSM survey is a good indicator of what’s going on in the fitness industry, which means that it can provide insight into what resonates with exercisers. In a lot of ways, combining several of the top 20 on the list helps to ensure that you have a holistic fitness offering.

ACSM Top 20 Trends for 2018

1. High-intensity interval training
2. Group training
3. Wearable technology
4. Body weight training
5. Strength training
6. Educated, certified and experienced fitness professionals
7. Yoga
8. Personal training
9. Fitness programs for older adults
10. Functional fitness
11. Exercise and weight loss
12. Exercise is Medicine
13. Group personal training
14. Outdoor activities
15. Flexibility and mobility rollers
16. Licensure for fitness professionals
17. Circuit training
18. Wellness coaching
19. Core training
20. Sport-specific training