Fitness Predictions for the Next Decade (2020 version)

[Laura S.]

I saw someone bring up the thread from 10 years ago and it seemed appropriate to do it again.

What fitness trends do YOU predict for the next 10 years?

[Laura S.]

I think more and more streaming is an obvious prediction. My hope is that providers will have a hard time maintaining their own sites and that some bigger sites will evolve that will offer a wider variety of workouts and instructors and styles and fitness types.

I also hope that the "harder than ever before is better" trend will burn itself out and that a more holistic approach to fitness will become more the norm as baby boomers continue to age.

OK. So, those are more wishes than predictions!

[yogapam]

Hi Laura!

I also agree there will be more streaming. I hope for a Netflix type fitness channel with lots of variety at a reasonable price. There’s so much streaming competition out there & much of it is very pricey. I think the competition will bring prices down. I also think more instructors will be selling downloads vs dvds

[wishiwasinhawaii]

I posted this in the other thread so I'll just copy it here.

I think fitness DVDs will completely disappear, unfortunately. I saw an ad on TV for something called a fitness mirror. I actually thought it was a joke at first, but it could be the precursor to holographic instructors, as wendug said.

I also wonder if new fitness tech will make gyms obsolete or if people will still go for the social aspect. I haven't been to a gym since 2009.

As far as types of workouts, I think people are getting burned out on HIIT and something else will replace it.

Should be interesting to see what happens!

[killoffsonny]

Originally Posted by wishiwasinhawaii

I posted this in the other thread so I'll just copy it here.

I think fitness DVDs will completely disappear, unfortunately. I saw an ad on TV for something called a fitness mirror. I actually thought it was a joke at first, but it could be the precursor to holographic instructors, as wendug said.

I also wonder if new fitness tech will make gyms obsolete or if people will still go for the social aspect. I haven't been to a gym since 2009.

As far as types of workouts, I think people are getting burned out on HIIT and something else will replace it.

Should be interesting to see what happens!

Most of the people who go to my gym go for the social aspect. I go for the variety of classes and I am usually more motivated when I have a real live instructor up there telling me what to do. The social aspect is second.

[kittybug]

Originally Posted by killoffsonny

Most of the people who go to my gym go for the social aspect. I go for the variety of classes and I am usually more motivated when I have a real live instructor up there telling me what to do. The social aspect is second.

I've always hated gyms and only joined when my husband decided to sign us both up. Once I found classes I liked, I was surprised to find myself hooked, particularly on the social aspect. Once those classes disappeared, so did I, but I miss the socialization terribly!

If I had to predict, I would say in the next decade we'll see something like those meal kit services but for fitness. Instead of having boxes of fresh ingredients plus cooking instructions delivered to your door based on your preferences, it'll be something along the lines of a personalized fitness routine with included equipment for each individual based on some profile they fill out on some website.

Or maybe virtual reality and/or AI will figure into the future of fitness somehow....real instructors will go away and be replaced by talking heads.

Okay, maybe not really to either of the above, but it would be kind of funny!! I guess I'm in a mood right now....

[Pat58]

I have a co-worker with severe heart issues who is wearing some kind of smart watch that can take his blood pressure and send EKG reports to his doctor's office. I'm sure this technology will continue to develop with wearable devices (implants next?) that send health and fitness info to medical portals. I predict health insurance companies will get in on it so Big Brother will know if you're being bad or good, and adjust your premiums accordingly.

[bee]

Originally Posted by Pat58

I have a co-worker with severe heart issues who is wearing some kind of smart watch that can take his blood pressure and send EKG reports to his doctor's office. I'm sure this technology will continue to develop with wearable devices (implants next?) that send health and fitness info to medical portals. I predict health insurance companies will get in on it so Big Brother will know if you're being bad or good, and adjust your premiums accordingly.

I have been wearing a heart monitor for the last two weeks. It's amazingly small and unobtrusive. I can shower in it, etc., and if I feel anything strange, I push a button it's got on it. Tomorrow I remove it and mail it to the company and they somehow get all of the data to my cardiologist. Technology is amazing.

I do think it's a matter of time before the insurance companies become even more evil and invade our privacy with all the wearables data.

[Laura S.]

I think there will be more wearable tech, both on the health and the fitness fronts. It's kind of interesting to see where things are going and kind of daunting with the privacy considerations.

I think the social aspect of workouts will increase as time goes on, whether it's in in-person classes or apps that share info or social sharing. I'm not into any of that, so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, I plug into in the future.