ELLE chatted with Lashaun Dale, Senior National Group Fitness Creative Manager at Equinox Fitness, to try to figure out what the new Zumba or SoulCycle will be in 2014. One thing we can conclusively say: It’s going to be a sweaty year.
Functional Training:
Boot camp, CrossFit, and outdoor obstacle course races like the Tough Mudder became popular in 2013, and that trend will continue, but for a much wider audience, according to Dale. “It’s not just for diehard people who want to climb ropes and get muddy,” she said. “People definitely want to see results and boot camp has raised the bar.” Expect to see team training and boot camp-inspired collaborative classes, with dashes of yoga and dance added to the mix, in more gym settings.
Regeneration:
Working out hard causes a lot of stress on joints, bones, and tissues. Gyms like Equinox have been trying to educate members about strategies that will complement the hardcore workouts they do, improve their overall results, and decrease the risk of injury. “The more we’ve learned about how you train hard, we can actually see it’s not the stimulus that makes the changes, it’s what you do on the off days,” Dale said. This means we’ll be seeing more flexibility programs, athletic stretching techniques, self-massage, breathing classes, meditation, and even yoga classes that address the nervous system in a more integrated way. It’s time to change your “If I don’t sweat, it’s not a workout” mentality.
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Evolved Spinning:
Don’t worry. Your favorite (OK, my favorite) workout isn’t going anywhere—it’s just going to get more fun. “The best thing about indoor cycling is that it is simultaneously getting smarter, meaning it will deliver real results via program design and better and better bikes, but also more and more fun as the landscape of instructors and styles of cycling classes continue to elevate the bar and innovate to keep people interested,” Dale said. “Plus I think we can count on really great music in 2014 which makes all the difference.”
Barre + 1:
The popularity of Lotte Berk-inspired barre workouts—think Pure Barre, Physique57, and Core Fusion—exploded in the past year. “The core barre enthusiast doesn’t want that formula changed,” Dale said. But it’s going to evolve to include “compensatory movement patterns, like barre plus TRX [a suspension tool used for strength and balance work],” Dale explained. We’ve already seen studios adding more cardio to barre classes—or traditionally cardio-oriented studios like FlyWheel adding barre programming. This multi-tasking approach will increase in 2014.
Interval Dance Workouts:
“While we have learned that the fastest way to a stronger, lean body is through resistance training and specially focused intervals that challenge you thoroughly, there is nothing like dance to artistically express and shape the body through the natural full range of motion and creative expression,” Dale said. Expect to see cross training that complements a dance workout. Trainers like Anna Kaiser of AKT Inmotion have already made this leap, and more and more interval classes will in
Read more: Best New Workouts 2014 - New Fitness Predictions - ELLE
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