February 24, 2016
It is at
this time of year when your January good intentions can slowly begin to
ebb away. But changing up your exercise routine can be a great way to
keep your motivation to work out and keep fit high.
From hula hoping to rock climbing, ballet and skipping, there are endless fun new ways to get moving in 2016.
Here we round up the best fitness trends you need to know about.
1.Skipping
We
all have fond memories of skipping on Sports Day but our favourite
childhood pastime is actually a seriously effective and simple way to
get fit. Not only does the activity improve coordination, muscle tone
and balance but it is also a high intensity, cardiovascular workout that
is guaranteed to get your blood pumping.
Katherine
Jenkins relies on skipping to keep her in shape, and is launching the
Sure Skipathon in support of Sport Relief, encouraging the nation to get
moving to raise cash and change lives
Jean
LK, personal trainer and founder of Timed Fitness says, 'Skipping is
one of the best cardio and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
workouts; it's brilliant for weight loss and is also favoured by boxers
and athletes alike to improve endurance, conditioning, agility and
balance.'
'I
often use skipping as a cardio workout for my clients. It's great for
toning, it burns more calories than running with less impact on your
knees and, above all, it's lots of fun.'
Katherine joined The British Skipping
Rope Association and Streets United – who are known for their show
stopping skipping tricks - at Piccadilly Circus to perform a daring
Double Dutch routine
Skipping is brilliant for weight loss
and is also favoured by boxers and athletes alike to improve endurance,
conditioning, agility and balance - and it's fun!
Don't worry
if you can't get down to London – you can join in the Sure Skipathon,
aiming to get the nation to contribute one million hops, skips and jumps
to unlock a donation of £200,000 to Sport Relief, in many ways
In
fact, research revealed that one in three Brits find it impossible to
skip without a smile on their face and 55% said that it evokes positive
memories of a happy childhood.
It
may come as no surprise that national treasure and mezzo-soprano singer
Katherine Jenkins is a fan of the newest fitness craze. The Welsh-born
beauty relies on skipping to keep her in shape in the face of a grueling
schedule, balancing a young family and touring the world for her work.
Jean LK says; 'Skipping is one of the most convenient workouts – it can
be done absolutely anywhere so it's perfect to incorporate into a busy
lifestyle.'
Awarded
an OBE for her charitable services, Jenkins is even launching the Sure
Skipathon in support of Sport Relief. The star has joined The British
Skipping Rope Association and Streets United – who are known for their
show stopping skipping tricks - at Piccadilly Circus to perform a daring
Double Dutch routine.
Don't
worry if you couldn't get down to London – the Sure Skipathon continues
throughout the month of March, aiming to get the nation to contribute 1
million hops, skips and jumps to while Sure donates £200,000 to Sport
Relief.
In
the last two years, Sport Relief has helped more than 189,000 children
to attend school and get an education, more than 734,000 children to be
given life-saving vaccines and has funded 23 projects that support
people living with dementia.
Claudio
Bellen, Sure Brand Manager, says: 'Skipping is guaranteed to put a
smile on your face, so we have pledged to make fundraising with Sure fun
by encouraging the nation to donate their skip to Sport Relief.'
2. Rock Climbing
Can't
stand the prospect of twenty more press-ups? Groaning at the idea of
another hour on the rowing machine? Luckily, rock climbing is a great
alternative for building upper body strength, toning up your arms and is
a guaranteed cardiovascular workout.
Rock climbing can help you keep fit, socialise and improve your mood and problem-solving skills
In
fact, a recent paper by the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests
that the sport can build strength and power and can take aerobic and
anaerobic fitness levels to new heights.
As
if that wasn't a good enough reason to get climbing, research published
in the Annals of General Psychiatry also found that rock climbing was
an effective way to help improve your mood, while the NHS notes that
each climb is like a puzzle, requiring patience and planning to
complete, making it a great way to improve concentration and develop
your problem-solving skills.
3. Boxing
Top models and Victoria Secret Angels Gigi Hadid (left) and Karlie Kloss (right) are fans of boxing
Forget about mindfulness, it's all about fisticuffs and pummelling punch bags – at least, it is when it comes to fitness.
Top
models and Victoria Secret Angels Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss and Kendal
Jenner are all fans of the new fitness trend and you can see why:
regular rounds in the boxing ring result in an elite level of
athleticism including improved strength, speed, endurance and
exceptional coordination.
For
those not willing to go bare-knuckled, there's a plethora of new boxing
boutiques that offer zero-contact classes as well as hybrid classes
that combine yoga with traditional boxing circuits for superior balance
and dynamic stretching.
4. Hula Hooping
Along
with many other playground pastimes such as monkey bars and hopscotch,
hula hooping is being heralded as one of the best ways to get fit for
2016 and is fast becoming a fixture in many workout classes across the
world.
The
fun fitness craze is a favourite among celebrities, too; Kelly Osborne
took to Twitter to show her enthusiasm tweeting, 'I'm all about
hula-hooping right now. Five mins in the morning, five mins at night',
while legendary singer Grace Jones hooped her way through her
performance at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Alongside other playground pastimes, hula hooping is being heralded as one of the best ways to get fit for 2016
Even
Beyoncé and her world-famous abs are advocates of the humble hoop; the
superstar showed off her hip-notic hula hooping during the video to Work
It Out, her first ever release as a solo artist.
Speaking
to the Daily Telegraph, hula pro and founder of London-based HulaFit
workout classes Anna Drury says: 'It's a low-impact exercise that
incorporates dancing to increase flexibility, hand-eye-coordination and
reconnects the hoopers with their stomach muscles while having fun.'
What more could you want?
Follow the example of Amanda Seyfried and head outside for a brisk walk
5. Trampolining
Trampolining
is fast becoming one of the most popular workout classes among kids and
adults alike and it's easy to understand why. All that bouncing around
is an amazing cardio workout and it doesn't put potentially damaging
stress on your joints like pounding the pavement does.
Speaking
to Men's Fitness, Jumpsport fitness expert Steve Sarver says: 'Since
trampolining reduces impact by 40 percent, it allows you to work out
harder and recover faster since your body isn't getting as beat up as it
would doing impact exercises on the ground.'
As
well as toning legs, thighs and buttocks, a quick bounce on the
trampoline engages your core, adding shape and definition to stomach
muscles.
6. Hiking
Hiking
is the perfect way to make the most of the great outdoors and is a
favourite of model and mother-of-four Heidi Klum. 'Every once in a while
I go on the treadmill, but I don't love that so much. I like the
outdoors a lot,' Klum told Women's Health.
You
don't have to trek over to celeb hotspot Runyon Canyon in Beverly Hills
– although if you do, look out for regular hikers Amanda Seyfried,
Jessica Biel and Ryan Gosling – research shows that any outdoor walking
is a great way to improve overall health.
In
fact, research by the American Hiking Society found that walking could
reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure and a recent
study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine found
that long distance walking can even improve our antioxidative capacity,
which helps fight off disease and even cancer.
7. Strength training
Dubbed
one of the hottest fitness trends for 2016 by ACSM's Health &
Fitness Journal, bodyweight training has been hanging around ever since
Parkour burst into the maintream and Youtube videos of the 'Human Flag'
surfaced (where you hold onto a pole and hold your body horizontally
using only the strength of your arms and core).
Turns
out, using your own body weight is one of the most effective ways to
tone up, requiring absolutely no equipment and no costs while a recent
study from the English Institute of Sport found that bodyweight training
is actually more effective than weight training in the gym.
Using your own body weight is one of the most effective ways to tone up, requiring absolutely no equipment
Don't
worry if you can't handle the Human Flag just yet, bodyweight training
includes lots of muscle-toning moves from crunches to ab roll-outs to
press-ups depending on your individual goals.
8. Ballet
Undeniably one of the most recognisable faces of fashion, Karlie Kloss doesn't owe her lean physique to hours on the treadmill.
Instead,
the supermodel attributes her world-famous strut to her classical
ballet training at Caston's Ballet Academie as a child, telling Vogue:
'My ballet training was honestly the most valuable thing I could have
done for this career.'
Supermodel
Karlie Kloss attributes her world-famous strut to her classical ballet
training (left), and ballet is becoming a popular and more common way
for people to keep fit
Besides
grace, pose and catwalk swagger, ballet also helps to define muscles,
improve posture and flexibility and even reduce stress.
Don't
worry if you haven't stepped up to the barre before, there's plenty of
adult-friendly beginners classes popping up, including a range of styles
from jazzed-up ballet-inspired workouts to piano-accompanied classical
classes.
