7 Top Wellness Trends for 2020, According to Experts

Hybrid Classes

Cycling and strength training; boxing and yoga; Pilates and running: Hybrid classes are growing in popularity with new combinations popping up constantly. Some extremely popular hybrids: Barry’s Bootcamp (running and strength training), Rumble Boxing (boxing and strength work), and SculptHouse (Pilates and running).

“Hybrid classes allow the class participant to get the most bang for their buck by getting a comprehensive and incredibly effective workout,” says Luke Lombardo, director of education at SculptHouse in Atlanta, GA. “These classes offer different focal points of particular muscle fibers—combining a quick, explosive, fast-twitch portion of class, primarily focusing on larger muscles or prime movers; paired with a slower portion, focused on isometric holds and stabilizing muscles, which ultimately support the larger muscles and help keep individuals upright and stable, and also aid in injury prevention.”

Translation: Hybrid classes give individuals a full body workout and a serious calorie burn.

Wearable Technology

From fitness watches, to tracker bands, and even rings that can analyze your sleep patterns, wearable technology has been on the forecasted popular fitness trend charts for a couple years now, and that remains the case again for 2020. These products allow users to set fitness goals for themselves and then receive data and analytics on things such as daily activity level (steps taken), heart rate, pace, splits, calorie burn, and sleep stats like latency, time in light, REM, and deep sleep.

“Wearable tech is great, but often people will still just use the basics like heart rate and continue to ignore prompts to get up and move,” says Rick Richey, DHSc, NASM faculty instructor, co-founder of RēCOVER in New York City. “It’s like spending money on the most advanced computers out there and only using the word processor on it.”

You may have heard that Google recently bought wearable company Fitbit for quite a large amount of money. “When you have such enormous data companies placing focus on wearables, plan to see the technology improving, a greater assortment of what can be measured, and more comfortable and compatible devices,” says Richey. “Wearable tech will likely stay on this list for many years to come and wearable companies will need to start arming users with actionable steps using the data collected.”

Sustainability

As with most things in life, people look to join organizations, support movements, and invest in brands and companies that believe in similar principles as they themselves believe in. It’s no surprise that this is trickling over into the fitness space as well, with individuals looking to join gyms that focus on sustainable efforts, choosing facilities with holistic offerings, and purchasing memberships that allow them to have flexibility with their workouts.

“I have seen this based upon branding, operations, and exercise selection—the overall environment complimenting the world point of view of the user,” says Aaron Drogoszewski, NASM educator, CPT, CES, PES, MMACS, co-founder of RēCOVER in New York City. “I suppose this does sometimes align with the details such as ‘no plastic,’ but it typically is a byproduct of a top to bottom approach in creating a particular brand image, environment, and mission of those brands looking to differentiate.”

Richey has also noticed multiple locations, types, and brands of fitness giving rise to the boutique fitness explosion that is currently taking place. “This could be a list topper for trends,” he says.

Whatever the reason may be, experts seem to agree that if this trend is getting people to move more in general, it’s beneficial. “There is no downside when people are motivated to exercise,” says Richey. “If exercise variety, purchasing power, and sustainability efforts are the boost people need to get moving then we should never wag a disapproving finger.”

Fitness as a “Date Night”

Dinner or drinks is generally the go-to for most dates. But lately, fitness classes have become a popular activity for individuals looking to get to know each other.

“People are beginning to be more conscious of a healthy lifestyle and this allows them to connect with a partner on that principle right out of the gate,” says Lombardo. “It can also take the awkwardness out of the whole ‘first date’ situation because you’re forced to interact with lots of people and it’s a supportive and motivating environment.”

Switch Playground, a high intensity, station-based workout in New York City, has noticed this trend so much so that they’ve created a class set up to be like speed dating called “Love at First Switch.”

“We invite 40 men and 40 women, and introduce them to each other in an environment that they’re both interested in,” says Steve Uria, creator of Switch Playground. “At each station, they’re paired up with a new person, giving them the chance to meet multiple individuals that share a commonality. And we serve healthy mocktails and dinner after, and offer ‘two-for-one’ class cards, so an individual can invite anyone they may have had a connection with on a date.”

And it’s not just individual dates where Uria has noticed this trend taking off—it’s professional outings and meetings as well.

“I’ve even seen corporate individuals, who instead of going for drinks to meet, they go to a fitness class as a team,” says Uria. “We’ve had companies bring new hires in for class, to share the experience together, and to see how they adapt to stress. The fact that people are feeling better and more productive together by doing something that gets them moving, I’m here for it.”

Streaming Fitness

“This biggest barrier for entry to fitness for most people is time,” explains Drogoszewski. Well, you no longer have to physically go to the gym to get your workout in. Now you can simply log into an account online and stream prerecorded classes with services like DailyBurn and Crunch Live, purchase a piece of equipment like the Mirror or NordicTrack RW900 Rower with iFit, that come with a library of streaming videos, or join a live class from studios like Peloton and obé. “When you don’t have to choose, or spend time commuting, the likelihood for certain people to get a sweat going increases,” says Drogoszewski.

This trend not only puts convenience at the forefront, but it also gives individuals access to entertaining and accessible coaching on their schedule. “I love this trend,” says Richey. “The percent of our population that has a health club membership is quite low and every new facility is often just fighting over the same members. Streaming fitness is now allowing fitness to be accessed from home in really unique and engaging formats.” 

That said, Drogoszewski, Richey, and Uria all agree that these streaming workouts will never replace the motivation and inspiration that comes from an actual class environment.

“There are a lot of people who still like to belong to a ‘tribe,’” says Drogoszewski. “This sense of belonging is magnified while in the same room as other like-minded people, and minimized while looking through a screen.”

Recovery and Longevity

Tom Brady is partially responsible for putting the concept of recovery and longevity on the map with his TB12 method that focuses on having a lifetime of sustained peak performance. A huge part of this? Recovery, pliability, and promoting other holistic and anti-inflammatory concepts used to keep the body and mind healthy for the long run. And multiple stretch and recovery studios are opening up nationwide to help do just that.

“I had the opportunity to work with some professional athletes and elite business leaders that had access to incredible technology that helped them recover between games and I wanted access to some of those modalities, and I knew others would as well,” says Richey. “One of the reasons we opened RēCOVER is because we saw so many people taking six boot camps and HIIT classes per week and they were not seeing results. We wanted to offer a way to still stay active and recover between these bouts of stress.”

As individuals look for a more holistic approach to health and fitness, experts agree that this recovery trend and the use of recovery-based studios will continue to rise in popularity. “It isn’t only athletes in need of recovery; it’s anyone with a performance demand or that has a performance stressor, including moms, dads, and business professionals,” says Drogoszewski. “That needed recovery might be in the state of their muscles on some days, but other days it might be sleep quality, stress management, or cognition. When there is a lack of balance within the body, performance declines straight across the board for all.”

HIIT Training

Another trend that seems to top the charts for another year in a row—high-intensity interval training. These workouts include quick bursts of high energy movements followed by short recovery periods. This usually makes for shorter workouts, and it also puts the body into excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, meaning that the increased rate of oxygen needed after the strenuous workout allows the body to continue burning calories even after you stop exercising.

“Research shows that HIIT workouts are quite effective in fat burning,” says Lombardo. “This style of training that keeps the heart rate up can have a lot of cardiovascular benefits as well, such as lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels.”

Switch Playground is one of many studios that focuses on a HIIT-based training style.

“We’re able to include many of the best elements of exercise into one class, and that it’s OK to offer multiple disciplines of exercise under one roof as long as there’s a structure behind the workout,” says Uria. “Every class offers a total-body workout, so it also doesn’t matter what an individual trained the day before.”

Want to try HIIT for yourself? Below is a high-intensity workout from Uria, focused on raising your heart rate to burn serious calories. 

Warmup

Perform the below circuit three times, with a 30-second rest between sets.

1. Dumbbell Plié Squat to Upright Row, 10 reps
2. Alternating Dumbbell Reverse Lunges with Bicep Curl, 10 reps each leg
3. Push-Up Rotation, 12-15 reps
4. Mountain Climbers, 12-15 reps
5. Rest 1 minute

The Workout

Perform three minutes of a split sprint-recovery cardio circuit. On a cardio machine of your choice, perform 30 seconds on followed by 30 seconds off.

Perform the below circuit three times, with a 30-second rest between sets.

1. Resistance Band High Elbow Row, 15 reps
2. Resistance Band Single Arm Row, 12-15 reps (perform with each arm)
3. Resistance Band Chest Press, 15 reps
4. Resistance Band Alternating Cross Body Punch, 15 reps each side 

Perform three minutes of a split sprint-recovery cardio circuit. On a different cardio machine, perform 30 seconds on followed by 30 seconds off.

Perform the below circuit three times, with a 30-second rest between sets.

1. Squat to Chair Pose, 10 reps with 1-second pause at top
2. Alternating Heel Raises, 10 reps each side
3. Sit-Up with Jab and Cross Punch at Top, 20 reps
4. Side Plank to Dumbbell Thread The Needle Rotations, 15 reps each side

Cool down with some light activity.