Here Are the 4 Fitness Trends That Will Be Huge in 2017 According to the Pros at Google
Along with the top wedding trends of 2017, we’re ready to jump right onto the year’s top food trends, wellness trends, and pretty much every other top trend of the moment. Now, the experts over at Google have let us in on the top four fitness trends that will be huge in 2017.
“In 2017, specifically, we see the fitness experience becoming even more mobile, so on a phone, app, or tracker, to keep up with the everyday woman’s crazy schedule and life,” said Google’s business development pro Mary Liz McCurdy this weekend while attending SXSW’s Adidas Women Future of Fit panel, according to the fine folks over at Well + Good.
She added, “Because we work with so many apps, we’ve seen firsthand the major uptick in apps popping up all over that aim to help people — and women in particular — reach their best, most fit selves. In 2017, specifically, we see the fitness experience becoming even more mobile, so on a phone, app, or tracker, to keep up with the everyday woman’s crazy schedule and life.” Makes sense to us.
But what does this mean, exactly, for our fitness routines? Check out the four top trends of 2017 below.
1. User-friendly fitness apps will become even friendlier. “Apps are moving away from just counting calories or fitness tracking,” said McCurdy, who feels like the power of apps will increase while becoming easier to use. “From allowing users to snap photos of their healthy creations and interact with others to motivate each other to reach fitness goals, to in-app coaching and meal-delivery-service partnerships, logging your healthy habits will become much less cumbersome and allow users to reach their goals and actually stick to them.” McCurdy suggests apps like Lose It!, LifeSum, and Lark.
2. Pocket-sized trainers will be even bigger. Apps like BodBot, Sweat With Kayla, and Freeletics will allow peeps to take their trainers and fitness programs wherever they go, handy-dandy for globe-trotters and anyone on the move. “In-app coaches and custom training programs are allowing people to achieve their fitness goals on their time and at their level, whether they’re in a hotel, gym, or their living rooms,” McCurdy says. “Especially with the uptick of social media communities — from BBG girls to #transformationtuesday junkies, people are actually finding in-pocket programs that change their bodies and provide a network of comrades in their pursuits.”
3. Adventure fitness will take off. Necessity is the mother of invention, and apparently boredom is the motivation for adventure, at least when it comes to 2017’s fitness trends. As new fitness classes and workout techniques pop up everyday — hellooo, Zombie, Run!, Runtastic, and Tracks — folks continue to want to break out and try new things to get ‘em moving. “Besides just taking workouts outdoors with hikes and biking excursions, technology is also opening up a whole new category of fitness,” according to McCurdy. “People were getting bored of their regular playlists and self-guided sprints, and in 2017, game-ified cardio and story-led workouts will step in to keep people entertained.”
4. Meditation and mindfulness will be mastered. After we bring our heart rates up, we need to calm down, which is why meditation is becoming more popular than ever with fitness-focused folks. “It’s grown 50 percent since this time last year,” McCurdy pointed out. “And access to techniques and reminders are only going to get more prevalent, thanks to new apps.” Her go-to apps? Headspace, Calm, and Simple Habit will all give you the mindful vibe you’re looking for.
What kind of fitness routines/techniques/trends are you trying out this year? Let us know @BritandCo!
(h/t Well + Good; photos via Don Arnold + Peter Macdiarmid + Cameron Spencer/Getty)