I was so happy to see last week’s Cincinnati Enquirer article on the 2011 top 20 fitness trends based on a survey by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Here they are with my comments:

1. Educated and experienced fitness professionals. It wasn’t enough for me to have an RN. I needed training to be fitness professional. I am an American College of Sports Medicine certified health and fitness educator and also have a Masters in Health Education.

2. Fitness programs for older adults. It doesn’t matter how old you are, fitness programs are even more important as we age.  Staying fit keeps our body, mind and spirit healthy.

3. Strength Training-I really enjoy walking and talking, but after my knee injury, I realized I needed to increase strength in my lower and upper body.

4. Children and Obesity-This is a big issue, and it’s important to remember that children often model their parent’s behavior. Family meal planning that is healthy and full of colorful and whole foods is so important. Sitting down at the kitchen table to dine as a family at least a couple of times a week, sharing life events, and enjoying good food together promotes health and happiness. Also exercising as a family will help abate the obesity epidemic in children.

5. Personal Training-I love my one on one sessions with a personal trainer. Although I could do my workout myself, he makes sure I am doing the exercises correctly and pushes me to work harder than I would alone.

6. Core Training – Although Pilates was not mentioned as a trend, Pilates is core training. We used to call it our internal girdle. This is our center-the abdominal and lower back muscles and buttocks muscles all work together to keep our workout centered. By focusing on the core everything is more balanced and strong.

7. Exercise and Weight Loss– Sounds elementary but the truth is, we are finding that exercise is necessary for long term weight loss and overall health.

8. Boot camp- Not just for the military, this is disciplined exercise programming that includes exercise taught by high level fitness professionals who not only lead the program but provide motivation and support. One of my clients would get up 5 days a week for her boot camp program that started at 5:00 AM. She loved it.

9. Functional fitness-This is fitness that includes natural movements and has a high level of conditioning in a shorter amount of time. My personal trainer encourages high-level fitness in 20 minutes a day.

10. Physician referrals-Doctors are referring their patients to work with personal trainers, take yoga classes, and in my favor, starting to understand the value of wellness coaching for their high risk patients.

11. Yoga-More people are enrolling in yoga classes for the well-rounded fitness benefits, but also for the peace of mind and balance achieved from this ancient practice for health and wellness.

12. Work-site health promotion-In the 80’s I directed the wellness program for Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, based here in Cincinnati. It is no longer Merrell Dow, but our “UP With Life” program is still running at the Cincinnati location. More and more companies continue to see the value of offering healthy options for their employees to work on fitness at the work-site. The benefit is reducing the cost of sick employees and increasing productivity and morale and work.

13. Outcome measurements- Not only are we going into companies and offering health promotion programs, but innovative ways to measure effectiveness is important to keep these programs running. Also research studies are conducted to measure the effectiveness of fitness programs including personal training and wellness coaching.

14. Group personal training- At the JCC here in Cincinnati you can sign up for a small group (4-5 people) who work with a personal trainer. They still get the individual attention, but also the group support, motivation and fun of being together.

15. Spinning-This is virtual biking. In a room of stationary cycles with an instructor leading the journey, you spin your wheels with a great aerobic workout and bicycle for miles while never leaving the room. I have never done spinning, but hear from others that it is a fun and invigorating way to exercise.

16. Sport-specific training-If you are a soccer player you use different muscles than a basketball player. The key is for coaches to include stretching and training exercise that prepare the muscles that are going to be used to excel in that sport.

17. Worker-incentive programs- If you make an effort to take care of yourself, join a fitness center or boot camp, lose risky fat, and reduce blood pressure, weight and other chronic disease risks, some companies are rewarding their employees financially or with paid time off.

18.Clinical integration/medical fitness. This is new in medicine, where doctors look at the whole body and lab values to determine the fitness of individuals. This goes beyond a fit and trim body, but more consideration for whole body health. This is also a trend toward integrating high-level medicine with disease prevention.

19. Reaching new markets- Fitness will be available in a variety of ways in a variety of places to more people.

20. Wellness coaching-Working one on one or in small groups with a fitness professional with life coaching skills. As a wellness coach I partner with my clients and help them identify their vision, strengths, and motivators, and keep them working toward desired goals. We celebrate success and come up with strategies to overcome obstacles. This is deep work that promotes life long healthy lifestyles.

For more about Wellness Coaching visit my website www.themiddlewayheal.wpstagecoach.com.