By Michele Smith
Facebook – MicheleSmithMarketing

The new year is here and January is the time when most people turn a keen eye on their personal health. While most of this is attributed to over consumption attributed to many holiday events instead of a daily, yearly fitness routine, the following are a couple of trends that may motivate people to stay in shape year round. The key here is doing something that motivates YOU while keeping you active, healthy and motivated. We’re not saying that this needs to be incorporated every day, but if you are exercising 5x per week you are certainly erring on the healthy end.

Wearable technology

We are not talking about just your step counter here, there are a bunch of new items on the market that track your heart rate and calorie count. There are some great fitness trackers offered by Jawbone, Fitbit, Apple Watch and Garmin. New wearable technology will undoubtedly make you put your old counter to rest, as the new technology will break old bad habits. Trainables are wearables that offer real time feedback. There is uprightpose.com that will track bad posture through adhesive pads on your back, the wearable Spire tracks mood and breathing, and BiteBit is a device that is supposed to be worn in one’s ear to track eating habits – whether to eat slower or snack less often. These are just a few that are currently on the market.

Bodyweight training

If you are not a fan of bodyweight training you should be. This is a great way to lose weight, gain strength and overall pump up your calorie burn. Plus, the use of minimal equipment makes this a convenient and inexpensive way to work out. A bodyweight workout can consist of plank pushups, pulse jump squats, pushup rotations, mountain climbers and lateral jumps.

Personal training

While most people cannot afford an in-home personal trainer; most can afford trainers at health clubs and even can take advantage of the personal free sessions when you join. Personal trainers are hands down amazing because they literally will reshape your body. Licensed professionals (and this is key) will design workouts that will optimize your body and completely change your perception on personal health. At the end of the day, personal trainers will make the most of your “gym” time.

Functional fitness

Many people do not realized that their day-to-day activities actually qualify as exercise. Yes, bending over and picking things up around the house does qualify as exercise. Functional fitness workouts include the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Caterpillar Workout, the Skipping Olympian and Chop Squat.

Strength Training

Strength training is absolutely key for burning calories, adding muscle mass, decreasing fat, torching body fat and protecting bone health. What is strength training exactly? Anyone can do many different exercises with little to no equipment. For example, sit ups, pushups, abdominal exercises and squats to name a few. Resistance tubing is another inexpensive option and is easy to work out with. You can find resistance tubing in any sports store.