It’s a New Year and once again the American College of Sports Medicine is revealing the hottest health and fitness trends to expect in 2024. This year will bring fresh ideas on how to achieve health and wellness moving forward. The year 2023 brought landmark ideas for fitness such as personalized fitness keeping track of your sleep quality, stress levels, and muscle recover. Other novel ways to keep fit over the past year included a rise in holistic health, interest in gut health, and more of a focus on mental health too.
Health and fitness trends to expect in 2024
Here’s a heads up for 2024 of what to expect and what you may want to try for yourself:
Sound baths
Using sound to heal the body is a concept that has been used for thousands of years and has deep roots in various cultures across the globe. Although the music used for this purpose varies based on geography and culture, it can be as simple as chanting an “om” after a yoga session or as intricate as an hour-long session with a sound practitioner in a specialized environment that offers a spiritual and cleansing experience.
A sound bath is a meditation technique that involves immersing participants in sound waves produced by various sources like gongs, singing bowls, percussion, chimes, rattles, tuning forks, and human voice.
The purpose of a sound bath is to balance the energy of the participants. The goal is to facilitate release and relaxation, allowing the brain to let go.
AI enters the fitness space
Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to revolutionize the world and that also includes the fitness world. AI will continue to transform our fitness with personalized workout plans, nutrition guidance, and wearable technology. The fascinating aspect of AI is how it can personally individualize your fitness goals by assessing your fitness level to help design workout plans to meet your specific needs, such as losing weight, building muscle, or enhancing your cardiovascular fitness.
Sustainable gyms
As people become more environmentally conscious, adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices has become increasingly important. In today’s world, consumers actively seek out brands and products that align with their values and reflect sustainability. This presents a unique opportunity for gym to positively impact the environment while also attracting a growing number of conscious consumers. Consumers are willing to pay for products and brands that prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility.
Environmentally friendly gyms may decide to encourage recycling, choose more eco-friendly options for users such as providing sustainable sourced yoga mats made from non-toxic materials, reduce water waste and use of plastic, switch to energy-efficient LED lighting and better temperature control, all in the name of showing their support for the environment.
The great hydration revolution
Drinking water is still essential but plain ole’ water will be replaced by more updated products such as fiber-packed beverages, collagen-infused elixirs, and salt water, a more natural alternative.
Why? Because water is no longer considered the only healthy way to hydrate. Today, water is seeing a massive transformation by the beverage industry – adding in electrolytes, collagen, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. All to help consumers achieve glowing healthy skin, improve digestion, and balancing electrolyte intake.
Digital detoxing
In today’s world, we are constantly surrounded by screens and technology, which can have a negative impact on our well-being. That’s why the concept of taking a break from technology, commonly known as a digital detox, has become increasingly popular. Not only does it benefit our mental health, but it can also improve our physical health, especially when it comes to staying fit.
It recognizes the impact digital-overload has on our physical health – sleep disruption, sedentary lifestyle, and increased stress and anxiety. It encourages all of us to embrace a digital detox routine of stepping away from screens and engaging in more physical activity, unplug from the digital distraction of text messages, and when going to bed, remove all digital devices from the bedroom.
The benefits of digital detoxing include allowing your mind to recharge and refresh, improve your posture, and enhance your focus and productivity helping you get healthier, find more balance and lead a fulfilled lifestyle.
Fitness and wellness tourism
Wellness tourism is travel specifically aiming to promote personal well-being through a variety of activities. Such activities may include fitness classes, spa treatments, guided meditation, healthy eating, and other wellness-focused pursuits. This type of travel can take many forms, from a dedicated wellness retreat to a vacation that incorporates wellness-related experiences. The goal of wellness tourism is to help individuals achieve a greater sense of physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and to provide a restorative and rejuvenating experience that supports overall health and happiness.
So, whether it’s a spa retreat in the Caribbean or rejuvenating your body and mind in a geothermal hot springs in Arizona, the world of wellness is wide open and ready for you to explore.
Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He’s a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., with a vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy. Dr. Samadi is a medical contributor to NewsMax TV and is also the author of The Ultimate MANual, Dr. Samadi’s Guide to Men’s Health and Wellness, available online both on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.
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