AI training to the Pilates princess era: Fitness trends that blew up in 2024

We’ve almost made it to the very end! The last week of the year is here and this is excuse enough for us to kick up our feet and get all nostalgic at the year that has gone by. Now like it or not, fitness is a huge, HUGE part of it. Off late the fitness sector has boomed big with even the most unwilling horses having made (however feeble) attempts to get their physical fitness somewhat on track. For all the bad rap social media gets, this kind of peer pressure is actually quite appreciable. But then again, the gym rats and health nuts have probably never felt this smug. Nonetheless, there were some defining trends that carved themselves deep into the course of the year and probably in the near future as well. So without further ado, here they are!

AI training

If we can’t fight it, might as well befriend it, huh? There really isn’t anything that artificial intelligence cannot find efficacy in. Now coming to fitness, where the more perfect you get your form and reps, the faster and better you sculpt your body and by proxy your psyche, AI-informed gym sessions possibly couldn’t hurt. The only proof of the people taking to this like fish to water is the boom of AI-driven fitness apps. Times are-a-changing for sure!

Pop Pilates princess era

There is no way you have missed the surge of beautifully posh women looking like age-old ballerinas on your Instagram feed. The only difference is that instead of a tutu they have a svelte and cutesy gym set on, complete with their ballet-adjacent grip socks. Pilates may literally be a 100 years old, but the aesthetic revamp it has received this year will ensure it cements its place in the mainstream. It also definitely helps that it’s one of the strongest workout regimes on the market. For those who think it’s flouncy, why don’t you hit the mat for a 15-minute session with a free YouTube video? If you aren’t begging for your life by the end of it, you win.

Community workouts

What’s better than a good workout? A workout buddy you just hit your day’s goal with. It may sound sappy but even deeply personal endeavours like one’s fitness journey can strongly benefit with a partner, platonic or otherwise. Not only does it boost accountability but is a great subtext for socialisation. That being said, the sentiment has received an intense upgrade this year. Team sports have seen a massive surge as a primary workout option. A Today report shares, “(V)olleyball reservations spiked by 256% since 2023, and soccer also saw a 158% increase. But the largest and perhaps most surprising jump was in ice skating, which saw a whopping 698% increase in reservations”.

Sustainability over intensity

The go hard or go home mentality is on its last leg and we couldn’t be happier. This year has been all about finding a balance when it comes to achieving one’s dream body. So it’s not really been about whittling your waist to a certain size before the year turns. Instead, the goal is to build a routine for yourself which you will happily jump into regularly. The generation is finally understanding the value of consistency over perfection and it truly is a moment in time.

Cryotherapy

Remember when Shalini Passi jumped into her very own cryo-chamber. The layman obviously can’t afford that but there are plenty of wellness bars around town which will offer the service to you, at a hefty price of course. Cryotherapy is essentially the practice of exposing your body to really low temperatures for a few minutes. Now while this doesn’t essentially count as a workout, the target demographic includes those who hit the gym hard or generally live particularly active lifestyles. A Healthline report lists its benefits as numbing nerve irritation as well as reducing arthritic pain.

Convinced but confused? Take the go-ahead from a healthcare professional and start treating yourself to ice baths instead. It’s brutal but addictive.

What has been a defining trend in your fitness journey this year?