Each year, the American College of Sports Medicine releases a survey of global fitness trends for the coming year. We’ve enlisted the help of many experts and stakeholders in the fitness industry to predict the top 20 fitness trends in the United States and around the world.
The trends for 2025 are just settling down, and it’s going to be another big year for wearable technology. But aside from the best smartwatches, there are some big movers and game-changers hinting at a world of personalized, data-driven fitness in your pocket, and that’s a worrying sign for personal trainers.
So which trends are in and which are out? What will be the mainstays of fitness in 2025? What’s new and exciting? Personal trainers, coaches, students, researchers, Here are key takeaways from the intersection of fitness and technology, from a survey of medical professionals and others.
(Image credit: Future)
Wearables remain on top
Wearable technology has been the number one trend in all but two of the past 10 years, and will continue to occupy the top spot in 2025. ACSM notes that the field of wearable technology is “constantly evolving” and highlights the benefits of the best fitness trackers and smart rings. , etc.
But it didn’t come without warning. ACSM warns that “further work is needed to improve validity, reliability, and data privacy concerns.” We’ll get into personal training later, but our trend list encourages exercise professionals to use wearable technology to support their clients. Interestingly, the only group of exercise professionals surveyed in this study who did not list wearable technology as a top trend were full-time personal trainers.
personal trainer in your pocket
(Image credit: Future)
Mobile exercise apps continued to rapidly rise from 20th place in 2023 and 7th place in 2024, and finally reached 2nd place in this survey. ACSM reports that approximately 850 million fitness apps will be downloaded by approximately 370 million users in 2023, with wearable technology likely to fuel the increase thanks to its complementary nature. I suspect that there may be.
The study praised the flexibility of mobile training apps, especially for beginners. In fact, many of the best fitness apps on the market can help you create an entire workout plan, track your progress, create form, and more. With the advent of AI in apps like the PUSH Workout app, the power of these apps to adapt and deliver personalized workouts has never been greater.
Data: The Bold Newcomer
(Image provided by Oura)
Data-driven technology, new in 2024, will rank seventh in 2025 because it helps clients “understand physiological responses to exercise stimuli in real time.”
By leveraging metrics such as sleep and heart rate variability during training and recovery, exercise professionals can more easily adjust their training to these conditions, especially for people with cardiometabolic conditions. , you can exercise more safely.
On-demand exercise classes are back
(Image credit: Peloton)
On-demand exercise classes, which have exploded during the pandemic, are back inside the top 20 for the first time since 2022. Pre-recorded classes and videos like Apple Fitness Plus and Peloton offer users great flexibility as they can be accessed at any time. Anywhere.
More broadly, the resurgence of on-demand exercise classes is an opportunity for customers who want to have more control over their fitness journey and choose which classes and when to do them at their convenience, rather than committing to something. This may be a sign that your desire to do so is deepening. Workout programs and rigorous personal training at your local gym.
personal training slides
(Image credit: Centre)
Since 2007, personal training has been in the top 10 trends in the ACSM survey, but by 2025 it has dropped to 16th place. While the organization agrees that personal training remains “important” for those looking for effective instruction, the proliferation of remote work and virtual fitness solutions (like those mentioned above) will likely increase demand for the aforementioned classes. It is decreasing.
One proposed solution for personal trainers is to integrate hybrid modalities to make personal training more adaptive, personalized, and effective. Could the proliferation of data-powered, personalized, and democratized fitness apps and wearables reduce the demand for one-on-one personal training? However, it often requires significant time and financial commitment, as well as space and equipment.
There is no guarantee that these trends will play out as ACSM predicts, but if they do, it will be a first for the fitness professional industry that needs to adapt to a changing, connected, and data-driven future of fitness. This could be a wake-up call. .
