Finding motivation to exercise every single day can be an exercise in itself. Scheduling the time, changing into workout clothes, getting to the gym, showering… The thought alone can make you break a sweat.

If you’re looking for a fitness trend that makes sense for your schedule and fitness level, you may be pleasantly surprised by what’s hot for 2018. Don’t miss the trends below!

Minimalism

Minimalistic living has been very on trend this century as people aim to downsize, live with less stuff and find more meaning in experiences. Luckily, the same translates into the fitness world as well.

Skip the complicated machines at the gym, which often require their own training manual means, and focus instead on functional exercises you can do with little to no equipment – even from the comfort of your own home.

Medicine Balls

Medicine balls are durable, weighted balls filled with materials like gel, rubber and even iron. Essentially, they are like a heavy basketball.

The best medicine balls range in size and weight depending on your own size and needs, and can be used to increase range of motion as well as muscle strength and tone.

You can pass medicine balls back and forth with a partner, throw them up in the air and catch them, do lunges with them, the list goes on.

Resistance Bands

Strength training routines are strengthened with resistance bands. They provide a versatile way to build muscle mass, hone coordination, and improve joint movement.

Resistance bands are, essentially, long strips of a stretchy material like rubber which you can stand on or wrap around steady objects to pull, stretch, tug, move, and so on.

Streaming Fitness Videos

Fitness videos can motivate and simplify your workout routine. Practice everything from yoga to tai chi to Pilates right in your own living room by streaming guided videos from knowledgeable instructors on sites like YouTube or Amazon Prime Video.

Fitness Classes

What’s better than staying fit with weekly exercise? Getting your friends in on the fun! Fitness classes are rising in popularity again, especially as the variety and volume of classes for older adults increases across the country.

If you’ve been burned by a gym membership before, consider a class subscription like you get with services like ClassPass or FitReserve. You pay a monthly fee but have a choice of discounted fitness classes at local gyms, boutique studios, etc.

In addition to burning calories and providing ongoing heart and brain health, fitness classes offer a social component to working out that is just as beneficial to your wellbeing.

Social interaction, routine activity with people who share your interests, and the opportunity to get out of the house all support your mental and emotional health, too.

Yoga

It’s no surprise that yoga continues to be a chart-topper when it comes to fitness trends. Good news for seniors is that new yoga styles keep popping up every year that are better adapted to older adults.

Senior yoga, gentle yoga, chair yoga, restorative yoga… The list goes on for yoga variations that focus on calming, fluid movements, deep breathing and meditation. This type of exercise is perfect for seniors with mobility, balance and joint issues.

Don’t worry, gentler yoga styles still offer a myriad of health benefits, including stress relief, muscle and bone strengthening, reduced blood pressure and even help with chronic pain management.

Check with your own gym, yoga studio or senior center for senior yoga classes, or stream instructional yoga videos at home.

In addition to those three trends, gyms are also seeing continued interest in sport-specific training, workouts that target core muscles and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

If you feel like you’ve been unmotivated to work out and are too far down that path of inactivity to look back, think again.

New research published in the journal Circulation has revealed that damage your body has incurred from a sedentary lifestyle (i.e., arterial stiffening) can actually be reversed by exercising, even at middle-age.

This may help to lower your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions down the line.

What’s your favourite fitness trend this year? How do you stay motivated to exercise? Let’s chat about it in the comments below.