Fitness Trends for 2009

What's ahead in the coming year

Boot camp workouts gained popularity last year and will continue to be a favorite this year. One reason? They provide total body workouts that are challenging, fun and different from the usual gym machine workouts. A typical boot camp class includes a variety of exercises such as jumping jacks, squats, lunges, pushups and other body-weight exercises done at a fast past. Having a drill sergeant screaming at you is optional, but it can be motivating.

Get started with this Boot Camp Workout or check with your local gym or community center to find classes near you.

With the economy taking a nosedive in 2008, it's no surprise that one trend of 2009 will be more economical workouts. Many people will opt for working out at home rather than paying expensive gym memberships and spend less on fitness equipment.

If you know where to look, it's easy to get a great workout without going to a gym or buying big-ticket fitness gear. Go for a walk and all you need is a decent pair of shoes. Buy secondhand fitness equipment, make your own dumbbells or take the dog out more often. Those are just a few ideas and you'll find more in these resources:

• Exercise on a Budget
• Exercising on the Cheap
• Free Workouts
• Free Exercise Programs

Last year, we saw a surge in dance-type classes like Zumba, Jazzercise and even cardio strip tease. People want to have fun when they exercise and, with the popularity of shows like "Dancing With the Stars," they're seeing that dancing is a great way to get in shape, too.

Yoga and Pilates will remain popular as well, along with a variety of other specialty classes that focus on core strength, stability and balance. These specialty workouts will help you get started:

• Core Strength
• BOSU Balance Trainer Exercises
• Yoga Fusion Workout
• Ballast Ball Exercises
• Foam Roller Exercises
• Compound Exercises

Whatever new trends come along, there are always traditional exercises that get the job done. Equipment, classes and whoopee-zing gadgets come and go, but we always have the basics to go back to when we really want to see results. Squats, lunges and pushups have been a staple of our strength training routines for years and they aren't going anywhere in the coming year.

In 2009, we'll get back to basics and focus on more functional exercise to keep our bodies strong for daily life.

Find out more in these back-to-basics resources:

• Basic Strength and Cardio Exercises
• Total Body Basics
• Basic Ab Exercises
• Basic Beginner Strength

Circuit training has always been popular, but we'll see a resurgence of circuit workouts in 2009 simply because they're so time efficient. Many gyms even offer circuit sections where you can run through a variety of exercises, one after the other, for short, effective workouts.

You can even make your own circuit workout at home. The following workouts will give you some ideas for how to get started:

• Beginner Circuit
• Quick Circuit Workout
• Fat-Burning Strength and Cardio Circuit
• Strength and Power Circuit

Kettlebells, cast iron weights with a handle, were once used by Russians to build strength and endurance. Fast forward a hundred years or so and you'll see that kettlebells are enjoying a resurgence that will peek in 2009. Kettlebells are gaining popularity because they require you to use your entire body to control the weight while doing a variety of exercises. This puts the focus on core strength, functional training, strength and stability. Kettlebell workouts also engage multiple muscles, making it a great way to save time while getting results.

You can find out more at Kettlebell Training and check with your local gyms and health clubs. You may find more kettlebell classes popping up in the coming year.

The year 2008 brought us a number of new ways to exercise, many involving our TVs, laptops, video games and MP3 players. This year, we'll see even more interactive games similar to Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution, and more ways to stream workouts and videos to our iPods and computers.

You can find some of these video exercises and downloadable workouts at demandFitness, Cardio Coach and Next Fitness and you'll also find a wealth of fitness videos here at About.com.

For some people, nothing is more boring than running to nowhere on a treadmill. For those people, chasing after a tennis ball or sprinting past someone to score two points is the only way to go. Training for marathons or triathlons is one way to get fit while reaching a specific goal, or you can join an adult volleyball, tennis or basketball league to have a little more fun while you get fit. When it feels more like play, you're more likely to stay active.

Check with your local community center to find what's available near you. These resources can help you get started:

• Training for Your First 5K
• Exercise Programs for Sports
• Get Started with Tennis
• Finding a Swim Team

Another trend this year will be mixing things up and bringing more variety into the workout routine. This is great news, especially for those of us who tend to do the same things all the time or for those of us who get bored doing the same things all the time.

ACE predicts we'll mix up our cardio workouts with interval training and we'll shake up our strength workouts with both low- and high-intensity training on alternate days.

These resources incorporate these ideas, helping you create more variety in your workouts:

• Cardio Intensity - How to Mix Things Up
• Cardio and Strength Fat-Burning Circuit
• Quick Total Body Series
• How to Change Your Strength Training Workouts
• Exercise Progression