Justin G. Walls, Certified Personal Athletic Trainer

ACSM's Most Popular Fitness Trends For 2014 Which one are you going to try? One of the biggest problems with fitness is workout boredom. Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised that in the "vine" generation, we are seeing a resurgence of interval training, specifically high intensity interval training ( HIIT ). You can read the ACSM press release  for their top ten trends, which seem to follow a specific pattern: Get the workout done fast Get the best possible results for your investment Use as little or as simplistic (perhaps inexpensive) equipment as possible Have a certified professional guide your workout Workout in groups Put the "fun" in functional It shouldn't be a surprise that two of the most popular fitness trends are CrossFit and P90X, with their emphasis on basic exercises with minimal equipment. It should be noted that the "basic" exercises in CrossFit are actually quite challenging, including many Olympic style l...

This isn't exactly a chance to fight Apollo Creed for the heavyweight championship of the world, but it is an opportunity to work on cardiovascular endurance, speed, coordination, bone density, and self-esteem. Let's talk about each of these life-changing benefits: Cardiovascular Endurance It cannot be stressed enough that the best way to prevent the onset of obesity and all of its negative attributes is by engaging in regular exercise . The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes each day, five days every week. Regular endurance training enables the heart to become more efficient at pumping blood, even if there are no noticeable signs of physical improvement. The heart gets stronger with every endurance workout. Here's the great thing about martial arts and boxing- lots of continual movement equals anywhere from moderate to intense exercise. Speed and Coordination As a conditioning term, speed refers to how quickly you can get from point A to poin...