Anybody can predict the future, and in January, pretty much anybody does. Did you see a stranger riding a bamboo bicycle? Must be a trend.
Among the chattering voices currently trend-spotting for a breathless audience of health-and-fitness-fascinated fanatics, a few are better informed than the rest. A very few even try to base their predictions on the observations of expert informants, surveyed in a systematic sort of way. Most don't.
Guess who said:
"Will 2015 be gluten-free? Is Paleo out? Are we eating carbs yet? Is kale still the Queen of Greens or will nuts, seeds or cauliflower take the throne?"
Is this an excerpt from:
a) "Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2015: What's Driving the Market," a totally serious report on a scientific-enough survey filled out by more than 3,400 fitness professionals and published in December by the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal;
b) "What's Trending in Nutrition?" an annual survey of more than 500 registered dietitians conducted by Pollock Communications on behalf of Today's Dietitian magazine;
c) "Most Popular Fitness Trends," a humorous list published by The Onion on June 27.
Welcome to ActiveStyle's first Trendy Trend Quiz, a possibly exciting, informative and totally unimportant entry in the great annual cavalcade of January journalism. The answer above is "b." More questions follow below. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to see if you can distinguish The Onion's voice from those presumably more somber tones of the two nonfiction-writing organizations.
But before you begin shouting your answers to the quiz below, here are a few clues:
a) The "college" is a professional sports medicine and exercise science organization whose 50,000 members worldwide include researchers, sports medicine doctors and certified fitness instructors and trainers.
b) Today's Dietitian is a monthly trade journal with 40,000 subscribers, including dietitians, nutrition counselors, food service managers, certified diabetes educators, primary health coaches and pharmacists.
c) The Onion makes stuff up. It's a satirical website (with 11 million readers).
So it should be simple to spot The Onion being silly, right?
QUESTIONS
Which observed fitness trends for 2015 come from which prognosticating publication? Circle a, b or c. (See answers on Page 6E.)
1 "It appears as though the popularity of Zumba, which was growing with a rapid escalation between 2010 and 2013, can now be called a fad and not a trend."
a b c
2 "Workout programs such as CrossFit and Tabata have surged in popularity in recent years as Americans look for new and engaging ways to lose weight, get in shape and build muscle."
a b c
3 Extended rest interval training (ERIT) challenges the body to adapt by forcing it to remain alert for up to 18 hours a day and then take six to eight hours of rest. The routine must be repeated daily.
a b c
4 The No. 1 trend for 2015 is body weight training. "Body weight training uses minimal equipment, making it more affordable than many other fitness methods."
a b c
5 Educated, certified and experienced fitness professionals: "More and more students are majoring in kinesiology, which indicates that they are preparing themselves for careers in allied health fields such as personal training."
a b c
6 Consumers won't be complacent. Last year, 44 percent of surveyed experts felt that more Americans were becoming OK with an unhealthy weight. This year, only 26 percent feel the same way, indicating fewer consumers will be complacent about being overweight.
a b c
7 High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves a few seconds of highly intense exertion followed by a short period of rest. These workouts generally take less than 30 minutes.
a b c
8 Zambia: Adherents of this weight-loss method travel to rural Zambia, where they tend to lose weight.
a b c
9 "Pilates, indoor cycling, stability ball and balance training again failed to appear on the list of top 20 trends in the health and fitness industry, which supports the theory that these were fads and not trends."
a b c
Gluten-free diets dominate as 66 percent of experts believe gluten-free or wheat-free diets will continue to be trendy in 2015 whether there is evidence to support them or not.
a b c
Functional fitness: This is a trend toward using strength training to improve balance and ease of daily living.
a b c
BragFit is a strict daily regimen in which individuals perform 10 intensive 15-minute reps of talking about their workout routine with brief recovery periods in which they do not talk.
a b c
Rising misinformation: Thirty-eight percent of experts agree that consumers receive the most misinformation from blogs and websites, and they predict that there will be more nutrition misinformation available in 2015.
a b c
The Mongo Method: A demanding training program that combines the gracefulness of ballet, the raw physicality of Pilates, and the high-intensity cardio that comes with being chased around a gym by a belligerent 900-pound silverback gorilla.
a b c
One Weird Trick That Really Works: By utilizing a single trick that might sound strange, many lose hundreds of pounds in a matter of weeks.
a b c
Kale and coconut are still trendy choices, but seeds and nuts have taken over as the top two superfoods for 2015. Other foods expected to make frequent appearances on consumers' plates include ancient grains like amaranth, quinoa, spelt and freekeh, Greek yogurt and avocado.
a b c
"Low-fat" fizzles. While low-carb remains strong, low-fat gets weaker.
a b c
"Taking over the top spot from High-Intensity Interval Training is body weight training. It will be very interesting to watch body weight training and high-intensity interval training during the next year to see if these are truly trends or fads."
a b c
Group personal training. In challenging economic times, training two or three people at a time makes economic sense for the trainer and the clients.
a b c
20 Among the better beverages, green tea gets high marks as the drink of choice for its myriad health benefits.
a b c
ANSWERS
1, a. 2, c. 3, c. 4, a. 5, a. 6, b. 7, a. 8, c. 9, a. 10, b. 11, a. 12, c (duh). 13, b. 14, c. 15, c. 16, b. 17, b. 18, a. 19, a. 20, b.
ActiveStyle on 01/12/2015