The top fitness trend of 2015

 

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Stone Hearth News

  

(Reuters) – New balance devices that improve stability have made shifting the new lifting of resistance training, fitness experts say, adding the challenge of instability to back-to-basic workouts. Exercise balls, sandbags and load-shifting body bars are among the tools popping up in bodyweight training, the minimal-equipment exercise routine that the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) tagged as the top trend for 2015.
“The idea of bringing the body into an environment that challenges stability and balance is on the up rise,” said Michigan-based trainer Derek Mikulski. “Shifting resistance constantly challenges the body’s center of mass so the core has to work harder.”

  

The core refers to the muscles of the abdominals and back that support the spine and keep the body stable and balanced.
Mikulski is the creator of a new balance device called ActivMotion Bar. It looks like a body bar but is hollow and filled with steel balls that shift back and forth when moved.
It is designed so that gripping, steadying and moving the bars, which come in weights from four and one-half to 18 pounds, (two to eight kilograms), in basic moves from curls to lunges will boost calorie burn, core strength and balance.
Several U.S. fitness chains, including Life Time Fitness and Powerhouse Gym, have introduced the bar, which was rolled out earlier this year.
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