2023 top fitness trends - Physical

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has unveiled its worldwide fitness trends for 2023, and as always it encourages us all – suppliers and operators alike – to reflect on the continued evolution of our sector.

The big picture for 2023 is an interesting one, in many ways indicating a return to pre-pandemic behaviours among fitness consumers.

Home gyms have slipped out of the top 10, coming in at trend #13 this year, while online training has lost even more ground: having been the #1 trend in mid-pandemic 2021, it’s now out of the top 20 with a ranking of #21.

It all backs up what operators have been widely reporting: the comeback of in-person gym attendance.

But what’s happening within the gyms themselves? In the three years since the last non COVID-skewed report, how have things have moved on?

In fact, although there’s been some shuffling within the ranks, 2023’s trends are remarkably similar to those of 2020 – the year Physical celebrated the incredible parallels between the ACSM’s findings and our own fields of expertise.

Those parallels don’t extend to the #1 trend, of course, which is once again wearable technology. That’s fine with us. The clue is in our name: Physical. We’re all about creating exceptional training experiences within physical gym spaces, so while our catalogue may be bursting with 1,900+ world-class products, you won’t find wearable tech among them. We’re happy to leave that to the experts.

It doesn’t take long to hit our heartland, though, with strength training with free weights the ACSM’s #2 trend for 2023. At #3, we have bodyweight training – which the ACSM defines as ‘using minimal equipment’ and a ‘functional way to exercise’ – while functional training itself comes in at #5.

And this is what we do. This is where we specialise. When it comes to these trends, Physical doesn’t simply follow. It leads from the front.

Sat between these, fitness programmes for older adults is the #4 trend, and even here – with our unparalleled range of small, versatile, non-intimidating pieces of kit, not to mention our studio accessories that support accessible forms of exercise like mind-body and stretching – we’re in a prime position to create powerful propositions that meet the needs of this growing market.

As we continue down the top 10, we find trends including outdoor activities (#6), HIIT (#7), exercise for weight loss (#8) and personal training (#10) – all trends where Physical is strong, whether it’s portable accessories for on-the-go workouts, varied equipment for interesting HIIT circuits, strength training to build muscle and drive weight loss, or entire functional playgrounds – from the floor up – where PTs can inject creativity and fun to drive client engagement and success.

And that’s not all. Moving into the top 20, we also have core training (#11), circuit training (#12), home exercise gyms (#13), group training (#14) and yoga (#17).

That’s 13 of the top 20 fitness trends for 2023 where we’re market leaders in creating exceptional training experiences. Even better, the way we do it is far more cost-effective than kitting out a whole new gym.

It reinforces what we’ve clearly stated since our 2019 rebrand: that whatever space you have available, whatever your audience or your fitness needs, Physical is First for Fitness Solutions.

We can help you stay ahead of the trends without breaking the bank. Get in touch now

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