Every January, millions of people flock to every gym andfitness center in the country, on a mission to be fit. As fitness people we areprimed and ready to take on new clients because of the resolution craze. Butwhat is going to separate the year you had in 2013 from the year you are goingto have in 2014?

Any good business will look at industry trends, year overyear. The fitness industry changes so dramatically from year to year a lot canchange. As the times change, us as fitness professionals must adapt. So whatwill change and what will be the same in 2014? Here are a few trends I haveseen that we all need to capitalize on:

1. Social media - Like it or not social media is becoming alarge part of our stratosphere. People go on to to Facebook and Twitter toshare their daily lives, read what others are doing and connect with people.Successful trainers in 2014 will have a big social media presence, tellingtheir story to world.

2. Nutrition - Clients are coming to me more and more fornutritional guidance. Clean eating is a cool thing in 2014. There are thousandsof websites and social media platforms devoted to clean eating, juicing andfood preparation. Helping your clients understand nutrition and food labelsjust adds value to your job as a trainer.

3. Group Training - People have been working out in groupssince the beginning of time. Marketed and packaged correctly, group trainingcan add wonders to your business.

4. 30 Minute Sessions - Time is also an issue with clientsand sometimes they can't spare an hour for fitness. Giving the client an optionof a 30 minute session can help in adding margins to your business but alsogiving the client an option of an hour or 30 minutes.

With the uptick of the economy and increase of disposableincome, people are looking for new options with their fitness. To stay ahead ofthe curve, we as trainers must look at the trends and adapt accordingly.


Josh 'JB' Bowen, BS, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D is the former Quality Control Director of Personal Training for Urban Active Fitness and is currently a personal trainer for Fitness Plus II in Lexington, KY and a consultant and National Fitness Director for Compel Fitness.