Life Time, a healthy lifestyle brand with more than 160 athletic country clubs across North America, is keeping tabs on emerging wellness trends in 2023. Every year brings changes in trends, industries, technology, and discoveries that impact our day-to-day lives. To stay ahead of the game, Life Time worked with its various experts— personal trainers, registered dietitians, and coaches—to share predictions on what they see coming in 2023 for health, fitness, nutrition, and mental wellness.
Fitness Trends
- More interest in building muscle: In Life Time’s annual fitness survey, building muscle was selected as the top fitness resolution this year. More people recognize that strength training assists both with building muscle and aiding weight loss.
- Cardio classes make a comeback: At the same time, people are seeking fitness classes to benefit their cardiovascular fitness. As a result, Life Time is increasing its Ultra Fit, GTX, and cardio dance classes at its clubs nationwide. These formats also include elements of strength training for a two-in-one workout.
- Fitness for mental health: People are more stressed than ever and have figured out that exercise can help. People are looking for other reasons to keep active and healthy beyond just physical benefits.
- Focus on flexibility and mobility over high intensity: Developing mobility improves functional movement, prevents injuries, and reduces pain.
“Strength training, cardiovascular fitness, mental wellbeing, and mobility all play essential roles in our long-term health and longevity, and people are taking note of that,” says Anika Christ, senior director of fitness and nutrition for Life Time.
Food & Nutrition Trends
- Anything anti-inflammatory: People will continue looking for natural ways to support their immune systems and overall health, including eating a plant-based diet to lower inflammation. Prioritizing plants, cutting back on sugar, and being choosy about fats are some of the top ways to reduce inflammation.
- Time-restricted eating: A softer way of thinking about intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating is gaining popularity thanks to the fact that there are metabolic health and resilience benefits from giving your body time without food during a 24-hour period.
- Anything alcohol-free: With the uptick in alcohol-free versions of classic cocktails, craft non-alcoholic beers, and more, the trend of sober curiosity and moderation will grow in 2023.
Wellness Trends
- Individualized, measurable health markers: Consumers are hungrier than ever to monitor and quantify how their lifestyles empower or detract from their health. With rising costs of food and sick care, it’s becoming increasingly more important for people to take responsibility for their health trajectory.
- Continued shifts from body positivity to body neutrality: The body neutrality movement, which advocates learning to accept one’s body exactly as it is right now, without loving or hating it, is gaining traction among people of all ages. It will continue to do so as it is a lot easier to focus on acceptance and neutrality with a body that is always changing.
- More companies adopt mental health and wellness programs: When people are mentally strained, it can affect job performance, job retention, relationships, and healthcare costs for the employer. Providing mental wellbeing programs can increase job satisfaction and motivation, but more importantly, it can honor employees from a true-person standpoint and help them feel cared for and supported.
