Fitness Trends Come and Go

Did you ever wonder how something becomes a trend or a fad? Well, I am always intrigued when people begin to like certain things even though they don't really know anything about them. The truth is that it is very common for people to mistake popular things for valuable things. In this case I am referring to all the buzz around Pilates, yoga and Zumba, last year's crazes in fitness.

I'm not saying that these are not good ways to exercise, all exercise is good. The thing is that the promised fast results often never happen or when they do, they are short lived. So the question is why do these sports get all this attention, surely there must be something about them! Well the special thing about them is the great effort and ingenuity marketing departments invested in them. After all we have to keep in mind that they all promise pretty much the same thing: fast, efficient results with no effort - just fun.

Celebrity endorsements

Every time we hear that a particular celebrity does pilates or that yoga is the"thing" in Hollywood. We can't help making an opinion about it. We see celebrities promote these sports all the time on TV, there are shows and presentations. Ever seen a comparison between one of these "cool" sports and others, chances are you've seen at least one of those "before and after" commercials.

The truth is that actors can be paid to say one type of gym training did wonders for their shape, and its common practice to promote things in the best possible light in order to increase sales. But if you really want to be health, keep in shape and look good you really have to put in a little effort. The first effort is choosing what works best for you, to do this you must experiment and compare to see what is your king of fitness. It's very important to know why you want gym training, if you want to loose weight you should try one thing whereas if you want to relax you need something different.

Gym training is not fashion

Fitness is very important, that's why you should be well informed before beginning a new program. Sometimes it is very useful to have a personal trainer or instructor to keep you motivated and to recommend what you need. If you can, try to be a little suspicious about some of the things you hear or read because it pays off to choose rationally. So the next time you hear about the new trends in fitness, remember: results are what really matter.

Markku Parviainen - Taekwondo & Fitness coach - MP-Taekwondo akademi G?teborg SWEDEN - markkuparviainen.com markkuparviainen.com

Markku Parviainen has studied Taekwondo (WTF) over 30 years and was member of Finnish national team for 10 years. He has a Coaching degree from the Finnish sport institute and has coached the Finnish junior national team. He competed in over 100 tournaments and his best results were a Bronze medal in the European championship and numerous national and Nordic titles. His students have received medals in World championships and European championship games. Currently he lives with his family in Sweden and runs his Taekwondo School in the city of Gothenbourg.