It’s hard to believe, but we are already talking about fitness trends in the early 2000’s! Although this might seem like it was yesterday, we hate to break it to you, but this was over 20 years ago! So what were the fitness fads in the early 2000’s? Let’s take a look!
In the early 2000’s, we saw a lot of carry-over from the 1990’s as far as aerobics classes and group centered fitness. But this decade came with a twist- dance classes that were well, sexier. Cardio “stripdance” classes, which included more hip-hop centered movements as well as pole dancing and other dancing that you were previously more likely to find in a club than in your local gym, rose in popularity. Whatever your personal opinion on pole dancing and the like, when done in a setting that encourages fitness instead of their *intended* purpose, many people found this a great way to make exercise more fun, and it came with a boost in confidence. Work that core, and work that confidence!
And speaking of your core, many fitness enthusiasts started to realize that there was way more to the core than just a six-pack! Although we’ve always been pretty preoccupied with our waists, exercises that included all parts of the core, including the side and back muscles, were starting to be recognized as an essential part of any workout routine. No longer were we simply doing crunches. Kettle bells started to become popular as well, which we still use today for a variety of exercises, including exercises for core, strength, and balance work! Fitness instructors incorporated a variety of core exercises, focusing on functional fitness instead of simply fitting better into that summer’s bikini.
Another trend that started to take off was incorporating fitness into video games (or at least standing up and moving instead of being planted on the couch). The Nintendo Wii included Wii sports, which used a motion sensitive remote to play games like bowling, baseball, and tennis, all of which required the user to mimic the real-life movements on the screen. This was just the beginning for fitness centered video games, and it’s something that has definitively carried over to today. Just Dance was released in 2009, and required more vigorous movements, awarding players for accuracy and timing. Just Dance is still around today, and it’s a fun way to get some cardio at home!
Finally, in 2009 the first Fitbit was born. As we will see, this kicked off a trend that was unprecedented- being able to easily track your fitness goals such as steps and general movement throughout the day via technology. Although they were far from perfect (anyone remember being able to shake your arm up and down and fitness devices counting THAT as steps?), it did set the stage for later technology that greatly helps a lot of people in more recent years to be able to set and maintain their fitness goals!