It’s an undeniable fact that everyone – and we mean everyone – wants to be cool. We don’t mean everyone wants to be a TikTok influencer or Instagram famous, either. The definition of “cool” will vary from person to person, so the goalposts move pretty rapidly depending on who you ask. A sweaty 5km PR on a mountainside is the coolest for some people. For others, it’s the perfect mirror selfie in luxe new athleisure leggings. One aspect of “cool” that’s universal, though, is that it necessitates trying new things. Even if they feel a little out of your comfort zone.

If you’re pursuing a healthy lifestyle, this still applies. Frequently, there will be new trends in the wellness and fitness world that have us scratching our heads in disbelief. Then, when we give them a try, they turn out to be incredibly effective or downright fun and often become part of our routine. We’re looking at you, CrossFit!

Fitness professionals and boundary-pushers internationally are looking into innovative ways to move and strengthen our bodies daily, and the upcoming discoveries and trends for 2023 are no exception. There’s no better time to discover something new than the fresh start of a new year, so let’s take a look at some of the up-and-coming trends in the fitness space for2023. Yes, you’re getting a sneak peek of “future cool.” You’re welcome.

1. Virtual Reality Fitness.

“Oh, so you sit on the couch and play Tony Hawk Pro Skater Two on your PlayStation?” is the joke we know 90% of the dads in this audience are going to make. And we get it. When you think of virtual realities and gaming, the first word that comes to mind is usually “Doritos” and not “exercise.”

But digital reality doesn’t have to be sedentary! With the refinement of VR headsets and environments rapidly skyrocketing over the last year, it was only a matter of time before these technologies filtered into the health and fitness spheres.

The VR fitness trend allows you to experience the magic of exercise anywhere your heart desires – whether in a real or imagined location – by immersing you in a real-time, responsive digital environment in the comfort of your own home. This is done using sophisticated technology that surrounds your senses in your chosen escape.

You can use virtual reality fitness to help you meditate or connect with others by joining online fitness classes with a community. VR fitness setups can be paired with other sensors that allow you to interact with your environment or even go on exotic trail runs without leaving your Trojan treadmill. VR fitness is getting more affordable too, with starting headsets ranging from around R400!

Want to check out treadmills to start that VR adventure? See our full range here.

2. Face Yoga

Though it sounds silly, this trend appears to have some inherent anti-ageing value. The practice involves massaging and stimulating the muscles and skin within the face and neck and the body’s lymphatic systems using your hands or with tools like small rollers. It can alleviate facial tension in the short term, but a consistent regime can help to tone and lift the face for a more youthful look over time. Seriously, face yoga visibly smoothes, plumps, and sculpts the facial muscles to create a youthful look. Because the muscles you’re working are so tiny compared to the ones in your limbs, you’re likely to notice results much faster than with body exercise.

Getting into face yoga is incredibly low-cost, too. You only need an internet connection and a few spare minutes a day. If this is something you’d like to try out (and you have blackout curtains in your home because your neighbours probably don’t need to see you getting the hang of it), we suggest looking at this YouTube channel, Face Yoga Method, to learn the basics. This might not be for you, but if it is what you’re looking for, it may just change your whole outlook on how you move your face. We bet you didn’t think you’d read THOSE two paragraphs today…

Not quite ready for something so far out just yet? Take a look at our small exercise equipment to jumpstart your home workout in the meantime. 

3. Wearable Technology 

We know – everyone’s got a smartwatch or Fitbit already. We’re not pulling an Internet Explorer and loading up this trend slower than anyone else. 2023 isn’t just about wearing a little Spy-Kids gadget that tracks your steps: wearable and fitness technology is innovating in significant ways that could positively impact your workout.

Wearable fitness technology includes fitness trackers, smartwatches, and smart patches – as well as apps on your trusty smartphone, provided you have a habit of keeping it on your person. Even the most bottom-of-the-range wearable fitness tech in 2023 can continuously measure and collate blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heartbeat, calorie expenditure, sleep quality, breathing, and much more.

Everyone and their grandma are about to level up their wearable tech, and we suggest you consider adding some fun new upgrades to your festive wish list. Recent innovations in this sphere include red light muscle recovery panels, which are patches that you strap onto injured areas that actively use red light therapy and infrared light technology to help with post-workout muscle soreness.

Newer smartwatches have integrated computing capabilities, allowing real-time, complex insights into your fitness and lifestyle. They have the capacity to make suggestions as to what you could be doing better to optimise your health. A company has even invented air-purifying headphones to clean the air as you run in urban areas actively, but these are still in beta testing.

Curious to start your wearable tech journey? Check out Trojan’s Evolve Fitness Tracker here.

4. Plant-based Diets 

It’s not 1980 anymore. Anyone who tells you that trying a plant-based diet means you’re eating “rabbit food”, probably just doesn’t know how to cook. The appearance of countless plant-based restaurants and extensively stocked meat alternative grocery store aisles indicate how much this industry has grown over the past few years.

Not only is choosing a plant-based diet kind to the critters we share the planet with, but it’s also usually more budget-friendly than consuming meat, significantly reduces an individual’s carbon footprint and environmental impact, and is much more likely to ensure we get all the vitamins and minerals we might need for optimum daily functioning. An added benefit is that a plant-based diet (or a few veggie meals a week) is likely to boost your training energy and fitness levels!

Recent research shows that plant-based diets can help athletes improve their performance by decreasing weight, creating leaner bodies, and improving stamina. In fact, professional athletes such as Lewis Hamilton (the F1 driver), Scott Jurek (the ultra-runner), and Tia Blanco (the pro surfer) have all vocally expressed the benefits of their plant-based diets and attributed their food choices to their success and mental health. Plant-based diets are also proven to play a role in reducing blood pressure, supporting heart health, and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

For some convenient up-and-coming plant-based packed lunches, be sure to follow our Instagram page

2023 looks like it’s going to be full of the sort of interesting developments in the fitness sphere that we’ve all come to expect from being a human in society under the present circumstances. That means significant technological advances, some weird and wonderful but effective methodology, and discovering what we previously decided wasn’t awesome is actually pretty cool.

We’ll give all these trends a try to see which elements we’re integrating and which ones we’re ditching. Thankfully, even though the health and fitness space is constantly evolving, here at Trojan Health and Fitness, we know we’ve got the elements that lend us staying power: quality, accessibility and affordability. Are you ready to build a fitness foundation with a Trojan home gym today? Just take a look at our Thor Virtual Gym Builder to get started.