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November 9, 2010

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Fitness fanatics shun 'fad' Pilates

BOOTCAMP is hot, Pilates is not, according to a new survey forecasting fitness trends for the coming year.

In fact so steep was the fall of Pilates, once a fitness staple, that Dr Walter Thompson, lead author of an annual poll conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine, is starting to call it a fad.

"Fads are here today, gone tomorrow," Thompson said. "Pilates has been very strong since 2008. But for 2011 it fell off the list completely."

Balance training also plummeted off the online poll, which asked over 2,000 fitness and health experts from Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, North and South America to identify top trends.

"It could be this was just another fad invading the gyms that's run its course," said Thompson, a professor of exercise science.

Meanwhile, the bootcamp workout is coming on strong, according to the survey, which for five years has alerted fitness experts and consumers alike to future trends.

Certified fitness professionals, programs for older adults and children, and strength training also did well.

"If I owned a health club and we weren't offering any bootcamps, we would have bootcamps starting tomorrow," Thompson said of the fast-moving workout.

For Pilates instructor and studio owner Lara Hudson, the problem is in the price.

"Pilates is perceived as more expensive than bootcamp," said Hudson, owner of a Pilates fitness studio in San Francisco, California.

"In this tough economy people look for less expensive workouts."


 

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