Looking back at 2024, it’s clear that the health and fitness industry underwent significant transformation, driven primarily by growing emphasis on inclusive and personalized fitness and wellness solutions. The integration of increasingly sophisticated digital tools has enabled more people to exercise in ways tailored to their unique needs, thereby improving how the industry operates.

This article presents the outlook on 2025 fitness trends from the ACE President and CEO alongside several members of the ACE Scientific Advisory Panel. Minor modifications and additions have been made to the original text for smoother reading. For domestic fitness practitioners and related manufacturers, referencing this information may help seize opportunities in the new year.

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is rapidly permeating various industries, including fitness. From AI-driven personal training apps to virtual group exercise platforms, it enables personalized fitness plans, helps trainers scale their businesses, and provides real-time feedback through wearables and smart devices.

At first glance, this trend may seem challenging for fitness professionals. However, practitioners can maintain their unique human touch—a quality AI cannot replicate—by motivating clients and building strong collaborative relationships.

AI and machine learning will revolutionize personal training by creating highly customized exercise and nutrition plans. These systems will analyze vast amounts of personal data, including health metrics, workout histories, and individual goals, to tailor fitness roadmaps that adapt in real time to users’ progress and needs.

For professionals, artificial intelligence should not be viewed as a “competitor” but rather as a business assistant. By integrating AI tools, applications, and virtual platforms into business models, competitiveness can be enhanced through improved customer management, program customization, and data analysis.

2. Wearable Technology

The days of jotting down reps, sets, and exercises on paper and struggling to remember when you last worked out are gone. The rise of wearable technology in fitness has transformed how people exercise. Real-time data tracking, precise feedback, and automated insights are now readily accessible.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced fitness enthusiast, incorporating wearables into your workout routine can help you stay motivated and achieve your fitness goals. Trainers and coaches can also leverage real-time data from wearables to monitor clients’ heart rates, sleep patterns, and activity levels, enabling more precise and effective guidance.

3. Virtual and Hybrid Training

Post-pandemic demand for virtual and hybrid training programs remains strong, offering convenience for safety- and privacy-conscious clients. Coaches must master digital tools to design workout plans for online clients and effectively manage remote relationships. For professionals, this technology expands their reach by enabling both in-person and online services.

With ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) workouts will evolve further, creating more immersive and engaging exercise environments. Long-term, VR and AR technologies will transform personalized training experiences, making remote coaching more appealing and effective.

4. Inclusivity

In recent years, inclusivity has been a focal point for the American Council on Exercise and the fitness industry as a whole. There is a growing emphasis on creating welcoming environments for diverse populations, including seniors, individuals with disabilities, and those living with chronic conditions.

Fitness professionals must adapt their training approaches and knowledge to foster inclusive spaces for all and effectively serve these groups. Accessibility and inclusivity are crucial for acquiring and retaining clients.

5. Strength Training Remains Popular

Strength training remains popular and will only grow in popularity. While many athletes incorporate strength training into their routines, this type of exercise is also vital for adults—especially middle-aged and older adults—due to its wide range of potential benefits.

Strength training enhances the ability to perform daily tasks like climbing stairs and improves balance, coordination, and reaction time. It specifically targets fast-twitch muscle fibers, which tend to deteriorate faster than slow-twitch fibers as we age.

By training muscles to react quickly, strength training helps older adults maintain stability and reduce the likelihood of accidents like slips and falls. Fitness professionals and enthusiasts alike can incorporate strength training into their workout routines based on individual needs, goals, and physical capabilities.

6. Recovery

Unlike the past emphasis on training intensity, recovery strategies are gaining increasing attention for their role in overall health and athletic performance. Recovery methods such as foam rolling, myofascial release balls, massage guns, cold therapy, and saunas are believed to alleviate muscle soreness, accelerate recovery time, and enhance athletic performance.

Recovery has always been a crucial component for professional athletes, but in recent years, fitness enthusiasts have also increasingly recognized its vital role in promoting fatigue recovery, muscle growth, and athletic performance.

Coaches should develop appropriate recovery strategies based on factors such as clients’ lifestyles, health status, fitness goals, and physical capabilities. As individuals push harder in high-intensity workouts, recovery strategies can help reduce the risk of overtraining, burnout, and injury.

7. Weight-Inclusive Approach

This approach diverges from traditional weight-loss philosophies that equate thinness with beauty and solve all problems through weight loss. It emphasizes health and well-being for people of all body types, focusing on sustainable behaviors rather than treating weight as the sole indicator of health. It advocates for body neutrality and self-acceptance while addressing health issues without stigma.

By avoiding restrictive diets, prioritizing mental health, supporting personalized goals aligned with clients’ values, and reducing weight bias in healthcare, the aim is to empower individuals to engage in healthy practices without shame or pressure to achieve specific weight targets.

In fact, health coaches, exercise specialists, and facility operators can practice weight-inclusive approaches by fostering positive body environments that emphasize strength, flexibility, and overall wellness over mere weight loss. They can tailor health plans to individual goals, promote sustainable habits, and help clients build confidence without excessive focus on appearance or weight.

8. Anti-Obesity Medications

This will be a growing trend due to advances in therapies like GLP-1 receptor agonists. GLP-1 receptor agonists improve metabolic health beyond mere weight loss. They offer evidence-based options for managing obesity-related diseases, reducing reliance on stigmatizing approaches and improving long-term health outcomes.

Health coaches and exercise specialists can complement anti-obesity medications by designing exercise programs that prioritize resistance training during weight loss to preserve lean muscle mass. This prevents metabolic adaptation and avoids weight regain.

9. Food as Medicine

The concept of food as medicine advocates using nutrient-rich foods to prevent, manage, or treat chronic diseases, particularly among vulnerable populations. Initiatives aligned with this approach—such as medically tailored meals or production prescriptions—aim to reduce healthcare costs and improve outcomes by providing nutritious foods, thereby addressing food and nutrition insecurity.

These initiatives recognize that food insecurity not only limits access to healthy calories but also deprives individuals of the nutrients needed for optimal health, increasing vulnerability to chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension.

For health coaches and fitness professionals, the Food as Medicine approach may open new opportunities—such as collaborating with healthcare providers or community programs to deliver tailored medical diets or prescriptions. This ensures clients gain access to wholesome foods that support their fitness routines.

10. Professionals Must Develop Additional Skills

Fitness is increasingly viewed as part of a broader lifestyle—not just a specific exercise regimen, but a means to maintain overall health. Professionals should integrate mental health awareness, rehabilitation practices, and stress management into their services to achieve more sustainable client engagement.

Clients seek not only physical outcomes but also connection and accountability, making interaction an essential component. Professionals who foster supportive environments—whether through in-person sessions, online platforms, or social media—better retain clients.

In summary, professionals should consciously expand from fitness to health coaching, emphasizing the role of holistic wellness practitioners. Only then can they help clients achieve long-term health, provide sustained services, and generate stable income.