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Fitness Trends: The Top Fitness Trends For 2012

The Top Fitness Trends For 2012

If you think your parking spot at the gym is doing you a favour, you might be wrong.

Nathan Mellalieu, owner and trainer at Studeo 55, a boutique health club in Vancouver, B.C., and the reason why keep day dreaming about Taylor Lautner's abs, strongly believes one-on-one coaching and amenities are the secrets to staying motivated at any gym.

If you're shopping around for gym memberships for 2012 or just looking for a hot yoga class after work, Mellalieu says Canadians should know what they need out of a health club.

"If you are motivated and you've been going to the gym for years, then a big gym suits just fine," he says. "However, if you're someone who needs something more focused, you can go to a smaller one."

He says the convenience of parking lots, having a large space to exercise or finding cheap memberships are all reasons why people choose larger clubs. But this doesn't necessarily mean you'll find motivation or support. If you love to ride bikes or cycle during marathons, for example, Mellalieu says a small-scale spinning class is the better option.

"Gyms are seeing special studios like dance, pilates, and spinning," Mellalieu says. "That's an accurate representation of how customers are evolving."

More and more niche fitness studios are one of the trends that have cropped up in the fitness world in 2011.

In 2012, he predicts trends like crossfit training -- a workout that focuses on strength and conditioning -- will continue, and speciality DVDs like P90x will remain popular.

In a recent report, GoodLife Fitness Canada's 25 experts weighed in on the top 10 fitness trends for 2012:

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Fitness Trends: The Top Fitness Trends For 2012-from-mt-201479

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