What are the popular fitness trends for 2016?

Are you one of those people who likes to be on the cutting edge of things, even at the gym?

Getting your daily exercise doesn't have to be as routine and boring as jumping on the same treadmill each time. Here's a look at a few trends that may spice up your workout in the year ahead.

Fitness and technology

Using technology to work out isn’t necessarily a new trend, but the options available continue to grow — including apps, wearable technology and virtual reality. Apps like DailyBurn still are downloaded daily by fitness fanatics, but one of the very first apps introduced to the world of fitness was Zombies! Run!, a game offered on smartphones with the sounds of approaching zombies played over music. When you slowed below your goal, the sound of zombies would get louder and louder until you increased your pace.

Wearable technology was stated as the No. 1 fitness trend in 2016 by ACSM. Gear like the Apple Watch, Garmin and Fitbit all measure things like miles trekked, calories burned and heart rate. Wearable technology options are said to only increase, especially with the introduction of virtual reality.

Most virtual reality headsets specifically made for working out are still in development mode. Google Glass was put on the back burner in January 2015 and is no longer available to the public. And a product produced by Runtastic — using an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to make exercise more exciting — is also not on the market as the rift is still in development mode.

Work out with a hashtag/social media

As soon as Twitter took off as a major form of social media, the hashtag was born and fitness professionals began using the format to keep their students motivated. Many online programs work directly with hashtags like Tone It Up or Bikini Body Guides. The hashtags related to these fitness brands have millions of followers looking for advice and inspiration on a daily basis.

In the metro, Elite Body Boot Camp in Waukee is a brand active on social media, specifically Facebook. After each workout, one can find posts and hashtags dealing specifically with that daily workout, accompanied by videos and photos of students sweating it out together.

Jennifer Eckerman, a student at Elite Body Boot Camp, is part of a group of women who constantly motivate each other on social media through posts and hashtags.

“It keeps me motivated because, like this morning, I didn’t go and I saw on Facebook that people were there and how hard they worked,” Eckerman said. “Then I think to myself, ‘Why didn’t I get up and go?’”

Eckerman said she thinks social media are popular because it’s one of the best ways to stay motivated. Eckerman’s group uses the popular fitness hashtag #FitFam to tag each member on Facebook and hold each other accountable. To stay motivated on your own or with your local gym, look up related fitness hashtags on your most-used social media outlet.

HIIT workouts

HIIT workouts, or High-intensity Interval Training workouts, are popular among those with little time to work out or who would like to get fitter, faster. This workout keeps students on their toes by alternating short bursts of high intensity anaerobic exercises with less-intense recovery moves. HIIT is offered at Infinity Training Center in small group sessions, and brings in students with a range of goals. Some are there for emotional support, some are there for weight loss, and some are there to supplement their other workout routines.

Mark Brownell, a distance runner in his mid-50s, originally joined HIIT to supplement his longer runs, but soon found that interval training actually increased his speed and has hit personal records in his half-marathon times thanks to HIIT workouts. Using HIIT to protect joints and increase ability to take in oxygen can help runners to run less and still drop in race time.

“The intensity of the HIIT training is helpful for me because I’m a distance runner, helpful for me toward the end of races,” Brownell said. “Having that has helped me finish and finish stronger. You can’t really substitute that intensity in too many other ways.”

HIIT can be included in group fitness workouts as well as individual training. For those wanting to start interval training, look at your local gym’s class schedule, or research ways to include interval training to your personal workout regimen.

Couples workouts

Working out as a couple, whether it’s running, biking or taking a fitness class together, can be a way to bond and grow closer. 2016 brings even more opportunities to interact with your significant other. A practice only a year old in the state of Iowa is AcroYoga, a partner practice blending yoga, acrobatics and healing arts. Tiffany Thomas is the only certified AcroYoga instructor in the state and runs the AcroYoga program at Power Life Yoga.

“It’s so wonderful for couples because it’s about trust and playfulness,” Thomas said. “But it’s also really about community.”

A variety of yogis attend AcroYoga classes and Thomas said they are always looking for new people, whether they’re part of a couple or would like to come on their own. Zach and Emily Hesse have been practicing AcroYoga for six months and Emily said the practice is wonderful for gaining trust and a sense of community.

“Just in our own relationship we’ve noticed an increase in communication overall,” Emily said. “We’ve been able to do things I never thought we could do.”

In 2016, Thomas said the studio will be adding more intimate forms of AcroYoga like therapeutic flying workshops.

“It’s a really great place to grow (as a couple),” Thomas said. “To trust someone with your body literally and figuratively in their hands is a big deal. That’s the really special piece of AcroYoga.”

Younger, educated and experienced fitness professionals

Young people are becoming more interested in fitness, and universities are offering majors to cater to their interests. Majors like kinesiology and health, dietetics and athletic training are offered at schools across the state, and many university gyms offer training programs where students can become certified to teach their own fitness classes and personal train.

Ayla Heder, a senior at Iowa State University, studies kinesiology and health and said that she believes the major will continue to grow in popularity due to the fact that young people are interested in helping people and becoming educated in fitness and health can be a way to do so. Heder said the nation must get healthier, and a way to do that efficiently would be to build environments that support healthy behaviors. Allowing younger people to be involved in health and fitness can foster that type of environment.

“It is so important to understand that kinesiology and health is more than an ‘exercise’ major,” Heder said. “It helps students understand the multiple dimensions of health and well-being, something that I think is missing in our society today.”