There is substantial research done by the National Library of Medicine, which states that fathers having exercise habits and following a healthy lifestyle encourage their children to participate in sports from adolescence.
The study showed that 17.6% of adolescents who attended sports meetings had fathers who exercise regularly.
Keeping this in mind, it can safely be deduced that the importance of healthy dads cannot be understated, benefitting their lifestyle and productivity and paving a path for their future generation.
However, keeping up with a healthy lifestyle while juggling work and many other factors can prove to be strenuous, often resulting in them leaving not focusing on fitness and exercise to cope with their schedule.
Even though it largely depends on the individual, nowadays, technology and other advancements in the field of fitness have resulted in the emergence of a couple of trends that are perfect for fathers to employ and get back into fitness.
Top Fitness Trends
Wearable Technology
One of the most prominent trends in fitness, and a hot topic in tech forums and fitness communities alike, is the emerging concept of wearable technology and how it can improve fitness.
Many surveys worldwide highlight wearable technology’s impact on health and fitness. A recent survey in Canada stated that 38% of the adults participating in the survey stated that they have access to wearable health and fitness tracking devices.
Many pieces of wearable technology have been launched in the market, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, which cater to the general public and help them incorporate fitness into their daily routines.
This is especially useful for all the fathers out there, allowing them to take advantage of the many fitness features packed within these wearables to track information such as their daily caloric intake, or their heart rate and glucose levels, which allow them to lead a healthy lifestyle without having to take out time to perform tests to monitor so many of their metrics.
Not only that, but fitness trackers come with features such as keeping track of your step count and offering you tips to improve your health, allowing fathers to work on their fitness on the go.
Health & Wellness Programs for Older Adults
According to a scientific survey on fathers’ lifestyles, around 70% of new fathers in the United States are obese or overweight.
Even though many factors play a role in this statistic, one of the major reasons why fathers tend to lead an unhealthy lifestyle is not having enough time to cater to elaborate workout routines and hyper-intensive workouts.
However, one of the latest trends in fitness tends to tackle just this issue by introducing special fitness programs designed for older adults who do not have much time to exercise.
These fitness programs are designed keeping simple and practical goals in mind, such as maintaining fitness and health consistently.
Not only individual trainers but many gyms have also started to get in on this trend, introducing specific fitness programs that are not time-consuming and consist of exercises that keep in mind incredibly easy-to-grasp goals such as maintaining physical fitness throughout their lifespan.
This is especially useful for all the fathers out there, not only because they are very short sessions designed to easily be incorporated into busy schedules but also because they do not consist of hyper-intensive exercises, allowing them to still be in a condition to spend quality time after getting home.
Home Fitness Gym Areas
One incredibly famous trend which has recently picked up and is in the spotlight is the introduction of the concept of starting a gym area within your home so that you do not have to travel anywhere and can give time to fitness without going anywhere.
A survey done by the Census Bureau regarding the stay at homes stated that around 3.5% of fathers stay at home, taking care of the chores around the house and their child.
This percentage might not seem as much, but considering that this number has doubled in the past few years, and not to mention that this census does not account for the global population, it can be deduced that many fathers cannot even step out of their homes as to not leave their child unattended.
Due to this, many dads out there are unable to go to the gym even if they want to. This idea soon reached influencers, who thought that if dads cannot go to the gym, why not bring the gym to their homes, resulting in the home fitness gym trend.
Nowadays, many stay-at-home fathers have a designated gym in their house, where they can exercise without worrying about leaving their child or home unattended.
Furthermore, this is not as expensive of an investment as you might think because all the pricey gym machinery can conveniently be replaced with free weights and other accessories which can be used to achieve the same exercise.
Bodyweight Training
Speaking of weight, another fitness trend that has picked up recently is bodyweight training, consisting of exercises that can be performed without needing any weights.
One of the most practical and cost-effective training methods out there, this is the best option for all dads working from home and looking for an economically sound way to get fit without having to move anything around in their schedule.
No set-up equipment or investment in weights is required, which is considered a great fitness trend for fathers.
Conclusion
Due to the many factors dads need to consider, exercising and maintaining a fit lifestyle has become increasingly difficult. However, these recent fitness trends are sure to help them erase these barriers and be able to balance health and life as well.