Women's Health and Fitness Trends

Remember all those New Year's resolutions you set for yourself, ladies? No? Well fear not, because even if you've let your loftier fitness goals slide, it's never too late to start taking better care of yourself.

Let's take a look at some of the hottest and most interesting health and fitness trends that are taking the world by storm, and get inspired to focus some attention squarely on you!

Health and wellness:

The self-care staycation
Coping with stress is hard enough without also having to worry about how you're going to afford a vacation or weekend away. Enter the staycation, where you turn your own home into a special retreat! Cancel all your commitments, do a digital detox, run a relaxing bath or fire up that long forgotten foot spa, and spend a whole weekend just pampering yourself, relaxing with a good book, or doing whatever makes you happy. Best of all, your budget won't even suffer as a result.

Purify the air with some potted plants
There's been a lot of buzz around just how well a few green plants can remove yucky toxins from the air of your home, and it's a trend we can definitely get behind. Not only do they boost the oxygen levels and help remove chemicals from household detergents and other general air pollutants, they add a certain ambience and homeliness too.

All things gut health
The more we study the effect that our gut flora has on our overall health, the more we learn just how important keeping our tiny little friends happy really is. An unhealthy gut can lead to problems as far ranging as weight gain, arthritis and other autoimmune issues, vitamin deficiencies and even mental disorders. On the flipside, healthy gut flora can be your most powerful defense against all kinds of health problems, and it all starts with what you feed them! Naturally fermented foods in particular seem to have a very positive effect if your system is damaged, so add some foods such as Kombucha, Kimchi, sauerkraut and Kortido to your diet whenever you can. Make sure you're getting lots and lots of fiber from whole plant food sources too.

Get healthy food delivered to you
Few of us enjoy slogging over a hot stove after a stressful day at work, but constantly turning to takeout is a recipe for disaster. Luckily there are plenty of clever entrepreneurs rushing to fill the need for healthy options that are just as convenient as that takeout pizza. Take a look at what's available in your area, from vegan and vegetarian options to homemade-style ready meals, or even an online banting menu.

Fitness Trends:

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
If you don't have a lot of time to get to the gym, then this kind of workout might be exactly what you've been looking for. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, involves brief but intense bursts of physical activity, alternated with a period of low intensity or complete rest. What's really great about this kind of exercise is that it keeps bringing your heartbeat up, which is just what you need to burn fat and improve your cardiac health all at the same time. Even better, a session can be as short as 30 minutes, and you can use whatever style of exercise you normally prefer and adapt it. For example, you can run as fast as you possible can for 1 minute, and then spend 2 minutes walking.

Tai Chi, poweryoga and yogalates
Toning muscle, boosting your metabolism, improving your balance, building your core strength and achieving inner peace all at the same time? Sign us up! While they're all built around the same principles, modern takes on these ancient practices keep taking the fitness world by storm, and it's a very exciting time if you haven't managed to find the workout that feels just right for you yet. Sign up for a few classes you've never tried before, and you might just find be pleasantly surprised!

The wearable fitness tech revolution continues
As wearable tech continues to evolve, moving from the somewhat clunky designs of yesteryear into ultra-smart gadgets that are practically invisible and provide a seamless user experience, the future looks fit! Aside from giving you really useful insights into what's happening in your body, many users report that wearable fitness tech helps keep them motivated. If your smartwatch or wristband informs you you've burnt 488 calories so far, who isn't going to be tempted to go for a nice round 500?

And remember that whatever the current trends might be, taking care of yourself is never going out of style. We hope you've been inspired to invest some more time in you!