In 2021, There will be a New Focus on Restorative Fitness

Self-care and mental health have been trends on the rise in the wellness space for the past few years. But the sky-high stress levels of 2020 have led to an even bigger uptick in fitness for the sake of our mental and emotional health. Restorative fitness genres — Yoga, Pilates and Barre — took the majority of the slots in the top five most popular digital workouts this year (and meditation and stretching made it into the top 10), as members called for ways to manage pandemic stress.

“All of our old motivations for staying fit have gone by the wayside during the past nine months. Our tropical vacations, weddings, reunions, all these in-person events that made us focus on reaching a ‘goal weight’ are all virtual or postponed,” Sadie Lincoln, co-founder and CEO of Barre3, a fitness studio franchise and online workout platform, said in an interview with TODAY.

“For the first time ever, the larger community is now seeing more and more people replace those thoughts about an ideal body type with learning how to be more present and mindful within their own bodies in fitness,” said Lincoln. “It’s truly a wonderful development for our community and makes it more inclusive for those who have struggled to join in the past.”

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