7 Top Fall Fitness, Food and Sanity-Saving Trends

Get Into Gear Fall Gear!

By Laurel House

The kids are off to school (which, if you don't have kids you are well aware of anyway thanks to the extra traffic crowding school-surrounding streets at around 8am and again at around 3pm), and your summer vacation (at least a summer vacation state of mind if you didn't vacay this season) is over. But don't be so down in the dumps. Here's the great news: Fall is the ideal season to work out! Sure, summer is a good time to move your butt too, but let's be realistic here: if you live in any humid or hot climate it's hard to commit to a hardcore sweat session. And besides, you've got to admit that you weren't really in the mood to exercise anyway with beaches to frolic on and fruity drinks to sip poolside. Well now it's time to refocus and return to your fitness routine (particularly since the holiday season is just around the corner…).

So what's on the agenda for Fall and what can you depend on to keep your svelte and sexy bikini body?

Here's a list of the top trends this season:

The overarching trend is techno meets old school. Technology has seeped into pretty much all areas of our lives. Still, we collectively have been seeking more back-to-basics comforts. Oddly, the two seemingly conflicting ideals find complete balance in the fitness world.

1. Facebook, iphones, Twitter, and ExerciseTV On-Demand oh my! Because we're already glued to our computers and cuffed to our iphones, might as well put them to multi-tasking use! Facebook groups, iphone apps, twitter tweets and ExerciseTV on-demand are allowing us to get fit for close to free, on our own time and in our own way… for free. And here's the kicker: many of the workouts are equipment-free (or only minimally required) and use basic, tried-and-true exercise techniques that really do get you fit.

2. One-Class Focused Gyms- Part of the back-to-basics concept is allowing yourself the occasional extra splurge: a group exercise class. Small scale, one or two room gyms offering just specific classes (as opposed to the full-service mammoths of the 90s) are the group exercise class du jour providing a focused and seriously intense workout like LA's celeb-stocked Burn60 and the nationwide Power Plate.

3. Fine Cooking… at home- With the return of the at-home mentality, the draw to comfort, the need to save money, crock pot dinner parties are back thanks to the one-pot-meal's multi-tasking abilities: flavor-saturating without the fat, time-saving on the prep and clean up, and creating comforting concoctions. BUT, with America's insatiable love of food shows, we are upping the ante and serving up fancy hor'deurves too.

4. Strong Women- Sure, women are taking ownership of the home and infusing pride into our kitchens, but that doesn't mean we're weak. Women are stronger and more resilient than ever (think mamma lion). When it comes to our workouts we are upping the intensity so that we can extract more out of them in less time. And with each curl, each new muscle defining itself in our arms, we are becoming even stronger in our minds.

Checkout Upper Body Blaster below for quick upper body strength:

5. Multi-Tasking Every Moment- When we are in desperate need of a dose of energy, instead of dropping 4 bucks on a fatty caffe mocha, we are getting instant gratification and a bit of a workout with 5, 10, 15-minute exercise breaks. Jumping jacks, push-ups, seated dips off our office chair, jogging in place, calf raises, and wall sits… May as well multi-task every moment we can.

6. Tank Tops and Black Pants are Back- When it comes to attire, the matchy matchy stuff is cute, but it's a bit too "workout girl" (not to mention insanely expensive). Instead, we're sticking to the black fitted pants (because you can wear them before and after your workout), then topping them off with a tank top. Comfort is key.

7. Dieting From Within- The one place we're splurging on is our sanity. But forget about traditional therapy, we are turning to transformational/life coaches who are helping us to dig into our psyches and are showing us that much of our insecurities, drama, and baggage are actually causing us to get fat since eating is an all-to-common response to angst. So, with the help of our life coaches, we are learning how to diet from within. It's not about dieting by restricting, it's about figuring out what's making you gain weight in the first place.

For more fall tips and trends, check out Zen Gray's "Retro Fitness" on ExerciseTV.

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