Things change overnight in the fitness industry. Recommendations are constantly changing for exercisers based on new research findings. The home fitness industry has been especially exciting in the last couple of years (and will stay that way) because of the pandemic that’s pushed a massive number of people to transition over to home exercise entirely (or a hybrid model that’s a combination of an outside gym and a home gym). Because of the number of people flooding the home exercise market there have been a lot of changes in programs, products and services that serve this audience. Here are some of the latest headlines curated for this unique group of exercisers.

*Stay in-the-know with the latest headlines in women’s health and fitness by subscribing to the One Strong Southern Girl Newsletter!

This information was featured on the Crunches and Cosmos podcast. You can listen below:

The latest updates in your favorite on-demand libraries

MOSSA De-Desk and Nimbl

MOSSA on Demand has something really cool in it’s library now–De-Desk routines!

Our bodies were meant to move, yet how many of us are sitting right now? Odds are you’re among the majority of the population who spend 8-12 hours sitting in a typical work day. We’re right there with you! Flexed hips and knees, rounded backs, shrugged shoulders, arms locked in at the keyboard…it’s an assault on our posture that we shouldn’t take lying down.

So today, we’re thrilled to share with you our “De-Desk Your Body” series, six guided, six- to eight-minute movement sessions that you can accomplish at or near your desk, designed to undo some of the postural harm caused by sitting. 

—from the MOSSA Newsletter

Learn more about the De-desk routine in this video:

And in late 2021, MOSSA announced its collaboration with NIMBL–an elite percussive recovery tool.

“We’re very excited to partner with our friends at NIMBL and make percussion therapy more accessible to our club partners and MOSSA On Demand subscribers,” said Cathy Spencer-Browning, VP * of Programming & Training at MOSSA. “In addition to our mission to get people moving, we also want to help everyone up their recovery game. Percussion therapy is part of what we call a WORK-IN, which helps the body regulate the autonomic nervous system and drive the internal recovery needed so they feel and perform better in their body.”

Click the link above to hear my interview with Cathy Spencer Browning on the Crunches and Cosmos podcast.

Beachbody on Demand news…

Did you know Beachbody has a bike that you should look at BEFORE you buy a Peloton? It’s call the MYX (the latest version is the MYX II).

I wish I had one and could tell you more about it but, alas, I don’t have a MYX OR a Peloton bike.

You can learn more about how these 2 products compare on Beachbody’s product page about the MYX.

There are MYX workouts inside Beachbody’s new live workout library (BODi).

There’s a new program and new Beachbody super trainer, Jennifer Jacobs, at Beachbody on Demand…JOB1.

What if your health was your #1 job? How much more consistent would your health and fitness choices be if they were your number one priority? — Job1, Jennifer Jacobs

This program promises to create strong, lean muscle using a blend of strength training and cardio HiiT 20-minute routines, 5 days a week that you do at home with rubber exercise loops and dumbbells.

I’m excited about this one! If you have a BOD membership now, you can’t access the full program…yet.

If you don’t have a BOD membership and want to try this program then now is a great time to sign up for BOD and start doing these workouts today.

I can’t wait to review this one.

Les Mills on Demand updates…

Les Mills has some new challenge workous in their on-demand library–Fast Fit, Fast Blast and Journey to Health. These are 3 to 6-week programs for beginner to intermediate exercisers, included in a Les Mills on Demand Plus membership that have curated routines into a workout calendar for you based on specific goals.

There’s also a new ‘speed dating’ routine in the on-demand library that’s a buffet giving you a taste of several of the most popular Les Mills programs combined into one 30-minute workout that doesn’t use any equipment. I love these hybrid workouts!

And finally, don’t forget to try the new ‘Tone’ workout category that are strength training + cardio routines combined into one fun workout.

If you’re not familiar with Les Mills on Demand here’s a short video that’ll introduce you to this great option for home exercisers:

Fitness Research and Home Exercise Headlines…

There were several exciting market reports that came out this month. Here are a few of the headlines from those reports:

✔Fitness App Market Size to Reach USD 15.2 Billion by 2028 – Large Usage of Fitness App for Monitoring Physical Statistics Drive the Market Demand – Vantage Market Research

✔Online Fitness Training Market Set to Witness Explosive Growth by 2029 | Keep, TONE IT UP, ALL/OUT Studio

What do all these headlines mean for you?

Home exercise is getting better every.single.day.

The brands that have built empires around the home exerciser have taken on a BUNCH of competition over the last 2 years and that means they have to raise the bar to stand out in the marketplace and get your attention.

It’s a very exciting (and smart) time to be a home exerciser.

New offers to help you get fit at home are being launched all the time (and I’m here to help you sort through all of it).

More exercise the better for you, says research…

Have you ever wondered if the concept, ‘too much of a good thing’ applies to exercise?

Well, according to an article in Reuters, a recent study says you don’t need to worry:

The research found “every move counts” towards improving cardiovascular health, the scientists said, with the lowest risk for heart disease seen in people who exercised the most.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading world’s number one cause of death – killing almost 18 million people a year globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

This research, which involved more than 90,000 people studied over a five-year period, found that those in the top 25% of people who engaged in vigorous-intensity activity had an average reduction in risk heart disease of between 54% and 63%.

Exercise may help prevent certain types of cancer…

A recent article published by the American College of Sports Medicine says that new research shows that there’s an apparent connection between exercise and a reduced risk of all types of cancer, with the strongest link between exercise and breast, colon, stomach, kidney, bladder and esophageal cancers.

According to the researchers, more than 46,000 cancer cases in the United States annually could be prevented if people followed the guideline of getting at least five hours of moderate-intensity activity per week. Furthermore, all cancer cases in adults between 2013 and 2016, about three per cent were attributable to physical inactivity. The incidence was also higher in women than in men. 

Click here to read a summary of the findings in Women’s Health

Read more from ACSM here

Genetics explain up to 72% in exercise outcome…

We all know that genetics play a role in how our bodies look, now a study published in Science Daily has found that that connection goes to the cellular level in a study that shows genes play a significant role in how our bodies respond to exercise and has identified a number of specific genes that influence the outcomes of different kinds of physical activity.

Men’s Health summarized the study:

“Because everyone’s genetic make-up is different, our bodies respond slightly differently to the same exercises. Therefore, it should be possible to improve the effectiveness of an exercise regime by identifying someone’s genotype and then tailoring a specific training programme just for them.”

These findings have potentially very exciting applications for rehab patients and elite athletes, in particular.

For the every-day-exerciser I think this opens the door to highly specific workout programs designed around a person’s genetic makeup. I can see insurance companies watching this research to see just how effective it is. I think there might be exciting ways to use this information to help individuals desparate to lose weight who might not be seeing results with traditional exercise programs they might have already tried.

Exercising post-vaccine (flu or COVID) bumps up antibody response…

A recent study reports that exercising immediately after receiving the flu or COVID vaccine showed an increased antibody response compared to individuals who didn’t.

These findings suggest that adults who exercise regularly may increase antibody response to influenza or COVID-19 vaccine by performing a single session of light- to moderate-intensity exercise post-immunization.–ScienceDirect

An article from Iowa State explains why they think this happens:

As to why prolonged, mild- to moderate-intensity exercise could improve the body’s immune response, Kohut said there may be multiple reasons. Working out increases blood and lymph flow, which helps circulate immune cells. As these cells move around the body, they’re more likely to detect something that’s foreign.

So…it’s ok (and maybe recommended) to go ahead and get your workout in after you get your vaccine.

An interesting headline regarding Peloton…

Maybe you’ve seen the recent plunge in Peloton’s stock and the step down of the CEO.

So, is Peloton on the market?

I stumbled across this really interesting article about the potential (although unlikely) possibility that Disney could acquire Peloton.

From the article in USA Today:

Disney could market Peloton to its large base of avid sports fans throughout its ESPN media properties. Indeed, one estimate suggests that ESPN.com was visited an average of 583 million times between October and December. What’s more, 87% of those visits are from the U.S., a country with a high per-capita income.

Here are some other articles that might interest you:

My review of Les Mills on Demand

My review of MOSSA on Demand

Program Stacking–the simple way to get fast results with home exercise