Fitness trends and fading fads

As you gear up your fitness routine to meet New Year's resolutions, it might be a good time to leave a few trends, and even some staples, behind.

Some gadgets or workouts have been overtaken by trends that have emerged over the past few years, such as specialty studios and wearable tech. Others are just crazes whose time has ended.

To get a consensus on fads that either are or should be heading out the door, I reached out to some top personal trainers. You might not agree with their suggestions, but a case could be made for each one.

Here's some items to consider crossing off your workout regimen list and substitutes to add instead

Kipping pullups

What it is: You may have seen a few YouTube videos or perhaps witnessed the marvel of people flipping up like a fish out of water to get their chins over a pullup bar. Kipping, or the kipping pullup, is a standard CrossFit move - but other trainers say it needs to be retired.

Why to avoid it: Research on the effects of kipping is pretty scant, but what these critics fear is that all of the movement it entails puts undue stress on joints and muscles. "The shoulder joint takes on a lot of unneeded stress while the lower back arches violently," said Kevin Mullins, a strength coach and personal trainer at Equinox. "The kipping pullup doesn't even develop the back musculature in the way that one would hope either."

What to do instead: Mullins prefers that clients perfect traditional pullups. Sure, they're more difficult and you may not get in as many reps as you would with kipping, but ultimately standard pullups improve overall form and strength.

Chest-strap heart rate monitors

What it is: It used to be that the best way to track your heart rate during interval runs or cardio kickboxing was to fasten a monitor around your upper torso. Sure, it was a little cumbersome and prone to shifting about during sweaty workouts, but there weren't many other options on the market. That's not true anymore.

Why it's outdated: Smartwatches and fitness bands have made chest-strap monitors a bit passe, said personal trainer Chris Perrin. "Heart rate monitor chest straps are a relic of the fitness past," he said. "Every year wearables get more and more innovative. Apple watches along with various other wrist strap monitors, hats and cellphone apps are taking over."

What you might want instead: What makes the latest generation of wearable technology so popular is their multitude of functions. Not only can you measure the intensity of your workout, but you can also track calorie intake or the number of steps taken. Focus on features that will be most useful for your workout to narrow down the endless options in the market.

Balance board training

What it is: Completing a set of one-legged squats on a Bosu ball looks pretty boss, but trainers say it's time to keep your feet on solid ground.

Why the change: For years, experts said exercising on unstable surfaces was a great way to build core strength. But recent studies have questioned the effectiveness of instability training. One Sports Health journal study found that strength training moves such as overhead presses and squats are more effective at kicking core muscles into gear than exercises on unstable surfaces.

What to try instead: If you're looking for routines to firm up your tummy, Mullins said, "A training tool such as TRX straps or sliders can crush the abdominals in place of a Bosu ball." But you might not want to toss out your balance board just yet: Some trainers say they are still quite useful for making upper-body exercises, like push-ups, more challenging.

Steady state cardio

What it is: I get it, you like reading the newspaper while pedaling away the pounds on a stationary bike. Or perhaps your 45 minutes on the elliptical is the only time you can carve out to catch up on the latest gossip in your favorite celebrity rag. But those one-note exercises are going the way of the dodo bird, trainers say.

Why it may not be effective: "The industry is making a big shift toward shorter, high-intensity workouts versus the longer, steady-state cardio we were once accustomed to," said Maddie Watkins, a CrossFit gym owner. "Forget your longer runs or steady bike riding … You can get a more effective and efficient cardio workout in just 10 minutes than you can running for 60 minutes."

What to do instead: These days, many aerobic classes include rounds of Tabatas, a form of interval training that relies on a simple pattern of 20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. Researchers at the American College of Sports Medicine found that two weeks of high-intensity intervals of running can up your aerobic ability as much as six to eight weeks of jogging on a treadmill. To get those results, however, you have to really push your body in a way that might not be suitable for everyone. As with every exercise, experts say you should listen to your body and know your limits.

Boot camp

What it is: Boot camp is typically a high-intensity structured activity patterned after military-style training. Boot camp includes cardiovascular, strength, endurance, and flexibility drills and usually involves both indoor and outdoor exercises typically led by an enthusiastic instructor.

Why it has fallen out of favor: In its report on its worldwide survey of fitness trends, the American College of Sports Medicine says that perhaps now that the economy has gotten better, these "back to basics" exercise programs may be a thing of the past.

What you might try instead: In the same report, the American College of Sports notes that outdoor activities, such as hiking or kayaking, remain popular. These activities are a good workout and can be done with family and friends as well.

Big-box gyms

What it is: Health clubs are essentially the shopping malls of fitness. You can find just about everything in them, but the options can be overwhelming and the size alienating.

What is trending instead: Enter specialty studios. Clubs that focus exclusively on cycling up a pretend hill or plies in first position have eclipsed big-box gyms in popularity. It's almost as if SoulCycle, the grand pooh-bah of boutique fitness, is rivaling McDonald's or Starbucks with all of its new locations.

"People are demanding better classes, more attention and new concepts, all of which they can find in the boutique studio," said personal trainer Gerard Burley. "The emergence of more and more studios with higher prices are showing that people don't care about paying a little more for better instruction."

Gyms aren't going down without a fight, though. Many are adding ballet-inspired barre classes or throwing resistance training into their spin classes to mimic SoulCycle. And to cater to clients who prefer smaller classes, more health clubs now offer group personal training.

• Daily Herald writer Melissa Hollander contributed to this report

Fitness trends for 2016

<span class="fact box text bold">1. Wearable technology. </span>Introduced just a few years ago, wearable technology includes fitness trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices.

<span class="fact box text bold">2. Body weight training. </span>Typical body weight training programs use minimal equipment, which makes it a very inexpensive way to exercise effectively.

<span class="fact box text bold">3. High-intensity interval training.</span> Also known as HIIT, this training typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery and typically takes less than 30 minutes to perform.

<span class="fact box text bold">4. Strength training. </span>Many younger clients of both community-based programs and commercial clubs train exclusively using weights. Today, however, there are many other individuals (men and women, young and old, children, and patients with a stable chronic disease) whose main focus is on using weight training to improve or maintain strength.

<span class="fact box text bold">5. Educated, certified, and experienced fitness professionals.</span> As the market of fitness professionals grows, people are looking to make sure their teachers and trainers are certified.

<span class="fact box text bold">6. Personal training. </span>As more professional personal trainers are educated and become certified, they are increasingly more accessible in all sectors of the health and fitness industry.

<span class="fact box text bold">7. Functional fitness. </span>Replicating actual physical activities someone might do as a function of his or her daily routine, functional fitness is defined as using strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power, and endurance to enhance someone's ability to perform activities of daily living.

<span class="fact box text bold">8. Fitness programs for older adults.</span> An exponentially growing market that provides age-appropriate and safe exercise programs for the aging sector of the population.

<span class="fact box text bold">9. Exercise and weight loss.</span> This is a trend toward incorporating weight-loss programs that emphasize caloric restriction with a sensible exercise program.

<span class="fact box text bold">10. Yoga.</span> Moving slightly down the list for 2016 is yoga after occupying the no. 7 spot last year. Yoga comes in a variety of forms, including power yoga, Yogalates, and hot yoga.

<span class="fact box text bold">11. Group personal training. </span>This will continue to be a popular trend in 2016. The personal trainer provides the personal service clients expect from one-to-one training, but now in a small group typically of two to four.

<span class="fact box text bold">12. Worksite health promotion. </span>Designed to improve the health and well-being of employees, this is a trend for a range of programs and services that evaluate health, health care costs, and worker productivity.

<span class="fact box text bold">13. Wellness coaching</span>. This integrates behavioral change science into health promotion, disease prevention, and rehabilitation programs. Wellness coaching often uses a one-on-one approach similar to a personal trainer.

<span class="fact box text bold">14. Outdoor activities.</span> These activities often include hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and games or sports. Outdoor activities also can include high-adventure programs such as overnight camping trips and mountain climbing.

<span class="fact box text bold">15. Sport-specific training.</span> This trend incorporates specific training for sports such as baseball and tennis, designed especially for young athletes.

<span class="fact box text bold">16. Flexibility and mobility rollers.</span> Designed to massage, relieve muscle tightness and muscle spasms, increase circulation, ease muscular discomfort, and assist in the return to normal activity, these devices include the deep tissue roller, myofascial release, and trigger point relief.

<span class="fact box text bold">17. Smartphone Exercise Apps.</span> Available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android, smartphone exercise apps include audio and visual prompts to begin and end exercise and includes cues.

<span class="fact box text bold">18. Circuit training. </span>This is a group of six to 10 exercises that are completed one after another and in a predetermined sequence. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set period before having a quick rest and moving on to the next exercise. Circuit weight training has been around for a long time, and it seems to continue to be popular.

<span class="fact box text bold">19. Core training. </span>This training stresses strength and conditioning of the stabilizing muscles of the abdomen, thorax, and back. It typically includes exercises of the hips, lower back, and abdomen. From 2007 to 2010, core training was in the top 5 of the fitness trends. Since 2010, it has been dropping.

<span class="fact box text bold">20. Outcome measurements.</span> A trend that addresses accountability, outcome measurements are efforts to define and track measurable results to prove that a selected program actually works.