Online Fitness Trends: Which Ones Should We Follow? Which Ones Should We Avoid?

Social media can be a great way to share information with others and learn new things. However, there are downsides to social media too and when it comes to our health and wellbeing, we do need to be sensible about what trends to follow and which to avoid.

Are People Mirroring Fitness Trends?

Many people see fitness trends online and are inspired to copy them. European lingerie specialists Hunkemoller polled 2,000 UK adults and found that more than a quarter (28%) of over-18s had tried at least one wellness or fitness trend after seeing it on social media. A further one in six Brits (17%) said they want to try out an online wellness trend but haven’t done yet.

Men were found to be more likely than women to be influenced by viral trends, with 27% of them admitting to trying one or more fitness trends in comparison to only 21% of women. Younger people were also found to be more influenced by social media, with those in the 18–24-year-old bracket most likely to try out online trends. More than half of this age group said they’d tried at least one or more viral fitness trends.

Unfortunately, not all of these turn out to be positive experiences and 18% of people admitted that they had a negative experience when testing out a viral fitness trend for themselves. On the other hand, over half (60%) of those who have tried a TikTok fitness trend had a positive experience, showing that they’re not always bad.

What Fitness Trends Are They Trying?

Social media trends are constantly changing but some of the most popular TikTok fitness and wellness trends tried by Brits included the ‘Gallon of Water a Day Challenge’, which 34% of people said they’d tried. This was closely followed by the 100 Rep Challenge, which 27% of Brits had tried along with the Burning 600 Calories in 60 Minutes trend, tried by 24% of the people Hunkemoller asked.

Other viral fitness trends mentioned in the survey included:

  •  Skip/Jump Rope Challenge – 24%
  •  Pilates – 24%
  •  The Treadmill Strut – 21%
  •  Hot Girl Walks – 20%
  •  12-3-30 – 17%
  •  75 Hard Challenge – 16%
  •  Drinking “Proffee” – 16%”

What to Keep in Mind

If you’re considering trying an online fitness or wellness trend, it’s important to keep in mind that what works for one person, doesn’t necessarily work for another. Just because an influencer or someone you know on social media has seen great results from following a particular trend or taking part in a challenge doesn’t mean you’ll have the same experience.

It’s also crucial to remember that just because lots of people are doing something,  that doesn’t automatically make it a good idea. In fact, some health and fitness trends could actually be harmful or even dangerous. Someone promoting a particular fitness trend online or recommending a challenge doesn’t know your medical history or current fitness level. That’s why it’s vital to always consult your doctor before starting a new program of exercise or making radical changes to your diet or lifestyle, particularly if you have any preexisting conditions.

Though some of the viral fitness challenges are expert-approved, for example, ‘Hot Girl Walks’, which encourage people to get outside for a walk every day, others aren’t and without a health and fitness expert to hand, it can be difficult to tell the difference between something that will improve your health or something that could be detrimental to it. In general, we shouldn’t be looking for health and fitness advice on social media but if you are inspired to copy a trend from TikTok or one of the other platforms, be sure to get your doctor’s approval first.

Author bio
Sarah Johnson is a content writer from the UK with a passion for writing about fashion and lifestyle. Sarah’s work has been published on a wide range of sites covering a variety of topics.