9 fitness trends that were all the rage in the 2010s

Changes in culture and technology over the past 10 years have influenced how Americans exercise.

The 2010s saw the rise of high-intensity, competitive group workouts and sports like CrossFit, obstacle course racing, spinning, and more.

And innovations in fitness tech, including virtual reality, have changed how people exercise and made it easier to work out wherever they go or live.

These are the top fitness trends of the past 10 years.

CrossFit skyrocketed in popularity through the 2010s and is still going strong.

CrossFit, known for its enthusiastic fans and full-body, strenuous workouts, started in 2000 as a lifestyle fitness brand.

Combining high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, with weightlifting, gymnastics, and other exercise styles, the rotating “workouts of the day” or WODs aim to build “functional fitness,” or strength in the type of movements you’d perform in everyday life.

CrossFit also prompted a strong community and spawned a series of elite athletic competitions called the CrossFit Games beginning in 2007. It now has more than 13,000 gyms in the U.S.

Obstacle course races have become a popular way for people to test their fitness or just bond with friends and family.

From 5K mud runs to marathon-length willpower tests, obstacle course racing has taken off in a huge way since 2010 thanks to companies like Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, Rugged Maniac, and more.

Participants pay a fee to tackle a race course that will require them to climb over barriers, crawl under barbed wire, navigate mud-filled trenches, and other challenges of physical and mental strength.

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