Technology applications in the fitness industry continue to build momentum as wearable technology, mobile exercise apps and data-driven training technology all appear in the top 10 of the 2025 ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends. The report was published by the American College of Sports Medicine in its November/December issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal. Based on the annual survey of 2,000 clinicians, researchers and practitioners in the fitness industry, wearable technology was named the number one trend for 2025, followed by mobile exercise apps (#2) and exercise programs for older adults (#3).
“Digital technologies are becoming more critical to the way we design, deliver and evaluate health and fitness services,” said A’Naja Newsome, Ph.D., ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and co-author of 2025 ACSM Worldwide Fitness Trends: Future Directions of the Health and Fitness Industry. “Wearable devices, mobile apps and data-driven training methods will create avenues for reaching new clientele and elevating fitness experiences. The exercise professional will need to be innovative in their approach to using technology while increasing client adherence and autonomy.”
Mobile exercise apps were next as the number two trend, continuing the focus on technology. One of the fastest risers on the trends list, mobile apps landed as the second biggest trend just two years after coming in at #20. In 2023, there were 850 million fitness app downloads by nearly 370 million users. This popularity, along with complementing wearable technology, may have fueled the quick rise up the list.
Completing the Top 10 technology trifecta was data-driven training technology (#7), which made a significant jump from #18 in 2024 to the seventh spot in 2025. Benefits of data-driven training technology include better understanding of the physiological responses to an exercise stimulus in real-time, individualized coaching and instruction, even in a group setting where there may be various fitness levels, and the use of biofeedback (i.e., sleep, and heart rate variability) as critical components of training and recovery. Importantly, exercise professionals can use real-time data to tailor daily exercise sessions to account for acute and chronic conditions, which increases the safety of exercise for special populations.
“Clients desire instant feedback on their training so they can adjust or modify to maximize outcomes and reduce injury,” continued Newsome. “We are seeing this in individualized programming and in group-based classes.”
In addition to digital technology, two other trend categories formed in the Top 10: training modalities and fitness programming. exercise programs for older adults (#3), exercise for weight loss (#4) and exercise for mental health (#8) reflect strong trends toward programs designed for specific needs and populations.
Training modality trends were represented in the top 10 by traditional strength training (#5), high intensity interval training (#6) and functional fitness training (#9).
Of the top 10 trends, only health and wellness coaching (#10) was not included in the three dominant categories of digital technology, training modalities and targeted programs.
