5 Health & Fitness Trends to Look Out for in 2025

It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2024 and hello to a happier, healthier you in 2025. As the end of the year draws near, it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions and how to improve and achieve your health and fitness goals. Workout trends for 2025 are focused on the body, mind and soul with an emphasis on general health and wellbeing.

Here are 5 upcoming fitness trends that’ll get you prepared for next year:

Fitness Racing

Move over CrossFit Games, a new (and more welcoming) brand of functional fitness competition is currently sweeping the globe. The sport of fitness racing and HYROX has become a global phenomenon — after launching in the UK in 2021, this year saw 25,000 people participate in four sold-out events in the country.

Now, HYROX has officially launched in South Africa. Following a hugely successful first event in Cape Town this September, HYROX South Africa has now set its sights on Johannesburg on the 1st of March 2025. Combining running and functional fitness into one epic race, HYROX continues to live up to its description as the biggest indoor fitness event in the world.

In HYROX there are no compound lifts or complicated movements. This lowers the risk of injury in participants and makes the event more accessible to a wide range of people. Participants run 1km, followed by 1 functional workout station, repeated eight times. Essentially a participant runs for 1km before completing a functional movement station, before running another kilometre and completing another station. This continues until an individual or team has run all 8km and completed all eight functional movement stations. Unlike other competitions such as Ironman, Crossfit Games, or Turf Games, HYROX doesn’t care what your athletic background is and anyone can train to complete a HYROX Individual, Doubles, or Relay race.

Group workouts

Group fitness is set to be a key focus area for big gyms and smaller studios in the coming year. People are increasingly seeking human interaction and connections on a personal level, whether with like-minded consumers or expert trainers. They want to feel part of their community while engaging in social exercise experiences.

If you love exercising in a group, then F45 Training may be just the vibe you’re looking for. F45 is a global fitness community specialising in innovative, high-intensity group workouts that are fast, fun, and results-driven — all within 45 minutes. Click here to find your nearest F45 gym in South Africa. Even better, you can even get your HYROX training done at F45! HYROX recently announced F45 as a global training partner with studios offering HYROX-specific classes and training sessions for members taking part in the race.

For those in Cape Town, you can’t go wrong with F45 Training Woodstock. This unique gym within the F45 stable prides itself on its welcoming and inclusive environment created by a dedicated team of trainers. F45 Woodstock is a super welcoming fitness studio, no matter if you’re a newbie or a regular, you’ll feel like you are among friends while working out. Whether you’re converting from a big traditional gym or haven’t worn running shoes in 3 years, you will feel right at home. F45 is all about offering members a safe space to achieve their goals while having a great time!

Elevated home workouts

The popularity of at-home workouts has surged in recent years, driven by convenience, accessibility, and the evolving fitness landscape. But, we’re talking about way more than investing in a kettlebell and some resistance bands. Today’s consumer is looking for a more elevated home gym experience, as a result, the at-home workout has become more similar to big gyms than ever before.

Consumers wanted products to suit their lifestyles and FlexBox answered the call. Designed in California by a team of health and fitness experts, FlexBox brings the boutique gym experience to your living room. The ergonomics of the box and the kit have been designed to get much more from a resistance training workout. The beautifully designed box blends perfectly with the aesthetic of a modern home, ensuring it won’t look out of place in any room.

Flexbox includes everything you need to do a wide variety of exercises to help you stay motivated and committed to your goals. This fully loaded home gym can be bought with resistance bands alone or with the full kit of weights, pilates bar, slam ball, yoga mat, and core sliders. Plus, included in your purchase is the FlexBox app with up to 300 workouts already loaded.

Recovery is key

One Flow Sauna Journey.

We saw a big trend towards post-workout recovery in 2024 and in 2025 this trend is set to boom even more with wellness and recovery-focused studios popping up all over South Africa. The first of its kind in South Africa, One Flow Wellness and Social Club, is a great example of this new-age wellness and recovery-focused workout space.

One Flow takes the recovery trend of sauna and cold plunge to a new level with an oversized Finnish-style sauna room for group “Social Sweat” sessions and a dedicated cold plunge space for group cold therapy sessions combining cold therapy, meditation, and Red Light Therapy for a transformative experience. In addition to the recovery facilities, One Flow also offers heated yoga and functional training classes in a studio setting.

Overall wellness

Big box gyms are set to make a comeback in 2025, with big-name brands in the gym fad fitness trends head-on and calling for a ‘gym-tervention’ against the cult of fake wellness. In a new campaign highlighting its newly overhauled clubs, Virgin Active is challenging gimmicky wellness fads. Its latest campaign calls out the scams, shams, fleeting trends and crooked gurus of the ‘wellness’ industry and encourages people to ‘leave the cult, join the club’; positioning itself as the antidote to wellness fads.

Alongside this campaign, Virgin is launching its overhauled ‘Social Wellness Clubs’ with a focus on being the ultimate destination for health and wellness, blending top-notch fitness and relaxation with plenty of spaces to work and play. The first club to get this new look is Virgin Active Claremont with the Social Wellness Club launched in November 2024. The gym is designed to be an all-day concept, offering an array of premium services and facilities including Hot Yoga, Reformer Pilates, Cold Plunge, Sauna, Spa, and Sound Baths for mental and physical rejuvenation. In addition to this, the new Wellness Social Club also boasts a business lounge with co-working spaces, and a Kauai Café with nutritious food to fuel your day.

Designed to provide a holistic approach to wellness, members can tailor their experience to their unique goals. Whether you’re looking to break a sweat, unwind, nourish your body, or connect with others, Virgin Active’s Social Wellness Club has something for everyone.