Forget AI fitness coaches – 2025 trends show personal training could make a comeback thanks to this pandemic-era relic

TechRadar fitness writer Harry Bullmore completing a workout from Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Pump app

(Image credit: Future / Harry Bullmore)

New research has revealed the top-search fitness trends as we enter 2025
There was a 414% surge in searches for remote personal training between July and September last year
Other big winners include Hyrox and the viral 30-30-30 TikTok challenge

A new study into the biggest fitness trends we can expect to see in 2025 has revealed a staggering uptick in searches for remote personal training, as well as popular new fitness trends like Hyrox and the viral TikTok 30-30-30 challenge.

Data collated by UK fitness outfit PureGym analyzed the Google search interest for more than 200 fitness trends, comparing interest between Jul-Sept 2023 vs Jul-Sept 2024.

While you might have expected AI, smart tech, and biohacking to be the buzzwords of 2024 and beyond, the biggest surge in interest is in good old-fashioned personal training, buoyed by a relic of the pandemic: the humble Zoom call.

Could remote connection save personal training?

Push app reps and weight screen — Push is an AI-powered fitness app, the likes of which has eroded reliance on face-to-face personal training. (Image credit: Future / PUSH)

When you look at the fast-moving sweep of technology and fitness, it's hard not to imagine that 2025 could be the year that sees a deluge of AI-powered apps, smart rings, and biohacking that could render the personal trainer obsolete.

Why would the average person fork out on costly hourly training when they can rely on apps and algorithms? The best fitness apps, like PUSH, can use AI to provide progressive overload tracking and rounded fitness plans to help you build muscle and burn calories.

Perhaps, the power of remote technology could remove the physical barriers of personal training such as travel costs or the requisite access to an expensive gym. It makes training more flexible, and means trainers can work with anyone in the world, not just the catchment of their local gym. It could be an obvious and easy solution as personal trainers try to keep up in a world that's increasingly powered by personal tech and algorithms.

As mentioned, the other big emerging trends appear to be Hyrox, the popular fitness competition that combines running and functional workouts, as well as the 30-30-30 TikTok trend. The latter is the hilariously simple (yet effective) art of consuming 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, before cranking out 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise, a method first touted in the 2010 book The Four Hour Body.

Stephen Warwick is TechRadar's Fitness & Wearables writer with nearly a decade of experience covering technology, including five years as the News Editor of iMore. He's a keen fitness enthusiast and is never far from the local gym, Apple Watch at the ready, to record his latest workout. Stephen has experience writing about every facet of technology including products, services, hardware, and software. He's covered breaking news and developing stories regarding supply chains, patents and litigation, competition, politics and lobbying, the environment, and more. He's conducted interviews with industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. Outside of work, he's a massive tech and history buff with a passion for Rome Total War, reading, and music.