The 3 Fitness Trends Jillian Michaels Says You Should Avoid

Health and fitness expert and creator of the Jillian Michaels Fitness App (available in iOS, Android, and on the Samsung Health wellness platform), Jillian Michaels, is no stranger to fitness trends. She has decades of experience helping everyday people reach their goals, so when it comes to working out, Michaels is totally clued in. Not only does she know exactly what works, but she also knows exactly what doesn't work — and exactly what's wasting your time. While any form of exercise is obviously better than no exercise at all, we chatted with Michaels to find out about all the fitness trends that we should be ditching immediately.

"Even though it's important to do what you love because you will show up for it consistently, it's critical you find several different workouts you like," Michaels tells The List. She explains that you should avoid picking any fitness trend and focusing all of of your time and effort on building a routine around that one type of workout. "This is because what's routine is done regularly, and when we do the same things regularly, our body adapts to the stimulus and stops progressing. So if you do the same workout over and over, your body has no stressors to adapt to and progress is dramatically slowed," explains Michaels. 

Worse still, doing the same thing over and over can actually cause injuries, so you need to ensure you mix things up. "This is why I have workout programs with many modalities, from HIIT to Yoga, kickboxing to weight training, and I am constantly changing up the exercises I use to hit different muscle groups. All to avoid injury and plateau," Michaels adds.

Fan of hot yoga? It may be time to reconsider your choice of workout. According to Michaels, working out in extreme heat doesn't actually offer any more benefits than working out at room temperature does. "Contrary to popular belief, they don't detox you — in fact, they dehydrate you, which compromises your body's ability to effectively detox via the liver, kidneys, spleen, etc.," reveals Michaels. 

She continues, "They inhibit your ability to train intensely, which allows for a more effective workout and slows progress as you're training below your true capability." In other words, hot workouts like Bikram yoga may be doing you more harm than good. "Heat draws the blood to the skin to cool you down. During workouts, you want the blood going to your muscles to bring oxygen and nutrients. So on all accounts, hot workouts are totally counterintuitive to safety and efficiency," Michaels concludes.

Extreme fitness trends and challenges (think CrossFit and the very popular Tough Mudder) may not be all they're cracked up to be, says Michaels. "We must be intelligent about how intensely we stress the body and for how long, while also making sure to program recovery days in so the body can heal and recover." She explains, "If we aren't strategic about this than there is a huge risk of injury and an assured compromise when it comes to results." 

Instead, training smart is absolutely key. For those who crave an element of risk, Michaels suggested limiting it 30-minute sessions, no more than five times a week. "More is not more," she warns.