Gym Trends Forecast: Cardio is Out. Strength & Conditioning is In

At some point, we collectively decided that "doing cardio" is shorthand for slogging away on an elliptical while watching a cooking show on your phone. No wonder people are bored of it. 

According to the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2026 Worldwide Fitness Trends forecast, traditional strength training landed at #7, and functional fitness training cracked the top 10 for the first time since climbing from #12 in 2025. Meanwhile, HIIT dropped to #12, down from #6 the year before. Based on this data from 2,000 surveyed fitness professionals, people want to build strength, move with purpose, and get more out of their gym time.

BUT, cardio isn't dead. It just needs a re-brand. 

Strength Training is Having a Moment

The ACSM survey found that less than 30% of U.S. adults are meeting the recommended guidelines for muscle strengthening activity. That’s not great, but fitness pros are working to close the gap with programming that’s progressive, inclusive, and less intimidating. Free weights, kettlebells, barbells, and functional movement patterns like squats, lunges, and carries are the focus.

Functional fitness training, which ranked #10 in the ACSM report, is based on building strength, power, mobility, and endurance to improve performance in real world activities. This kind of training works for everyone from weekend warriors to competitive athletes, improving strength, speed, power, and balance.

So if everyone's moving toward barbells and functional training, where does that leave cardio?

The One-Trick-Pony Problem

Standard stationary bikes and basic treadmills do one thing. You pedal, walk, or jog. That’s fine if you love long, steady-state sessions, but for the increasing numbers of folks who are building their weeks around strength and conditioning work, a single purpose cardio machine just doesn't cut it. 

Cardio equipment needs to earn its keep by doing more than one job. Gym owners, home gym builders, and everyday lifters are all asking whether a machine can help them train harder, build strength, and get their heart rate up at the same time. The answer is yes, if you pick the right tools.

Cardio Equipment That Earns Its Keep

Cardio machines that work multiple muscles, like air bikes and manual sled treadmills, are basically combining cardio and strength training for more efficient (and enjoyable) training.

Air Bikes 

Air bikes work your large upper and lower muscle groups at the same time. This gets your heart rate way up, makes you breathe hard, and burns a ton of energy, which is great for both heart health and managing your weight.

Short, intense sprints on these bikes have been proven to boost your fitness (VO₂max) and endurance just as well as much longer, easier workouts, but in way less time. And using one might even get you closer to your strength goals. An 8-week program using air bike HIIT even made people's squat strength 8% better and pulling strength 7% better, along with improving their cardio.

REP’s Strive™ Air Bike featuring VPR™ takes the concept further with patent-pending Variable Pitch Resistance that lets you adjust fan blade angle across eight levels. That means you can dial in everything from easy steady-state spins to intense intervals without changing your cadence. A smooth dual-stage belt drive, multi-grip ergonomic handles, and heavy-duty steel frame make it built for commercial level punishment in a home gym footprint.

Sled Treadmills 

Manual treadmills take things even further. Curved treadmills, which aren't motorized (like the ones REP makes), are a serious workout. They make you breathe harder, pump your heart faster, and feel more tired than regular motorized ones at the same speed, giving you a bigger fitness boost in less time. If you add resistance, like a sled, it really targets your leg muscles (quads and calves) and helps with power and specific running techniques.

Doing circuit training that mixes weights and cardio on these machines also increases your VO₂max while also making you stronger and improving your body composition. Even older folks have seen better muscle, strength, balance, and flexibility, showing that these treads work for everyone.

The REP Strive™ Curved Treadmill is a standout here. It’s fully self-powered (no plug required), with eight levels of magnetic flywheel resistance and an adjustable deck angle that switches between Sprint mode for HIIT and Work mode for endurance and sled training. That means you can sprint, walk, do sled pushes, and even simulate backward sled drags on one machine, without needing a turf lane.

What to Look for in Cardio Equipment

If you're kitting out a home gym, the days of picking gear just because it torches the most calories are pretty much over. Here's what you should be looking for right now.

Training variety: Can the machine handle steady-state, intervals, conditioning work, and strength-adjacent training? Air bikes and sled-style treadmills check every box.

Durability: Equipment built to handle explosive efforts, heavy use, and athletic training lasts longer and holds value better than machines designed for casual jogging.

Forward-thinking features: Curved treadmill decks, adjustable sled resistance, and fan-based resistance that scales with effort are all examples of design choices that make a machine more useful across training styles.

Takeaway

Cardio isn’t going anywhere, but the way people do it is changing fast. With strength training and functional fitness becoming more popular and people look for more bang per rep (and per square foot), single-purpose cardio machines are going the way of the do-do in favor of tools that work your heart and muscles at the same time. Invest in equipment that can do both and you’ll never have to choose between lifts and laps.

FAQs

Is traditional cardio still important?

Cardio builds cardiorespiratory fitness, supports heart health, and aids weight management. The shift isn’t away from cardio itself, but toward cardio equipment that offers more training variety so you can build strength and conditioning at the same time.

What makes an air bike different from a regular stationary bike?

Air bikes use fan resistance that scales with your effort, and they recruit both your upper and lower body at the same time. Research shows they can improve cardiovascular fitness and even boost strength metrics like back squat performance when used for high-intensity interval training.

Can a treadmill really build strength?

A manual, curved, or sled-style treadmill can build strength. These machines require you to power the belt with your own legs, increasing muscle activation in the quads and calves compared to motorized treadmills. Adding sled resistance takes it a step further, making them effective for both conditioning and power development.

What are the top fitness trends for 2026?

According to the ACSM’s 2026 Worldwide Fitness Trends report, the top 10 include wearable technology (#1), fitness programs for older adults (#2), exercise for weight management (#3), mobile exercise apps (#4), balance/flow/core strength (#5), exercise for mental health (#6), traditional strength training (#7), data-driven technology (#8), adult recreation and sport clubs (#9), and functional fitness training (#10).