ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal® strives to provide health and fitness professionals with accurate, unbiased and authoritative practical information that will enhance their day to day work with clients and patients. Beginning in 1997, the journal has published six issues per year that cover a wide variety of exercise, nutrition and other topics that are of interest to the health and fitness industry. Each issue consists of two to six feature articles that have undergone a peer review process, special columns written by the journal’s associate editors and a number of continuing education (CEC) opportunities.

Beginning in 2015 the September/October issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal® has focused on a specific theme covering the topics of weight loss, resistance training, behavior change and nutrition. In 2019, for the second consecutive year, the journal published two themed issues with the September/October publication focused on combating physical inactivity and the November/December issue highlighting ACSM’s Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends. Additionally, the trends issue was expanded to include survey results from a variety of international regions including Europe, China, Argentina/Brazil and Spain.

In 2019 the journal published 23 feature articles and a total of 49 columns penned by the journal’s associate editors. The relative interest in these 72 articles can be quantified by comparing the number of times the online version of the article is viewed and/or referred to through social media platforms and the mainstream news media.

Once again, the most popular paper referred to by social media platforms and mainstream media was our annual “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2020” penned by Walter R. Thompson, Ph.D., FACSM. The 14^th annual survey conducted by Dr. Thompson continued the tradition of the article being one of the most referred to articles published in the journal. This year’s survey was the basis of a special trends issue that featured a number of the top trends and compared U.S. survey results with those collected in North America, Europe, China and South America.

The two most accessed articles through the journal website were the “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2020” and a feature article written by Elizabeth F. Nagel, Ph.D., FACSM, Mary E. Sanders, Ph.D., FACSM, and Bruce E. Becker, MD, MS, FACSM, titled “Aquatic Exercise for Health: Probing the Depths of HIIT for Cardiometabolic Training.” Water is an excellent exercise medium and the authors provided an exceptional review regarding the utilization of high intensity interval training in the aquatic environment.

Outlook for 2020

The journal content scheduled for 2020 will continue to present topics and associated practical applications that will be of interest to health and fitness professionals and supportive of the important work they undertake with their clients and patients. The planned content will once again include two themed issues:

• September/October: Refocusing Lifespan to Healthspan: Making Every Age Count
• November/December: Special Trends Issue with a continued expansion to include additional international regions

Upcoming 2020 feature articles will include topics on children and youth, concussions, isometric exercises, understanding the deadlift, physical activity and mental well-being, an introduction to lifestyle medicine and more. We appreciate each health and fitness professional who has submitted their work for publication in the journal and encourage you to consider sharing your expertise with our readers. If you are interested in submitting an article to ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal® you can learn how to write and submit a feature article here.

Additionally, our exceptional associate editor team will continue to provide quality practical health and fitness information through their respective columns listed below:

• Fitness Focus – a clip and distribute article that health and fitness professionals can give to clients/patients. *Written by Grace T. DeSimone, BA, publishes in every issue.
• Take Ten – Ten specific insights into a pertinent health and fitness topic. *Written by James A. Peterson, Ph.D., FACSM, publishes in every issue.
• Wouldn’t You Like to Know – A practical review focused on answering a specific question based on a topic of interest to health and fitness professionals. * Written by Barbara A. Bushman, Ph.D., FACSM, in 2020 publishes in the Jan/Feb; May/June; July/August issues.
• A Nutritionist’s View – A concise column that covers a hot topic in nutrition. * Written by Stella L. Volpe, Ph.D., R.D., LDN, FACSM, publishes in the Jan/Feb; May/June; September/October issues.
• Fitness Safety – An important column that addresses legal issues that affect the health and fitness professional. * Written by JoAnn M. Eickhoff-Shemek, Ph.D., FACSM, FAWHP, publishes in the Jan/Feb; May/June; September/October issues.
• Business Edge – A practical column that covers relevant business-related topics that affect the health and fitness professional. * Written by Patrick Freeman, B.S., CSCS, SCSF-CPT, publishes in the Jan/Feb; May/June; September/October issues.
• Research Bites – Translates three or four pertinent research articles into information that the health and fitness practitioner can use.* Written by Mary M. Yoke, Ph.D., M.A., FACSM, publishes in the Jan/Feb; May/June; September/October issues.
• Worksite Health Promotion – This thoughtful column covers all aspects of employee wellness in the context of the worksite. * Written by Nico P. Pronk, Ph.D., FACSM, FAWHP, publishes in the Jan/Feb; May/June; September/October issues.
• Do It Right – Each column illustrates a specific resistance training exercise with photos and videos and explains how to correctly teach the activity. * Written by Peter Ronai, MS, FACSM, publishes in the Mar/Apr; July/August; Nov/Dec issues.
• Health & Fitness A to Z – Reviews an important topic from its inception to today and where it may be headed in the future. *Column is coordinated by Gary Liguori, Ph.D., FACSM, in 2020 publishes in the Mar/Apr; September/October; Nov/Dec issues.
• Enhancing Your Behavioral Tool Kit – Provides insights into behavioral change and coaching strategies health and fitness professionals can utilize with their clients/patients. * Written by Liz Hathaway, Ph.D., MPH, and publishes in the Mar/Apr; July/August; Nov/Dec issues.
• ACSM Certification – For 2019 this column focused on presenting case studies that provided insight into working with clients/patients from the initial referral forward. In 2020 this column will provide pertinent ACSM certification along with a case study once per year. * Written by Paul M. Gallo, Ph.D., FACSM, publishes in the Mar/Apr; July/August; Nov/Dec issues.
• Celebrate Success – An inspirational column that highlights real-world, positive change that is happening in many communities through individuals, organizations, and/or improved public policy. * Written by Dixie Stanforth, Ph.D., FACSM, publishes in the March/April, July/August, November/December issues.
• Clinical Applications – Covers the clinical aspects of the health and fitness profession. *Written by Kristi M. King, Ph.D., CHES, publishes in the Mar/Apr; July/August; Nov/Dec issues.
• Medical Report – Provides practical medical information the health and fitness professional needs to know. * Written by various clinicians, publishes in the Mar/Apr; July/August; Nov/Dec issues.

Most Read Articles in 2019

• Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2020
• Aquatic Exercise for Health: Probing the Depths of HIIT for Cardiometabolic Training
• Intermittent Fasting – What is it and Does it Work?
• Developing a Lifelong Resistance Training Program
• Exercise for Persons with Depression and/or Anxiety Disorders
• Deep Vein Thrombosis: Causes and Consequences
• Ten Important Facts about Core Training

Conversation Starters: The Highest Altmetric Score

Altmetric calculates a score based on the online attention an article receives. The score is calculated based on two primary sources of online attention: social media and mainstream news media.

• Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2020
• Sharable Resource: Osteoporosis and Exercise
• Sharable Resource: Ten Nice-to-Know Facts About the Shoulder
• EPOC: Is it Real? Does it Matter?
• A Fitness Professional’s Guide to Recognizing and Coping with Job Burnout
• Regional Comparisons: The Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends
• Individualized Hydration Plans for Ultradistance Endurance Athletes
• Guidelines for Physical Activity and Health in the United States: Evolution over 50 Years
• Are You Serving Your Internal Customers?

Brad A. Roy, Ph.D., FACSM, is an executive director at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He is responsible for The Summit Medical Fitness Center, a 114,800 sq ft medical fitness center located in Kalispell, Montana, and a number of other hospital departments. He is the editor-in-chief of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal^®.