The 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report reveals this year’s fastest-growing fitness modalities — and it’s not running
This year, racket sports dominated, while Pilates, HIIT and strength training also stayed strong, according to the latest end-of-year report from wearable giant Garmin.
Its 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report provides insights into how the brand’s users engaged in fitness over the past year, while revealing trends across the industry and key clues into how certain demographics are working out.
Leading year-over-year growth in participation by far was racket sports, which can include anything from pickleball and badminton to padel and racquetball, growing 67% in 2025. Women and 18- to 29-year-olds drove the biggest spike in participation, with Vietnam leading the way.
Behind racket sports was Pilates, which increased 46% in 2025, just marginally higher than last year and only slightly ahead of HIIT, which grew 45% to claim the third fastest-growing modality for Garmin users.
Strength training continues its steady growth, increasing 29% among Garmin users. It’s the fourth year in a row that the modality has increased by more than 20%, reflecting its ongoing boom among fitness enthusiasts and those looking to capitalize on its overall health and longevity benefits.
Notably, women did more strength training than men (by 6%), matching the growing interest among the demographic to not just pick up weights, but lift heavier.
Garmin also observed measurable growth for indoor running (16%), diving (16%) and hiking (12%).
The growth in these modalities stands out for a wearable that’s most associated with running, revealing how Garmin users are finding themselves drawn to workout trends that are growing across the fitness industry.
That being said, the overall top five activities were running, walking, cycling, strength training and indoor cardio. Outdoor running did see a modest 6% jump amidst the ongoing running boom, with men going on 21% more outdoor runs than women, while women did 16% more indoor runs.
Fitness Enthusiasts Are Only Getting More Active
Garmin users slightly beat their 2024 numbers, increasing step count by 1.2%, resulting in an average of 8,000 or more steps per day, overall performing 8% more activities in 2025 compared to 2024.
Nearly a third of users surpassed that, averaging 10,000 or more steps daily. A small minority (just 0.4%) went above and beyond, taking 20,000 or more steps per day.
Here are the top countries for daily step counts, according to the Garmin report:
Hong Kong: 10,663 steps.
South Korea: 9,969 steps.
Spain: 9,937 steps.
China: 9,794 steps.
Ireland: 9,735 steps.
On average, Garmin’s users spent about 55 minutes per activity on average, with over 25% of runs recorded being about 30 to 45 minutes long, while walkers tended to stick closer to 15- to 30-minute walks, and nearly half of cycling activities lasted an hour or longer.
Generational Trends
The youngest group — 18 to 29 — is driving the running boom among Garmin users, doing the most outdoor and track running.
As for the aged 30 to 39 Millennials, they logged the most strength training, indoor cardio and treadmill activities. The 40 to 49 group, however, is getting outside, doing the most trail running of any age group.
Here’s how the rest of the age groups stacked up:
50 to 59 dominated the indoor cycling, lap swimming and mountain biking categories.
60 to 69 led outdoor cycling, along with walking and hiking.
70+ users spent the most time golfing.
Younger users also favored late afternoon and evening workouts the most, more frequently engaging in activities between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Users over 70 were more so the early birds, getting in their movement between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Garmin Leans Into Health & Wellness
While the smartwatch brand is most known for its running and fitness functions, Garmin Health — a global division of Garmin focused on digital health solutions — is leaning into the increased interest in personalized healthcare by integrating directly with gyms.
The company is also looking to support healthcare professionals who can use its metrics like stress, heart rate variability (HRV) and skin temperature to make more informed decisions on patient health.
