Once again, 2011 saw most weekends booked with running events, recording close to 80 major races across the country. That’s a lot, considering that there are only 52 weeks in a year.

With the popularity of running still at an all-time high, the Year of the Rabbit saw a few athletes and weekend warriors racing not toward the finish line, but toward the nearest clinic for rehab. Physical-therapy rehab, that is.

But did runners make it to our top injured athletes in 2011? Read on to find out, and take a look back on the fitness/wellness highlights of the year.

Lifting off. It was the year when fitness took off the ground—literally. The art of aerial silk was introduced in the country. Designed to build your strength, core and flexibility, aerial silk is a new way of challenging—nay, shocking—your body into a completely different and exhilarating workout experience. A distant second is the introduction of Fly Yoga, although this one allows you to keep one foot planted on the floor.

Rehab clinics have seen a rise in sports-related injuries, but not mostly from running. According to the Makati Medical Center’s (MMC) Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation center, basketball, being the country’s most popular sport, tops this year’s cause of  rehab sports injuries. This is followed by badminton, and incorrect form in lifting weights in the gym. Tennis and running are also culprits of sports injuries.

While a big chunk of MMC’s patients seek rehab for disabling diseases like stroke, about 40 people each month turn to them for therapy for ankle sprain, shoulder strain, knee injuries, finger strain, and elbow and wrist injuries.

It’s a successful year for suspension training, when TRX classes were offered in big gyms and were even used for training athletes in schools. Also debuting in the local fitness scene is Redcord Suspension Training, a method much older and more challenging than TRX that goes beyond weight loss, toning and strength training.

Offered in a few specialized studios like Options Studios and B+B Studio, Redcord is also the choice for rehab for some athletes since it relieves backaches and shoulder problems, and improves the posture.

Overweight Filipinos

A survey by the National Statistics Coordination Board in 2008 said the percentage of overweight Filipinos has risen to 26.6 percent from 16.6 percent in 1993. Of that number, 5.6 percent are obese, and 6.6 percent of children aged 5 years old are also overweight, compared to 5.8 in 2003.

So it’s not surprising that the Cohen weight-loss approach via blood analysis, despite the P50,000+ price tag, has become so popular among executives. A runner-up is the popular Dukan diet, the protein-based nutritional diet by French nutritionist and dietician Pierre Dukan.

Getting popular, too, are lifestyle and weight management. With just seven certified trainers in the country, including former Inquirer columnist Tina Juan, people who want the traditional diet-and-exercise method now also demand behavioral modification programs offered by weight-management specialist. Lifestyle and weight management coach Armando Mendoza Jr. said enrollees this year have increased by up to 30 percent.

As people got more tech savvy each year, fitness buffs invested in state-of-the-art gadgets to keep track of their workouts—and to earn bragging rights,  as well. The rest of the fitness population, however, opted to stay fit the cost-effective way—downloading apps on the mobile phones. Popular apps include the Nike+, Adidas miCoach and Couch to 5k/10k (now Run10k, Run5k).

Small group workouts have also become more popular instead of enrolling in expensive one-on-one personal training. At Options Studio, enrollment in group classes has soared, and booking must be made days in advance. Why? A group class of two, for instance, immediately saves you about 50 percent of the expenses. (One-on-one personal training might cost your around P16,000 whereas as a group of two, with one instructor, will cost you around P8,000.) Unlike large group classes, you also get the instructor’s undivided attention so you’re always in proper form.