A Healthier New Year

The Dallas-Fort Worth workouts + fitness trends worth taking into 2026

Become more flexible in 2026.

Photo courtesy of Satya Yoga

The New Year always brings a clean slate, and with it a chance to leave behind habits that no longer serve you. But not everything from 2025 deserves to stay in the past.

As fitness continues to evolve, certain workout trends have proven they’re not just fleeting obsessions, but smarter, more sustainable ways to move your body. As 2026 approaches, these are the fitness shifts worth carrying forward — not because they're trendy, but because they align with how people actually want to feel: strong, resilient, balanced, and energized.

1. Infrared everything
Heat-driven workouts and recovery have become core to how people train, not just an occasional add-on. Infrared studios promise improved circulation, faster muscle recovery, stress relief, and a deeper sweat in less time.

Places to try and why:
Ritual One Yoga in Dallas teaches every class under infrared heat, blending modern flow and sculpt for a challenging but grounding experience.

HotWorx, with locations across DFW, places workouts directly inside infrared saunas, combining exercise and recovery in one efficient session.

Pilates214 integrates infrared sauna use into the Pilates experience, while Align Studio offers infrared Pilates, sculpt, and yoga.

Perspire Sauna Studio in Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth focuses purely on infrared recovery, making it easy to add heat therapy to any fitness routine.

2. Strength training goes mainstream
Heavy lifting is no longer reserved for traditional gyms; it’s now positioned as longevity training that builds bone density, protects joints, and supports long-term health.

Places to try and why:
BFT Dallas delivers progressive strength and conditioning with clear programming and measurable results.

Equinox in Dallas and Plano offers structured strength training with expert coaching.

Trophy Fitness stands out for its serious lifting culture and no-frills approach.

3. Nervous system reset
Stress regulation is emerging as a fitness category of its own, with studios focusing on breathwork, somatic movement, sound healing, and slow, intentional recovery.

Places to try and why:
Flow Mind Body Soul in Dallas combines meditation, restorative yoga, breathwork, and fitness for full-spectrum balance.

Breathe Meditation & Wellness specializes in guided meditation, sound baths, and breathwork sessions.

Satya Yoga centers restorative, yin, and slow flow classes that prioritize calm and recovery.

4. Workout and recovery under one roof
Studios that pair movement with built-in recovery are thriving as people prioritize efficiency and all-in-one wellness.

Places to try and why:
MoveStudio offers fitness classes alongside infrared sauna access and mobility work.

Restore Hyper Wellness locations across DFW provide cryotherapy, IV therapy, compression, and red-light treatments that complement training.

O2, in The Terminal at Katy Trail, brings together heated classes, oxygen-based workouts, and wellness services like massage.

5. Low-impact, high-results workouts
Joint-friendly training with serious muscle payoff is replacing high-impact, punishment-style workouts as longevity takes priority.

Places to try and why:
TIGHT Dallas and Solidcore deliver intense Megaformer workouts that build strength without impact.

Session Pilates, Oak Cliff Pilates, and BodyBar Pilates focus on athletic reformer training with scalable intensity.

Pure Barre and The PilatesBarre emphasize endurance and control through barre and reformer-inspired formats.

Yogazama offers advanced strength-based yoga classes alongside deeply restorative sound baths, making it a standout for both challenge and recovery.

fit in the city health wellness fitness workout resolutions promoted

happy go lucky plano

Dallas neighbor dazzles on new list of happiest cities in America

Photo courtesy of Visit Plano

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A new happiness study has ranked Plano one of the happiest cities in America this year, and it once again landed on top as the happiest city in Texas.

Plano has moved up on the list and ranks as the 16th happiest U.S. city in 2026. Last year, it was 17th.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Plano across the three key dimensions:

No. 15 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 22 – Community and environment
No. 72 – Income and employment

Plano and its residents have continued improving their city year after year, whether its through opening new bakeries and restaurants, inviting fun pop-ups for locals, or having a strong job market.

Plano's happiness far outshines the rest of North Texas; according to WalletHub, Irving is the 70th happiest city in the country, the third-happiest in Texas, and the second-happiest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Garland ranked farther behind as No. 92 nationally, and more DFW cities ranked even lower: Grand Prairie (No. 106), Dallas (No. 111), Fort Worth (No. 113), and Arlington (No. 119).

The report additionally found that Dallasites spend the third-most amount of time at work in the nation. The city ranked No. 180 in the national analysis of U.S. cities with the "fewest work hours."

WalletHub also emphasized that money doesn't buy happiness — after a certain point.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Six-figure earners in Plano aren't necessarily as happy as those who don't make as much, as a separate financial study from SmartAsset revealed these big earners are only taking home about $72,653 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 39 – Austin
No. 128 – Houston
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

wallethub plano reports