MALAYSIA – Garmin has released its 2025 Garmin Connect Data Report, revealing an 8% global increase in total logged activities compared to the previous year. The data highlights a significant shift in fitness habits across the Asian region, particularly in Malaysia, where niche racket sports and strength-based training have seen triple-digit growth.
The report, which aggregates anonymized data from millions of global users, identifies running, walking, cycling, strength training, and indoor cardio as the top five sporting activities worldwide. However, the most striking data points emerged from Malaysia’s rapidly diversifying fitness landscape.
The Malaysia Surge: Pickleball and Social Fitness
While running and walking remain the two most popular activities for Malaysians, the 2025 data points to an explosion in social and racket-based sports. Pickleball participation in Malaysia spiked by 700% year-on-year, while padel activities climbed by 132%.
This local trend mirrors a broader regional shift; racket sports (including badminton and table tennis) more than doubled in Asia over the last 12 months. Vietnam recorded the highest per capita participation in racket sports in the region. The data suggests that Malaysian fitness enthusiasts are increasingly moving toward social, high-engagement activities that combine cardiovascular health with community interaction.
Other notable growth areas in Malaysia include Pilates, which grew by 43%, and strength training, which saw a 24% increase.
Asia’s Shift: Strength Training Surpasses Cycling
For the first time in the report’s history, strength training has entered the top three most popular sports in Asia, officially surpassing cycling. Strength training saw a 27% increase across the region and a 29% increase globally. This marks the fourth consecutive year where global strength training has maintained growth above 20%.
The report also highlighted a demographic shift in weightlifting habits: globally, women recorded 6% more strength-training sessions than men in 2025. This move toward “hybrid training”—balancing traditional cardio with resistance work—is a trend expected to dominate the industry well into 2026.
Global Benchmarks and Health Metrics
The report provided a comparative look at global health and activity patterns:
- Walking: Over half of global Garmin users averaged more than 8,000 steps daily. Hong Kong ranked first globally with an average of 10,663 steps per day, followed by South Korea (9,969) and Spain (9,937).
- Running: Outdoor running increased by 6% globally, with Japan recording the highest volume of running activities.
- Stress & Energy: Women reported 3% lower stress levels than men globally, with the Netherlands identified as the least stressed nation. China recorded the highest average daily energy expenditure.
2026 Forecast: Wearable Tech and Senior Fitness
The data report aligns with the recently released 2026 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Worldwide Fitness Trends. For the fifth consecutive year, wearable technology is projected to be the number one fitness trend globally. The ACSM also highlighted a growing emphasis on senior fitness and mobile exercise apps, which help aging populations manage health through data-driven metrics like heart rate variability (HRV) and VO2 max.
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Functional and core-focused training, such as yoga and Pilates, are also expected to see continued growth as athletes prioritize injury prevention and core stability.
Technological Evolution: Garmin Connect Rundown
To provide users with deeper analysis of these trends, Garmin has introduced the Garmin Connect Rundown, a year-in-review feature. This tool is part of the newly launched Garmin Connect+ subscription tier, which offers “Active Intelligence” AI-driven insights and expanded LiveTrack features.
The Rundown provides a personalized overview of a user’s top sports, total annual activity volume, and sleep patterns. According to Mr. Scoppen Lin, Assistant General Manager, Garmin Asia, the new subscription model is designed to provide “enriched features” and “personalized data” to help users better understand their physiological metrics as they set goals for the coming year.
