Have you ever heard that? No? As an insider in the business I hear this all the time. I also hear how every other industry is broken. This includes government, healthcare etc…
We all seem to have a lot of time to think about this now. Usually I get the “Fitness Industry is Broken” followed up by a sales pitch by a 20 year old that wants to be my mentor. Here are two interesting facts for you.
- 20 year old life coaches actually exist.
- They don’t see the irony in that.
Can I argue that the fitness industry is not broken? In fact I am going to argue that none of these industries are broken. Why? Because I have time on my hands and I want to throw a little truth out there in a sea of political correctness.
Here is one thing you can believe.
We know how to get you in shape.
When I say we I mean the fitness industry. All of it even the shady stuff. It is a known fact that anyone can get in shape, lose weight and get strong. The fact that many people have used different methods to get healthier means that all this works to some degree.
That is the cool part. It can be done and there are many ways to do it.
- You can dance yourself to fitness
- You can bend and stretch your way to fitness.
- You can lift weights.
- You can run.
They all work.
For me that is a beautiful thing. All I need to consider is the three components of health, exercise, sleep and nutrition. I just have to be decent at all of them to be healthy. If I want to get healthier than that, I just have to fine tune those three factors.
So why doesn't that work?
It does work. You are the problem.
8-9 out of 10 people who start a fitness routine will fail. That is the way it is. Numbers don’t lie.
- 9 out of 10 small businesses will fail.
- Half of marriages end in divorce.
- 90% to 95% of diets fail.
The fact is most people will not get in the shape they want to be in. I am not here to hurt your feelings and no one is making these numbers up. What you may be doing is asking the wrong question. Change your questions and you will get different answers.
Everybody asks the question, “What’s the fastest, easiest way to lose weight and get in shape?”
That’s not the question. if you ask that question you will always be chasing the newest fad and falling for slick sales pitches. Thighmaster anyone?
The one question to ask.
The only question you need to ask is the one very few people think about.
“How do I become that 1 out of 10 that succeeds?”
In other words, “If there are 10 people starting a weight loss program, how do I become the one that succeeds?”
You may not notice but this changes your point of reference.
Don’t depend on the program, depend on yourself.
As a coach I am lucky that most people would never hire me. By that I mean pay for a personal trainer. That’s good. I can’t provide 100% of the motivation for you. It is too draining for me and it won’t last. I look for people who are ready to make a change and need coaching.
Some people can design great programs for themselves. They have a curiosity about training and nutrition, they ask questions and they don’t need my help. Cool.
Everyone else needs a varying degree of help. I have always believed that when you are ready to pick up the phone and commit to training with a coach you have a much better chance of succeeding. The data points this out.
Does it guarantee success?
Nope but it does put you ahead of the people that are just talking about doing something. What it tells me is that something in your life has happened where you know you need to make a change. That is where everyone needs to start.
Finding a Coach
So how do you find a good coach? Is this where I put sown other coaches to make myself look better? Nope. There are a lot of good coaches out there and there are a number of different exercise and nutrition programs that work well. Your job is to find one that fits your schedule and personality.
Here is the beautiful thing about a healthy lifestyle: it is not all that different from what you are doing now. It really isn’t. It is about making a few changes and being consistent.
Here are a couple observations that will make your choice easier.
- Having a coach about the same age helps. I wouldn’t expect a 22 year old to understand the issues of a 50 year old and you shouldn’t expect them to. You can read about aging but living through the changes gives a trainer better perspective.
- If you are over 40, you need balance and flexibility training. This is non-negotiable for me. Whether you know it or not the effects of sitting have changed the way you move. Unless you move right you can’t train right.
- This is a journey with no endpoint. I am not talking about the coaching but about life. Understand that as you get older, the more you will need to stay in shape.
- After 40, a coach should put your overall health ahead of looks. What I mean is if you want to lose 10 pounds but have trouble walking, we are going to focus on your walking pain-free first. This makes sense because you won’t lose the weight if you can’t move and moving better will lead to weight loss.
- The plan changes so should the coaching. A good coach will see things happening before you do and change the workouts to fix small issues so they don’t become big issues.
- Learn to push yourself and get out of your comfort zone. The 8 or 9 people that fail will fail because they can’t deal with change or getting out of their comfort zone. Recognize this and plan accordingly.
Most Important
Have fun.
This stuff isn’t complicated and I am not a rocket scientist. I have just been around long enough to make every mistake in the book and I have learned from that. What you are buying from me is my body of knowledge and that is why my training is an investment.
I have had to come to the conclusion that most people will fail at fitness. The numbers don’t lie but what I can give you is the mindset to be the one that makes it.
If this sounds interesting to you fill out this form and let’s talk.
