How the masses drive the fitness industry

Let’s face it:  Most people are not typically fans of delayed gratification.

So many fitness facilities claim as much ‘result’ in as short a time as possible.  But…is it achieving any sort of worthwhile adaptation in the body over time?  Are you able to sustain progress over time?

You can ‘trick’ the body (for lack of a better term) by simply making people work their asses off and restricting their food intake.  It works!…for a little while.

But then what happens?

Your body, as amazing as it is, ADAPTS.  The amount of energy you spend both at rest and at work decreases in order to compensate for this discrepancy.  Why do you think there are so many people who are not happy with their body composition who also eat less food all day than most athlete do in a single meal?  Is it because they need to ‘put the fork down?’

All the while, your quality of movement has never been held to a standard in all your countless hours of work, your training age remains at basically zero, and you never actually develop any real capacity for work.

Does this sound like an acceptable return-on-investment of your spent hours, money, and effort?

Where do you go after you’ve been beating yourself against the walls of more training volume and less food?  At some point, you have nowhere to go.  Enter the endless cycle of dysfunctional eating and mindless exercise that has become the norm in the fitness industry.

Here is my observation:  The industry has been driven by the perceived needs of the–no offense–uneducated masses who want results RIGHT NOW, even at the expense of actual progress and the realization of long-term goals.

As a result, the industry has adapted to these needs and is currently inundated with fitness facilities, workout plans, and cherry, eager ‘coaches’ and trainers who will give people exactly what they want–a product that doesn’t withstand the test of time.

The long-game approach of respecting the process is a much less popular business model–but the major difference is that it actually WORKS.

Personally, I was never interested in the revolving-door business model that has become the norm in the fitness industry.  It’s fluff, it doesn’t produce clients capable of real work, and frankly it’s dishonest, misleading, and lazy.

Your fitness journey is a marathon, not a sprint.

The best decisions you can make to facilitate your success is to get a coach who is worth his or her salt, communicate, follow prescriptions, be patient, diligent, track, grind, and keep your eyes on the horizon, not down at your feet.

I’d put my athletes who have adhered to a plan for years up against any reciprocating boot camper who hasn’t stuck to a consistent program any day of the week, because my way produces results in the form of athletic performance and true, long-term goals.

*For the record, it’s not MY way; I’m talking about principles and methodologies established by people a lot smarter than me…I’m simply standing on the shoulders of giants with what I know today thanks to them.  

In the words of Neal Maxwell, ‘Never give up what you want most for what you want today.’

The process is certainly to be respected, but it is also to be enjoyed.  If you can learn to love the process, meeting your goals can start to become a reality.

RLTW <1>

–Coach Phil

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