Talk is cheap. Results cost money.

It was an honour to be interviewed recently about the fitness market in the world and specifically Asia and the impact that online access and social media ‘fitness’ has had in the past two years. At a time when we couldn’t hug each other gyms were amongst many other industries that faced an existential threat. However as the dust of coronavirus continues to settle around the globe the industry that employs millions and improves the lives of many millions more has bounced back with incredible speed. Gym memberships are rising, personal trainer certifications and up skilling course attendance has never been higher, and the lessons from a pandemic have continued to fuel the industries gross mission of improving healthy lifestyles and nutrition. After all, the data from the devastation continues to point towards the healthier you are, the better your immunological defence at times of siege. So as certified experts and representatives of the quality within of our industry are we winning the battle against the free to air, free to advise, zero accountability online world of fitness? Not yet, but closer than a year ago. Let me explain more.?

Graph of number of gyms in the UK - Statista.com.

If you want legal advice you pay for a qualified lawyer. If you want financial advice you employ a qualified accountant. And if you want to ensure quality schooling for your child you enrol them in the best school for your area / budget with professionals for Jonny. However if you want to improve your fitness, remove pain, lose weight, or learn to Deadlift too many people still think Youtube holds the secret. It doesn’t.?

Don’t get me wrong, I can lose an hour on Youtube like the best of them and sit confidently at the table and shout about my new found ‘knowledge’ of Crypto, but lets be honest, when the information is free and there is no skin in the game from either party, the information is probable crap, the outcome is that no change occurs, and the end result is still an oversized waist band or debilitating lower back pain. In short, if you don’t pay for your fitness coaching you won’t improve.?

A fitness goal is no small feat. Regardless of it being your first sub 03:00 marathon or a coach to 5k in the park, any change in behaviour is huge and likely the antithesis of how you have structured your life for decades before. The content and prescription of the programme is actually secondary behind the accountability and network you set around yourself to achieve the new you. If you aren’t a runner then no app in the world is going to get you out of bed at 05:00 in December, your coach, your team, your community are going to do that. There is no long term argument here (although many have had it with me), a free coaching service will fail to achieve results. You need to invest capital and commit if you want to see change.?

So why does Youtube, Instabook, and Facegram bloat with fitness ‘gurus’ and influences (what an awful state to be calling an unemployed teenager in their bedroom an influencer - we are better than that)? Well because we are either sitting on our sofa’s telling ourselves that we could do it if we wanted to but knowing we will never change, or watching the screen with some satanical jealousy of the body on the guy in the picture telling ourselves what an awful person he must be. Either way, the image and ‘tips’ we are reading are not going to change our lives, far from it they are going to make us feel worse and probably therefore reach for the Pringles but they still capitative us and blur the real story of the industry. In short, if you are trying to find education for your most valuable asset, your body, get off your phone and employ a professional.?

So ending my late thirties rant about the problem with youth today, why I am so optimistic about the future for gyms and the in person health industry? Well firstly because the data is showing the trends returning and the numbers for memberships and attendance going up. Winning. But also because despite the growth of free to air information, those that are actually seeing the results and those that are actually qualified to give it have all become more savvy through Covid and the whilst the flexibility of training online was fun for awhile (and essential), the longer term approach has to be education from a professional and letting the results tell the story. Therefore if the 6 minutes ab routine from the movie star that you follow hasn’t worked for you but you are committed to actually achieving said toning, spend an hour with someone who is certified to give you advice and judge them by the results.

"Talk is cheap, results cost money and this is how it should be".?