As soon as your walk in a large commercial gym it is
evident that they want you to spend money. While wanting customers to
spend money is normal business practice corporate gyms take it to another level.
If they're not hard selling you a membership package which
you don't need, they are trying to sell you services you don't need or products
which are not worth it.
Why Commercial Gyms are Bad for the
Fitness Industry
Commercial gyms are bad for the fitness industry because
they often make people uncomfortable, treat their employees and personal
trainers poorly and fail to help the fitness industry take a step forward.
4. Published Bro Science
Bro science is a term which represents anecdotal evidence
which is presented as fact.
It came from bodybuilding circles where the advice from the
hugest or most accomplished bodybuilder was taken as more credible than any
science.
You can find bro science everywhere from magazine
advertisements, internet websites and often in magazine articles.
Why Publishing Anecdotal Information
is Bad
Any personal trainer can tell you that their personal
experience and most of their education meant absolutely nothing as soon as they
trained a client who had unique needs. Fitness is very individual and most
anecdotal information is invalid for its readers and the readers haven't the
slightest clue.
3. Inconsistency
What is fact and what is fiction is often hard to
distinguish in the fitness industry.
Since the fitness and dietary supplement industries are
based on the human body which differs vastly from person to person,
inconsistencies are bound to exist.
Exercise science is not an exact science like math or
physics. There are always going to be differences of expert opinion but as
mentioned in #4 experts often times aren't experts at all.
Anybody working within the fitness industry can tell you
how prevalent inconsistencies are. Due to this fact inconsistencies
are going to remain a flaw of the health and fitness industry for a long time.
What can be Done about Fitness
Industry Inconsistencies
There are so many authorities dealing with health and
fitness such as the ACSM but none have really put their foot down. The
issue deals with the business aspect of the fitness industry so perhaps
government intervention would be the best option. Perhaps the President's
council on Physical Fitness & Exercise can exert their authority?
Couple the fitness industry with the dietary supplement
industry and you have two multi-billion dollar industries which have pretty much
been allowed to run wild.
Except for the occasional supplement or fitness product
which is banned for being dangerous, companies have free reign to make any
claims they like to sell products.
From late night infomercials to advertisements in fitness
magazines and especially on dietary supplement labels you can find a plethora of
questionable and even downright false claims.
Many products are basically swindling the hard earned money
out of American's pockets.
What can be Done about it?
Many countries use their government agencies to regulate
their dietary supplements and regulating dietary supplements with the FDA (in
the USA) would be a good start. The FCC shuts down some outlandish
commercials for suspect products but it could do a better job. Overall
education for the consumers is probably the best solution.
1. Pre-Selling Results
From gyms hard selling memberships to people who will probably not use them, to
commercials for as seen on TV fitness products to supplement companies
advertising the latest "fat burner. and even personal trainers selling their
training sessions up front, pre-selling results is the #1 flaw of the fitness
industry.
Perhaps everyone who works in the fitness industry is guilty of this to some
degree but it is disturbingly apparent in come cases. Most products
related to fitness are sold so it looks like the final result comes
automatically and this is far from the case.
Why Pre- Selling Results is the #1 Flaw of the Fitness
Industry
As mentioned before, pre-selling results is done in many industries but in the
fitness industry it is especially bad because it can have long term effects on
people.
People who buy products that promise quick results and fail often give up and
never get the results they want.
