New Year Goals and New Year Scam
New Years resolutions are a scam! Now for a philosophy joke. “Existence is a scam invented by philosophers to sell more philosophy”. HAH! How can you not laugh at this?! I won’t explain the joke, you either get it or you don’t. However, it came at the same time as 2021 was rolling around, and people started talking resolutions. You know what new year resolutions sound like…New goals, new habits, new you, eat better, exercise more, meditate, journal, connect with people etc. It just goes on and on. But I’m just going to write about the fitness industry for the sake of simplicity.
As usual, a few days before the new year, I began to notice more ads, from gyms, personal trainers, dieticians, gurus etc. Talk of “New year New you”. Pardon my French, but I can’t tell you how much I fucking hate that saying. It’s a passive aggressive stab at the person, basically saying “the old you is bad”. I find it incredibly audacious to pump out this kind of rhetoric when we’ve been dealing with a pandemic that has brought the world to a halt. But that’s a different point.
New Years resolution as we know them today are just another opportunity to sell more stuff. I honestly can’t keep track of all the sales opportunities anymore! Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Extended Cyber Monday Sales, Boxing Day, Boxing Week! Christmas Specials, End of Year Sale, New Year Special! OH MY!! It’s a very effective marketing tactic to hijack people’s desire to get on the resolution bandwagon.
Marketing the Scam
2021 is a completely different beast in so far as the January Rush to the gyms is concerned. Many places are still on lockdown, and vaccination for Covid-19 is just starting. Not to mention that many people and businesses are still taking the necessary precautions. And many people have been without employment for month, living off of scraps. And even though some people are spending frivolously online shopping, it’s more of a coping mechanism than anything.
Normally, some would organize their budgets to include a gym membership, maybe a personal trainer, supplements etc. But this year it is different. Self-employed personal trainers and fitness specialists are stepping up their game. Now, probably more than ever, we are looking for clients to train, coach, make programs for etc. Gyms and clubs have definitely stepped up their online game, and are offering more online services. As such, virtual personal training, and group training (VPT, VGT) have taken off and are here to stay. But my issue isn’t about people and businesses trying to make a living (That’s a separate topic). My criticism and concern is about the way some trainers and gyms go about advertising and marketing to sell to people.
Selling To Your Fears
So what makes New Year resolutions a scam? Thist is essentially my problem with how the industry markets health and fitness. Most trainers are taught, either directly or indirectly, that it’s ok to sell to people’s fear. The essence of good marketing is having a solution to a problem. You have a problem and I have a way, or a device that can fix it. But what if there is no problem? Well you create one. That is one of the hallmarks of the success of Capitalism. Aside from human exploitation, it’s creating problems in order to sell solutions.
I’m not saying that some people don’t have genuine problems that they need help fixing. There is always someone who struggles with movement, pains, weaknesses, and challenges they want to work on. My older clients want to make sure they stay strong, and mobile, and prevent as many lifestyle illnesses as they can. Whether it’s osteoporosis, sarcopenia, or chronic fatigue, these are all things that you can prevent through proper diet and exercise. You have pain in your right hip and your physiotherapist recommends you start strength training? Great, I can help! You want to run your first half marathon and want to prep for it? Let’s talk! You struggle with weight management and want to try a compassionate approach to understand your body? I’m here for you.
However, we begin to see the problems when specific standards of beauty and aesthetics are poured into health and fitness. People are told that fat is bad and thin is good. The old you is lazy and fat so the new you should be thin and energetic. I’ve heard them all from trainers, management and marketing people. And the fact is that it is easy to sell a solution to a problem. It is even easier to sell to a person who is afraid. Afraid of being lazy and afraid of being fat. And New Years resolutions are just another opportunity to capitalize on that fear.
Why Do We Care?
I hate to keep saying it, but it’s true. A friend of mine who is a strength coach recently posted something that spoke directly against this tired trend in fitness. Kacey Baines has been a fitness specialist for about 20 years, competing in powerlifting, coaching and training people. The first sentence in her post hit the nail on the head: “It’s that time of year when the fitness industry will do anything to convince you that your body is a problem”. This is exactly what I talked about above. If you start to see your body as the problem, you will be much more inclined to pay for a solution.
The problem is that the solution comes at a cost that you may not be able to afford. People who are scared rarely ever make good decisions. It is difficult to think and see ahead when you’re basically acting on fear. Someone may start the year thinking “I’m gonna do group ex 3x/week, work with a trainer 2x/week, and do 30 mins of yoga every night. But how realistic is that for most people? And what happens when all the other responsibilities start showing up? Work, family, partner, etc.?
Many of us have been conditioned to feel shame and guilt when we do not live up to certain expectations, whether ours or others. We may also feel guilt and shame when we do not follow through with our plans. And the fact is when other responsibilities hit and you’re unable to stay on track, that nasty feeling comes back. The resolution folds and we feel like shit…And that’s why we make the resolutions in the first place, to not feel like shit!
So What Do You Do? 3 Things
New year resolution have always been a gold mine for the fitness industry. If there was a time to put everything into marketing and advertisement, this is it. People are already susceptible, and it only takes a nudge to convince them…sometimes just two words “holiday weight”. All of a sudden people are ready to open up their wallets and follow blindly. But without taking away from the importance of celebrating our bodies and their abilities to perform, how do we not fall into this trap?
First, realize that you don’t need a new year resolution to invest in yourself. Second, you don’t have to follow some cliche formula to “lose weight”, “build muscle”, “get lean”, “eat healthy” or whatever. Third point follows from he second, which is to find a good trainer, coach, fitness specialist. Find someone who genuinely wants to help you as opposed to simply grow their client roster. And it is always a good idea to interview a trainer before deciding whether or not you want to work with them.
The formula is typically to set you up for a fitness consult as soon as you sign up. But remember, a fitness consult is first and foremost a sales opportunity for the gym/trainer. The fitness consult should come AFTER you’ve had a chance to interview different trainers and found someone you click with. Throughout my career I’ve developed many relationships with people, for weeks and sometimes months, before they decided to hire me. And that’s ok. As a side note, it’s also a good opportunity for the trainer to decided if they WANT the person as a client.
No Easy Way
This is why I maintain that people who buy into these solutions are usually making a false commitment. And that false commitment is part of the scam. Like watching an infomercial for some weird kitchen appliance, thinking you need it, buying it and only using it a couple of times. It’s a false commitment because we buy it to compensate for some deep insecurity. You don’t really want the solution, you just want to make the feeling of inadequacy to go away. Once other responsibilities hit and you’re unable to stay on track, you feel guilty, ashamed, and that nasty feeling comes back. And once again you find yourself looking for another quick fix.
But the fact is there is no quick fix, we just need to do our best with what we have. People should seek help from qualified professionals who care about supporting and educating them. And stay away from gyms, trainers or any fitness gurus that you have a problem to which only they have an answer they want you to pay for. Again, I’m not saying that fitness pros shouldn’t charge for their services. But if they’re going about it at the expense of your insecurities then keep walking.
I highly encourage you to read Kacey’s post on Facebook, and check out her website link below.