Fitness Industry Secrets

Fitness Industry Secrets
The Industry’s Dirty Secrets Series

Industry’s dirty secret was once again served with sizzles. These are the truths of the industry that they don’t tell you, won’t want you to know because it may make you scared and hurt their business.

Following Fast Food Industry Secrets, which on the way of researching and writing was a numbing road, Fitness Industry is due. It has a spur of growth these recent years, due to illnesses like diabetes and obesity. And of course, thanks to Hollywood we all want to be hot. And that’s the promise of the Fitness Industry, be it a club membership or DVD take-outs – you will be hot and sexy when you buy their products and services.

Fitness Membership. Photo from fitfreedom.wordpress.com

You have decided to join a fitness club. On the façade you saw beachfront bodies, hot, sexy, and sizzling! Expectedly, models are the lean and muscular ones. It doesn’t mean that they got fit in that gym, but seeing them makes you believe. Admit it; most people are visual people, seeing what you want to be is enough for you to be persuaded (Poulos, 2012).

You may or may not notice, but the trainers are marketing savvy, could be even more than a fitness expert. So you signed the contract, gave them permission to bill your credit card. Often times, they still make you choose your personal trainer. And you’ll see, some are more expensive than the others. Paying them more doesn’t guarantee you better results. It’s still all you, you do the work for your own body, not the jam-packed trainers themselves (DeFranco, 2012).

The next step is to measure your current fitness or health status. How can you know if you are obese, overweight, fit, or underweight? They measure your BMI (body mass index). This scale, created by the US government is flawed! Yeah, that’s right. It’s purely based on height and weight, so what about fats proportion? What if you just have huge bone density that adds to your weight? And all other considerations are not accounted. According to this scale, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Michael Jordan are all overweight (Campos, 2003). However, it’s the most popular and easiest measure, but if your BMI surprised you, remember you just have the body of Brad Pitt.

They offer the services of in-house nutritionist. They will give you a tease, and make the nutritionist assess your diet for the first time and recommend some changes. Diet and nutrition is common sense. Eat what the caveman eats, all natural and avoid processes and you’re good. Paying extra for nutritionists or books is useless, wherein most claims are based on pseudoscience. (DeFranco, 2012; Fergus Niall Personal Training, 2012)

Gym Equipment Exercise. Photo from inletfitness.com

You got started. The leeway to steadfast weight trimming and strength building is the equipment and machinery. But you and your trainer will spend less time in it. Instead, your trainer will drive you to “stability balls, resistance tubing or bands, and balance tools”, more on exercises you can’t do alone. These trainers are told to veer away from constant use of equipment, because when the person learned how to use them (and it’s damn easy to learn), they won’t need trainers and will stop the service (DeFranco, 2012).

It’s a psychological game, bigtime! They get you psyched up in the start, then when it’s been months and you do the same exercises over again, they intervene and re-psych you up to keep you paying the membership (Poulos, 2012). It’s an industry, meaning business. It doesn’t care if you get healthier or leaner. What it do care is absorbing money from you.

Their programs may not work out for you, really. Our genetic makeup is part of the equation, but would they say it? No. They trick you to believe what the best looking body is, but each of us at our best look differently. And then they promise you that the best way to achieve it is through their gym.

If you noticed nothing’s changed, or at least on the timeline they promise you, it’s also planned out. They’ll say that despite the program, diets and supplements they bombard you, it all falls down to individual differences. It didn’t work out for you because it isn’t right for your body, and you keep on finding what works for you. Yeah, you’ve gotta pay them more (Poulos, 2012).

You should also know that their gym is a breeding ground for germs, thanks to the sweaty bodies all around. From athlete’s foot to flu, they have it. And these clubs, not all of it, are not mandated by law to handle medical emergencies. Some trainers can’t even do CPR. Thing is, we are prone to injury when exercising, isn’t it? And heart attacks, due to improper exercise or overexercise, will need immediate help in matters of minutes (Scherzer, 2010).

Fitness industry doesn’t have a federal regulation to keep private data. Doctors, psychiatrists, lawyers, all these professionals are restricted by law to not share any private information you share with them. But the fitness industry doesn’t have that, and unfortunately you have to share your medical history to them at the beginning of your program. And who knows what other information you share to your trainers, be prudent. These people are free to gossip about you! (DeFranco, 2012).

Most people can relate that it’s hell hard to terminate a membership. Even if you communicate that you want to quit, chances are you have signed a contract in day one, so they’ll keep earning from you credit card even after you have stopped. You better read before you sign, because if you sue them, they just present your signature and they win (Scherzer, 2010).

I have been a member of a nationwide fitness club. I have been there, and I know many success stories, like a fairy tale ending. Sure, there are people who got their magazine cover body, and fitness clubs helped them. But victim here, not all trainers are qualified to be one. Their management will employ many to meet the sky high demand, and see for themselves if they’re good with being a trainer. If not, oh well, drop him and get another.

Personal Trainer Encouragement. Photo from fitnessmust.com

Even the professional and ethical can’t escape the demands of business, and what kept their growing bank account are some tricks here and deceit there to get you excited and believe all the miracles they say.

I’m not implying that we quit our membership. Although you can be fit at home, at work, at school, at Disneyland park, wherever. Our body will always clamor exercise, and their services shot straight to that humane need. But you deserve to know.

Your reaction? Is there anything you want to add?

Sources:
Fitness Industry Secrets;   Fergus Niall Personal Training
Seeing Is Believing If You Want To Burn Fat – Or Is It?; FatBurning Furnace
10 Things Your Personal Trainer Won’t Tell You; IDEA Health and Fitness Association
10 Things Fitness Clubs Won’t Tell You; SmartMoney
5 Secrets the Fitness Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know; Ezine Articles
What the diet industry won’t tell you; Low-Carber

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Motherly Advice

The prime person we ever met, hear her voice, depend on her nurture, is our mother. And we thank her for beating heart that made and kept us alive. Thank more for her veteran advice. Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo from: visualphotos.com

I was probably 11 years old, my brother was 6. We are watching the evening news with our mother. I know right, kids, news, what?! We were actually watching cartoons, but we only have one television then so it was tuned in to the scheduled news. It’s not the end of the world.

If you haven’t noticed it, the headlines are the only shocker in news, and the rest of it was repetition. Someone was robbed, someone died, someone predicted a storm – it’s always about this thing. And that time, we saw a woman ranting on camera, furious and affret. It was someone was robbed.

My juvenile brother asked a reason for the woman’s outraged behavior, with all that cursing and balling of fists. “Their house was brought down by the government. She doesn’t have a house anymore”, mother replied.

He then asked why the government will take it down. It was illegal for the woman to build a house in the area, she could actually die if there’s a calamity because the house is standing on shaky grounds.

“Would you do that?” brother asked further.

“Yes, I would be angry to the people who takes my house.”

“Would you even talk to the president?”

“Yes.”

“He’s the president.”

“Son, never be afraid to present who you are to anybody, even to the president.”

..

Nah, I was kidding. My mother didn’t said those quotable words. But she would talk to the president, like the president is just the same person as she was. She’s confident of herself, and would stand firm against any oppressing deeds. And that was all the answer she needed to say for me to understand the advice she’s giving us.

Never be afraid to present who you are to anybody, even to the president.

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Life’s Best: Video Gaming (and the benefits too!)

Photo from flashgamestrategy.com

Video Gaming is like watching an action-packed, story-driven, ornate-animation blockbuster movie, yet even better. You are the main character, you control him, you do the nonsense and awkward jumping and jogging around. It’s interactive, you choose the way you want the story to fulfill.

Parents say it promotes violence. There’s a reason why certain games are age-restricted. There are video games for kids – Mario and his unending quest to save a princes or Hannah Montana dream show. The hardcore ones are for the emerging adults to adults. And like Hannah Montana, we know it’s a dream world. What we do in the games doesn’t necessarily reflect what we function in society.

People say it’s a waste of time. Nothing is a waste of time if you enjoy every second of wasting it. But I get where this is coming from, there are professionals who risk their jobs by shutting down his life for video games. It shouldn’t get in the way of responsibilities, be it work, school, relationships, etc. Like in any areas of life, moderation is key. Too much of anything could bad for you, so it’s all about managing time.

In playing video games, there are numerous instances where a person’s decision making is tested. That’s where one’ll get to know that certain decisions have hefty consequences, so next time you will decide better. And of course, the slower you are, the lamer you are in the game. Video gaming improves your reflexes, making it quicker and faster.

It also works your problem solving skills, even creativity and self-confidence and in recent years, fitness. On top of all, it incomparably improves mood. It is among the best stress reliever out there!

Researches as proofs, Wii can help improve motor functioning for recovering stoke patients (Moore, 2010; Grandma had a stroke? Teach her to play Wii); kids “soar” with their grades; and quite contrary to beliefs, video gaming aren’t so geeky, it improves social skills rather than keep you on your own (Cool, 2012; Surprising Health Benefits of Video Games). There are so many benefits, but this is not a psychological report so I’ll stop there.

And by the way, if it helps the gaming industry, I will continue buying $60 games – it’s well worth my money and time. $0.99 speaks for itself, you get $0.99 value of pleasure – repetitive, quite boring.

What do you think about video gaming?

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Big Boys Cry

Big Boys Cry. Photo from sodahead.com

Here’s something that almost made me cry – toys on the verge of destruction. Yeah, that scene from Toy Story 3 when Woody and his pals have accepted their demise. And then once more was when Andy played with his toys for the last time and gave them away. I mean, all men can relate to that. It’s just so hard to let go of your, um, action figures.

Remember the moment when you received a test sheet, scanned the rest of it and found it to be too long. After you’re done with it, you can already publish it as a book. Just looking ahead of that very long boring test, your eyes could water on its own because like it or not, you have to go through with it.

A guy in the name of Rob Dyrdek spent $700 Million on lottery tickets (paid in cash), on which the jackpot prize was $356 Million. The draw came, numbers arise, and surprise him. He lost. Nobody won on that draw. Talk about slap on the face, that’s worth crying to.

Men are taught to not show their weak emotions. Part of masculinity is to hold back tears, an attribute typically exhibited by women. So to be a man is to be not a woman. Though, it doesn’t mean that men, over the years, have lost emotions. Men have estrogen as well, it’s undeniable. But guess that, denying it is what is expected of men.

Big boys cry, perhaps not in public but there are instances that can make them cry. Loosing a game of their favorite sports team could do the trick, but also try taking something they treasure so much, be it family, friends, or lunch. Ideally, breaking up with a girl too.

We all have our own story, isn’t it? Actually, there is one thing that can burst me every time. It’s a very horrible experience; I’d want to forget about it; I’d want to get over it; I’d want it to mean nothing. But it just always make me cry – peeling onions.

When was the last time you cried or made your man cry?

In line with this, take pleasure of this short clip. “Chandler Can’t Cry” from Friends.

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One Man Island

One Man Island. Photo from iliketowastemytime.com

Wealth and riches are blissful to attract. I like having them, and I love spending them. It brings forth freedom – to do just whatever you want, to have whatever you want whenever you want. But I do consider it as a privilege. Having it means having more to share.

And I believe that buying a one man island, or as they call it ‘private island’, is defeating the purpose of sharing; if anything, it’s selfish. These private island owners exclude themselves from the rest of the world, like all they needed is themselves and their riches. That is erroneous thinking. As social beings, we have to purpose to fulfill – interaction, not isolation.

Lets say, you buy islands because you can; and you don’t intend to actually live in it. It was meant for vacation, a resting pad. That means you get to use the island, for what, one or two times a year? And then the rest of it is just lone.

Many are people without shelter, or stable shelter, or enough shelter to fit a family. And to have an island for one man or for vacation only is ludicrous. I can’t live owning an island and knowing the reality beyond.

What I don’t even tolertate is why people buy islands when they don’t have enough riches. Case in point, Nicolas Cage. His financial trouble stretches, but that’s because he has spent much on overly needless possessions – 22 cars, 12 expensive jewelries, 47 pieces of art and 3 homes, including  a private island. And that was in 2007 alone (Britney, 2007; Nicolas Cage: Even More Broke Than Assumed!)

Private islands can toll to multiple million dollars. You don’t have to agree but it is crazy how people put price tags on islands. It is property of nature, and in my opinion, man only borrows his stay on earth. He is not in any position to own it and seclude it from everybody else.

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