With all the science, rumor, old wives tales and nonsense in and about the fitness world, I feel as if fitness has been neglected. I have to ask, where does the individual fit in? All of the advice, all of the diets, workouts and all that- where does the individual fit in? Why is fitness all about looks? This fitness thing should be about health. It should be about wellness- being well-adjusted, physically centered and so on. Fitness should not be what it is represented as today. It is not what fitness should be. In my opinion, fitness is not one size fits all. The fitness industry has people believing that if you’re not looking like some fitness model, you’re not healthy. That is wrong. EveryBODY (no typo there) is different. Fitness is not one size fits all. Unfortunately, people put way too much stock into looks and not enough stock into being physically, mentally and spiritually fit.
With the obesity epidemic in America today (stats later on in paragraph), shouldn’t the focus for fitness be on weight management and overall health?
STATS
- More than 1/3 of all Americans (38%) are obese.
- Non-Hispanic Blacks have the highest obesity rates (48.5%), followed by Hispanics (44.5%).
- The cost of obesity (as of 2008 CDC reports) is/was $148 BN USD, with the average cost of healthcare for the obese being $1429 more than those not obese.
With all the stats I have laid out, where does this fit in?
In my view, the fitness industry needs a reboot. The focus should be on the individual and to focus on making fitness fun again. Too much attention is given to junk science, gadgets, extreme workouts and all sorts of things that people will not buy into. Fitness should be all about feeling good and making yourself the best you can be. So many times, we have seen obese people in the gym getting mocked by some nubile kid who is posting selfies and facebooking. This is the kind of thing that hurts the image of the fitness industry look very, very bad.
For fitness to be about the individual, there must be a cessation on junk science, all the gadgets, tips, tricks and bad advice. I contend there must be more of a customer service driven point of view. To have the trust of people and to (most of all) make people healthy and to change the world. We at the Halcyon Fitness Group are committed to bringing this sort of change. People need to have fun in this world, more now than ever- why not make fitness fun and more relaxed?
In closing, there needs to be a reset for the fitness industry. Fitness as we have described… does mean a “one size fits all”. People are different and that fact needs to be recognized. Fitness should mean different things to different people. Fitness does not have to mean one size fits all.
