How did the bulk of the exercise industry get here?
Well, the calorie stripping, meal replacement and high intensity exercise combo is actually a fairly new thing.
As the food supply chain and general activity levels decreased, and stress levels increased through environmental and lifestyle factors (and said food supply chain) we started to get a little more out of shape as a culture…
But, the industry was hot on the trail of the lean physique thanks to the 90’s…
So, aerobics led to P90x, which led to Gym Jones, the functional fitness boom (with many options of course) and then intensity spiked. On the endurance side, the running and triathlon culture boomed also.
To spike it more, for more people, more easily – to “scale” it, it was important in the classes to cut the complexity down enough to jack the heart rate higher for the big group.
Then the caloric restriction and dieting (which already was around) was paired up with it.
Of course, quicker results?
It’s a tempting trade and it makes total sense on paper. Unfortunately when we understand stress and physiological load, we see conflict.
My view is we are likely seeing this peak right now, with groups like F45 taking the world by storm.
How will it play out from here?
I tend to be a little early with these things. But I feel that short term it runs a bit further, and intermediate term (3-5 years) we see the bigger change.
And we already are – I have worked with many gyms, coaches and trainers who are already bending the culture by offering greater awareness.
A different option. High quality training, awareness around controlled movement, strength, mobility, community, lifestyle factors, breathing, stress and an abundant stance on nutrition.
Long term, we will look back and wonder what we were thinking, as it becomes clearer that the increase in stress was not a decent trade and not compatible with modern living.
Regardless, it doesn’t matter too much as thankfully there are many amazing options out there. We are already are seeing wider access to the tools around movement, breathing and sustainable lifestyle, which is fantastic.
[PS, I am holding the last Breathe to Perform workshop this year, December 8th at Newstrength Gym (Newcastle). This time, we’ll be diving into how we can incorporate breath into our training, for greater results. Hit reply if you’d like to know more.]
