P90X. Insanity. Crossfit. Bootcamp. Tough Mudder. Spartan Race. Warrior Dash. Civilian Military Combine. These are just the fitness trends I could think of off the top of my head. I’m sure if I did a Google search I could find hundreds, if not thousands, more fitness brands with names that evoke images of fighting to the death or trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world.
Which leads me to the question: when did fitness become a kill or be killed proposition? I’ve been working in health/fitness for almost 11 years since graduating from college. I’ve been exclusively personal training for going on 8 years and I don’t know the answer to the above question.
To be clear, I’m not saying people shouldn’t participate in the above activities. If you enjoy training for and competing in Tough Mudders then more power to you.
The point I’m trying to make is that for every crossfitter, bootcamper, or warrior dasher there is a person out there who just wants to go to the gym for the health/fitness benefits and not be screamed at and pushed to what he/she feels is the brink of death.
If the above sentence is true, then a problem arises when P90X and Insanity (in what other arena is “insanity” something to strive for?) are the first things that come to mind when thinking about fitness brands. The problem is that the “health/fitness benefit” people get turned off and/or intimidated.
As fitness professionals, aren't we supposed to be trying to get as many people working out as possible? The current state of fitness seems to be driving just as many people away as it’s inviting in. This doesn’t make sense.
Again I’m not knocking high intensity competitive workouts. If you have clients who want to do them; great. Design safe effective programs and go to town. Also I’m not saying we need to be designing workouts where crocodile breathing and toe touches make up 90%. I am saying that there are people that fall in the middle of those two extremes and we need to do a better job of inviting everyone into the mix.
So how do you know who’s who? First, listen to your client. If he/she walks in telling you about how they always beat their siblings in HORSE, they might a good candidate for some AMRAP sets. If during your first meeting the client is detailing their experience as captain of the AV squad and they can’t name any of the local professional sports teams then you might want to keep that WOD in your back pocket for the time being.
Next watch your client during that first session. If between sets your client is picking up different pieces of equipment and randomly trying new exercises, then they may need/want the structure of timed sets or a giant set with like 5 exercises included. On the other hand, if your client is uncomfortable being in the middle of the gym floor or if you need to coerce your client into doing the next set, you probably want to stay away from setting up a large blinking timer that beeps loudly when it hits zero.
In conclusion, as fitness professionals it’s up to us to remember that not every client is vying to be on ESPN2 during a broadcast of the Crossfit Games. Not every one wants to be dubbed the “fittest man/woman in the world”. And that’s OK. The more laid back clients deserve just as much respect and attention as the Tough Mudders and Spartan Racers.
