Dear Fitness Industry,
It’s 2019: We can do better than talking about “turkey burns” and “earning your Thanksgiving dinner.” Those of us in the fitness industry, whether you’re an instructor, the one doing the marketing or the one running the show as an owner, we have the power to change this rhetoric. To be the forces of change.
Instead of preying on our students and filling them with guilt, what if we uplifted our students?
I know… guilt gets people’s asses to class. Oh, the joys of marketing!
I know… people will come into the studio on Thursday talking about all the food they’re going to eat later! And OMG I need to burn off these calories now. But we can do our best to diffuse those conversations, rather than encourage them.
I know… as a fitness instructor, it’s SO much easier to shout out some one-off comment about the pie you’ll eat later. It’s so much easier to talk about burning calories than to say something deep, inspirational and actually uplifting for the soul.
But I dare you to try.
Working is out is about SO MUCH MORE than burning calories. Or losing weight. Let’s remember that even during the holiday season. Let’s remind people that the benefits go WAY beyond aesthetics. For me working out is my place to destress. My “me-time.” Where I recharge. It’s how I deal with my anxiety and stress.
I beg us as an industry to rethink the marketing tactics we use to get people in class. Be it now during the holiday season or when the weather gets warmer.
I beg fellow fitness instructors to choose their words wisely, always, but especially around this time of year. You do not know who in your classroom is recovering from something deeper. We are given this incredible power as the leader in the front of the room. Let’s challenge ourselves to use that power wisely. I won’t pretend I’m perfect and always say the right thing. But I always strive to make my class be a place of good vibes, positivity, and support.
I beg us to stop this bullshit and be better.
To my students and anyone that feels like they are being bombarded with this sick, awful messaging remember: You don’t need to burn off your stuffing. You don’t need to work out so you can have pie. Eat the damn food. Stay hydrated. And enjoy your family time. It’s one fucking day. Enjoy it.
Love,
Kayla
I totally agree with everything you wrote!
It’s so disheartening to go to a class and heat the instructor talking about having to earn the food that we’ll all be eating later. It’s such a pervasive thing in the fitness industry too – people say it without even thinking twice. I hear it all the time in all kinds of classes – from Body Pump to yoga to Zumba to barre.
Like you said, it can be especially tough for those of us who deal with disordered eating. I really hope that it changes soon.
I hope the industry is starting to move in the right direction — I know it’s a slow progress but that’s why I’ll keep shouting about it from my corner of the internet 😂