💪SS 45 Finding Hope in a Broken Fitness Industry

1. The fitness industry is broken, but there’s still hope – Jonathan Goodman

"Nobody could have predicted how it would happen.

Nobody saw the coronavirus pandemic shutting down the gyms and throwing tens of thousands of fitness professionals out of work.

But everybody knew something was wrong."

This article is the first I've written in a very long time. It’s a story about hope and a broken industry. It's harsh. It was cathartic. And it had to be said.

Check it out here:

--> The Fitness Industry Is Broken — A Story About Hope

2. We’re all strong, and we’re all vulnerable – Avigayil Basser

Avigayil is lead customer support specialist for the PTDC.

I started working when I was 10, and I’ve been financially self-sufficient since 18.

Scraping by was normal for most of my life. If I wanted to get somewhere, I walked or rode a bike. Taking a bus was a luxury. Even when I started making a decent income, I refused to spend money on frivolous things like handbags or vacations.

I thought all that meticulous planning and self-discipline would make everything okay. A lot of you probably felt the same way. Your exercise, your diet, your healthy habits—if those don’t protect you, what will?

The answer is nothing. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we don’t have the final vote. The coronavirus doesn’t care how strong you are, or how much money you have saved, or how many hours you slept last night.

Something else—fate, G-d, the universe, pure dumb luck, or whatever you want to call it—will have its way, whether you like it or not.

Once you strip away the illusion that we’re in complete control of the ultimate outcome, what’s left is our ability to choose love and joy moment by moment.

Be humble, and stay safe.

3. Stay active in confinement

The fitness industry exists, in part, to combat sedentary behavior—in our clients as well as the public at large.

Now there’s a new front in the battle against inactivity, writes Leigh Peele on her website. We’ve met the enemy, and it’s us.

"Don’t feel bad about yourself" if you struggle to stay active during these extraordinary times, Peele writes. "Social distancing could lead to an increase in depression, apathy, or loneliness."

Even if you’re motivated to train at home, "you may miss the energy of the gym," making a simple workout feel like it takes an outsized effort.

Peele, a writer and musician as well as an online coach, has a lot of experience finding ways to get herself and her clients to move more. Her advice:

1. Set daily step goals

Make it specific but also realistic. "It’s better to hit a moderate amount of steps than to be overwhelmed by an unrealistic daily goal," she suggests.

2. Set new training goals

Even if you could work on advanced strength or physique goals from home, it’s probably not a great idea to compound the stress we all live with right now. Pick something else, something simple, like increasing endurance or rehabbing that injury you’ve been training around.

3. Clean

Clear out your closets. Organize and dust your bookshelves. Or build new ones. "This is the time to tackle projects" you’ve been avoiding, Peele says.

4. Use follow-along workouts

You’re probably spending a lot of time writing new programs for your clients, taking into account each person’s space and equipment limitations.

Don’t feel pressured to write your own workouts. Unlike medical equipment, there’s no shortage of free training programs. Just about every trainer you know has posted one in the past few weeks.

Pick one and take it for a test drive.

5. Get out!

The air outside will never be cleaner or feel better than it does right now. Enjoy it responsibly.

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