We’ve completely bastardized the way we do fitness.
Like everything else we put a box around it. Crammed it into the scope of our strictly regulated lives. Just another item on the to-do list. One more thing between us and bedtime’s sweet embrace.
And what has that given us?
Heart disease as our leading cause of death. A 42% obesity rate. Higher medical costs than any other time in history. Decreased testosterone levels in men.
Fitness isn’t a lifestyle like so many influencers and celebrities would have you believe. Not for most of us at least.
It’s a chore.
We have to deal with crowded gyms. Stuffed classes. Clogged locker rooms. Busy sidewalks. Cramped roadways. There’s nowhere to park. No room in the pool. No time to settle in before bolting to the next item on the list.
But that’s all about to change. In fact, it’s changing before our very eyes.
How the pandemic upset the apple cart
The pandemic came in like a wrecking ball.
Everything was turned on its head. From the way we worked, played and socialized, human behavior hasn’t seen such a dramatic shift in such a short time possibly ever.
The fitness industry was no exception. Gyms closed. Studios canceled classes. What were once congested environments suddenly became ghost towns.
With these institutions now closed to us, fitness took on new meaning. We bought Pelotons and treadmills and adjustable dumbbells for our basements. We subscribed to home workout classes. We started taking long walks in the great outdoors. We needed to adapt, and so we did.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
But now the world is open again. And the titans of the fitness industry are begging us to “return to normalcy.” To accept bloated monthly dues and crowded classes and parking lots from hell.
But we’re not having it. We’ve gotten a glimpse of something better. We’ve seen the future.
The future of fitness is…
Freedom.
No more opening and closing times. No more long commutes. No more waiting in line for equipment. No more high-pressure sales tactics from personal trainers. Fitness is now on our schedule. On our time. In whatever environment we choose, wherever we choose.
We’re able to live lives like our favorite influencers and celebrities. Fitness can be the center of our lifestyle, if we choose, or it can exist on the periphery. The point is, we get to decide!
Fitness 2.0 is here to stay. Just like work. Just like play. Where we, the consumer, the faithful worker, the dedicated gym-goer, have more autonomy than ever. And autonomy is power. Power that scares the crap out of the traditional powers-that-be.
Use this power. Wield it mightily. Don’t accept the status quo because you think you have to. You don’t, not anymore. Traditional fitness (and life for that matter) is dead.
Fitness is what you make of it, now more than ever. So make the most of it.
