Hole: An Introduction To The Fitness Industry

There is an old story that goes around, about a lady attending some kind of self-help seminar. In it, participants were asked to write about their life, summarizing a decade into a chapter. Hers went something like: “Chapter one: I woke up and walked outside. I turned and walked left and fell into a hole in the road. Chapter two: I woke up and walked outside. I turned and walked left and saw a familiar hole, and then I fell into it. Chapter three: I woke up and walked outside. I turned left and saw a hole, I jumped over and then fell back into it.”

I can’t help but think of this story when I view the fitness industry. Specifically, my place in it. I have fallen into many of the same traps, even after recognizing them as such. One trap is that of daily training practice, specifically group training or undefined personal training. The average citizen who chooses to practice fitness (which is not average at all), inevitably stagnates. They pile into classes and training groups all around the world, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning or even late at night in order to improve themselves. And although they may be congratulated for their effort and perseverance, the limitations associated with this aspect of the industry can lead to a cycle of complacency, minimal improvement, frustrated coaches, and a perpetuated cycle of co-dependency.

I’ve been in and out of practices like these and variations of them for the last 20 years, as both participant/practitioner and coach. I’ve owned gyms, worked for other gyms, and guest-instructed and trained at some of the best gyms in the world. I have had both inspiring and terrible experiences, and when I summarize them: I turned left and saw a hole…

My friend, Kegan once said that he wanted to start a gym. I laughed and described it as an unavoidable, life-sized trap.

"You cement yourself into the prison of leading 3-5 classes a day for 30-50 co-dependent and complacent people about whom you’ll care just enough to be unable to ditch them when, after the initial six months, the majority cease to progress."

He nodded along and said he wanted to try anyway, and because we already had the space and equipment in place, we opened that up for him. He tried but broke right around the six-month mark. Others might infer, as I did at the time, that he was a quitter. But he wasn’t just a “quitter,” he was standing in a hole and could no longer blind himself to the fact that he was stuck — trapped.

I took over because I am not a quitter and I’m dumb enough to believe I can do something that hasn’t been done. I tried to take what I knew about daily practice and change the inevitability of the established outcome. I structured sessions and progressions in creative ways. I steered clear of stale, group programs that are written in advance. I claimed to only teach from consistently evolving ideas, and only accept clients that were willing to experiment and applied attention as their most sacred tool. We charged more than average to keep the groups small and the trust high. And even after all of that, I found myself standing in a hole, frustrated, drained, and laughing because some lessons are only learned when repeated..

I can’t put my finger on exactly what doesn’t work in these situations. Seemingly motivated clients and gregarious, enthusiastic coaches practice together in tailored environments, build trusting relationships, and yet, sustainable growth is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps perpetual anything, without maintenance, recession, and trimming, acts like cancer, and so we are all doomed to repeat this pattern. But I don’t want my work to trap me between commerce and complacency. I don’t believe I have to forever repeat bad patterns.

Thankfully, we do not depend on daily, in-house training for income but we do need such exposure to learn (and evolve) the lessons of making people better. I believe we must take inventory, adjust our methods, and try something new. We can only refine our practice by applying it to others, and in doing so we change ourselves. However, if frustration is not addressed it leads to self-destruction and we have blown up those bridges before, cutting off access to relationships, lessons and progress. Recognizing and accommodating the traps and frustration may fuel a shift of consciousness and circumstances, and the outcome of that might be a lesson deeply learned, that becomes a beacon for others.

Following will be a series of essays, an introspective view into the world of fitness, and our attempt to change it. We are trying something radical and different in hopes to change a narrow and limited practice. We will share our experience, but I will not be surprised if, in the end, I’m merely looking up from a different hole that we fell back into.