Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your personal trainer in Amarillo. Are you throwing away your money on stuff you just don’t use? Nobody wants to do that. We work really hard to earn what we do, so why are millions of Americans turning out their pockets without much in return? Money waste applies to lots of endeavors, but I’m specifically talking fitness materials today. This blog will take a look to see if you are doing the same. If you have questions about today’s blog or would like to find a way to get more for your fitness buck, then give us a call: 806-322-3188
People will blow a lot of money when it comes to fitness related items. Books, gym memberships, gym equipment, yoga pants, and more. People buy it because it looks enticing. Late night infomercials brag that this “all-in-one machine can do it all for you!” or maybe a friend convinced them that it is “the holy grail of equipment”. Swaying to spend is pretty easy because the brain sees it and thinks, “hey! That’s it! That’s the answer to all my fitness goals!” It sounds absurd written in such absolute terms, but consider how often your brain convinces you to buy something you shouldn’t. What’s the argument it uses?
One time I had a woman who said if she just bought the right water bottle, she would drink more. Obviously, the issue was a mental aversion rather than a lack of a product, but I can now report that with some mild behavior changes and the same water bottle, she now stays hydrated regularly.
Here’s another one for you. Do you know anybody who is a member of a gym but never uses it? Maybe they are the person who has multiple gym key tags, but actually getting them in there is next to impossible. These people are throwing their money away. Those gym memberships are expensive! (I.e. $10 – $75 /month!) Could you imagine just lighting $75.00 on fire for no reason at all? Essentially that’s the same as what they are doing by paying for something and not getting anything in return.
When people choose to purchase something fitness related, it is often an off-the-cuff decision. They may have gotten excited about the possibility of a new body or a new routine. Then, without much time to think, they sign the contract and hand over the credit card. Instant gratification. Instead, if they were to take two to the three days to mull the purchase over before actually buying anything, they would more than likely convince themselves they don’t need it. That’s exactly what people are afraid of. They think they will talk themselves out of this sudden motivation.
Let’s set the record straight here. To foster motivation for a new habit, such as becoming healthier, you need to have all the pieces of a puzzle in place. Those pieces include things like accountability, nutrition, comprehensive exercise program, lifestyle and habit modification, and more. Buying one piece of equipment is only a small (not even entire) piece of the puzzle. Buying X will lead you to buying Y will lead you to buying Z, and even then your puzzle is lacking.
I suggest that rather than seeing your latest fitness endeavor as something you need to really “get on the ball”, consider it an investment. Invest in yourself by buying the things that will give you comprehensive results with the least amount of things possible. For example, if you were to purchase a PDF fitness manual, how long before it starts to rot away in your Cloud Account? I would venture to guess pretty quickly. That’s because it only offers a minute portion of the puzzle and it doesn’t offer accountability or support.
Many clients seek our personal trainers in Amarillo because they know what they need to do, but they just don’t have the discipline to go through with it everyday. Having a regularly scheduled appointment with someone gives a person more incentive to show up than if they were to just find the time to do it alone. As trainers, 80% of our job is providing accountability and support. The other 20% is that we watch for form, technique, ensuring a program is effective and efficient, and that the client is being consistent. Our jobs are something that someone can do, but a book or a gym membership cannot.
Big box gyms are kind of perfunctory corporations. They typically oversell their gym memberships to allow for the margin of people who sign up and never show up. They are banking on people who won’t take advantage of the membership. The bright-eyed clients sign the contract, set up an auto-draft, subsequently forget about the autodraft, and laziness ensues and they never go. These gyms are taking your money every month without giving you anything in return. You’ve essentially rented a bunch of machines you have very rarely, if ever, used. Many people don’t even know how to use the machines in combination for maximum results. The gym offers equipment, but no education. Books provide education without the equipment. Neither provide accountability.
When you are ready for real results and you are ready for a real change, be picky about what you choose as your instrument to your health goals. Our clients at Custom Fitness receive a customized exercise program to meet their needs, nutrition plans that fit into their and their families lives, and lifestyle modification that meets them where they are at. We also provide a full team of trainers that nicely check in with our clients regularly to make sure they are still on track and getting the things they feel they need.
The end of the year is closing in and that’s when people start joining gyms left and right and buying fitness equipment from the infomercial. Before you jump on that bandwagon, consider if you’ll be getting the full solution (exercise, nutrition, support, accountability and lifestyle modification) when you buy that new shiny piece of equipment. Is it a fleeting want or an actual solution?
If you would like to talk to our team more about finding the comprehensive solution that is customized to your life, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or info@customfitness.biz. At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainer in Amarillo. Spend less, do more. Have a great day everybody!