Here’s a question: how does your life compare to that of a fitness influencer?
Do you get to spend the entire day working out, shopping for healthy food, preparing photogenic meals in the sunshine, then sharing it all on Instagram?
Or do you live in the real world; busy with work, family, chores, and the rest of the things us regular folk do?
While fitness influencers never hide their six pack, they often hide a lot of other things, which can impact your progress. The sad truth is that the fitness industry is failing you—and in this article we reveal how.
This is how the fitness industry fails you
#1 – Workouts are not designed for you
Following a fitness influencer may give you some inspiration but following their workout plans may not give you the results you desire. Why? Because their workouts are designed for someone like them, not you.
The truth is that a ripped 23-year-old fitness influencer doesn’t know what life looks like for a 38-year-old mum of two.
They don’t know that you only have a short window in which to work out. This is why trying to complete an hour-long workout every day just isn’t feasible for most people.
#2 – The truth is hidden
The fitness industry is full of good-looking people with ultra-low body fat and curves in all the right places. Unfortunately, these images are built on a foundation of lies.
Many influencers are using some form of performance-enhancing drug to achieve unrealistic body compositions, while pretty much all of them are using photoshop in one way or another.
With these images, they set incredibly high standards that regular people find both demotivating and unreachable. Instead of feeling inspired, we simply feel depressed and are less likely to bother with our own workouts.
#3 – Supplements are sold as magic
Sport supplements certainly have their benefits, but the fitness industry often sells them as a miracle cure to a bad lifestyle.
No mass-gainer shake is going to give you muscle if you don’t train properly. No fat-loss supplement is going to ‘torch belly fat’ if you are still eating in a caloric surplus.
Fundamentally, you will achieve the body you want by following a realistic workout plan and eating sensibly. Some supplements may help you with aspects of this, but many are unlikely to deliver the results the advertisers promise.
#4 – Your mindset is ignored
The fitness industry is largely built by people who have grown up in the world of sport, fitness, and health.
However, most of us grew up in a time when exercise was not a focus. Now we are adults, our mindset is not geared to living and breathing the fitness lifestyle.
The industry doesn’t understand this. This explains why results are often poor when people who have always been in shape design a workout program for someone who is approaching exercise as a beginner.
#5 – Unnecessary complexity is added
Another way the fitness industry fails you is by adding complexity to relatively simple things.
By keeping some things shrouded in mystery, the fitness industry can convince you that you need personal trainers, complicated workout plans, and crazy exercises to achieve your goals.
Ultimately, to lose weight and become fit, you just need to move more often, eat less food, and perform short workouts that hit your muscles effectively.
What is the solution?
Aside from deleting Instagram, the remedy to the failures of the fitness industry is to employ fundamentals such as sensible eating habits and more movement, while following a short and structured program like 8 Minute Abs.
At 8 Minute Abs, we aren’t selling crazy workouts or miracle cures. We don’t hide that you need to perform workouts often enough to see results—that is simply how the body works.
However, these workouts don’t need to be long. If you can commit just 8 minutes a day (that’s less than 1% of 24 hours), then you will be able to make noticeable changes—and that’s a promise we can keep.
The fitness industry may be built on lies, but if you keep your eyes open you can bypass the confusion and get the results you seek.
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