Misconceptions, Dedication, and Follow Through.

Nothing is worse for an up and coming business person like misconceptions about his or her field of business...Of course I am talking about the fitness industry. Every time I try to sell our concept to a person who is "interested" in fitness, I have to deal with their misconceptions about what "Fitness Training" is and should be.
I understand that there are a lot of ways to become fit. I understand that there are a lot of ways to train. I also understand that different people like different things. However, I do NOT understand peoples beliefs surrounding what fitness training and fitness facilities SHOULD be.
For instance, I was trying to convince some relatives of mine about the benefit of kettlebell training. These two were complaining about their lack of fitness, and body compositions, so I asked them what they did when they went to a local gym. They responded with the norm...Get on the eliptical machine, walk on the treadmill and listen to music while doing it. Not bad but....Not good either! I began to explain that, kettlebell training is a great way to increase strength, and cardiovascular fitness due to it's whole body applications. What did I hear??? "I don't want to bulk up..." And "When I lift weight, I don't slim down, I just get bigger..." The usual. I tried to convince them that the research of late shows that it is nearly impossible for women to "Bulk up" like men do, simply because they do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to build that much muscle. I also explained that muscle growth destroys fat in the body, allowing a change in body composition. To this I got only sarcasm and disbelief. That is fine.
The problem is, America has lost it's understanding of fitness and training facilities. The current standard of fitness involves going to a large gym, with expensive equipment, that produce little or no results. Most people dedicate a half an hour to an hour of training a couple times a week. Still, they see no results. They use hydraulic machines, eliptical machines, walk on the treadmill, stair climber, you name it, they even may lift some weights. Yet they are almost never happy with the results, and they almost always quit the gym and therefore stop their training all together. This causes an expansion effect on the body, which generally leads to health and emotional issues. Later on, they try another gym. Each time paying a lot of money for the memberships. When trying to sway such people with alternate forms of fitness, like the kettlebell, or different types of facilities, ones without mirrors or walking machines and the like, one often faces enormous obstacles with peoples misconceptions around the fitness industry. I use the term industry on purpose, because it is indeed an industry. All the big name gyms count on the scenario written above. They WANT you to spend a lot of money on your fitness, fitness that shows little or no results, how do you think they pay for that treadmill you are walking on? How about the nice shiny new mirrors and hydraulic "strength training" equipment? Prices....Well, they may be cheap...at first, however, the big gyms know you won't stick around too long, and you will most likely use it less an less as the weeks and months go by. Essentially, they provide no stimulating exercises, no effective results are seen, so they EXPECT that you will only go once and a while, that you will find other things to do OTHER than go to the gym, that you will make excuses for not training or getting the results you want, the whole time paying your membership.
About the problem with facilities. As a new business man, I am having to train people out of a basement. I cannot afford a huge rent. I do not want or need mirrors. I do not want people walking in my fitness system. I want them to train hard, and see results. I want them to succeed, and I want them to pay me to help them. However, the issue is my place just as much as it is my training. I am not offering what people expect in a facility. I am not offering what Americans think of as REAL fitness training. I train people old school, kettlebells, heavy iron, tires, you name it. This is not what people think of when they want training. So what happens to my business? It suffers. Of course, I only want people who want to train hard, without complaint, and people who don't care what their surroundings look like, only that their training is good and challenging. My biggest complaint is, when people act "interested" and I tell them what we do....They stop listening, simply because of their misconceptions.

Dedication.....That is a word that most people understand, but a rare few actually have. As I stated above, Americans in the fitness world have little or no dedication to their own training. Millions of people go to gyms trying to better themselves, to be healthier. What they lack, is dedication. America is of the mindset that if you want something to happen, it must happen now...When you want it too. I call this a culture of instant gratification. Our lives, our food, our technology, our jobs run on instant gratification. Who has time....Right? Who has the time to cook? To clean? To write a letter to a friend? Who has time to call someone, when you can text message them? Why have personal interactions? It is ALL about getting what you want, without working for it. Why? Because hard work is well.....HARD! People who enter into fitness, are looking for the same thing. They want results now, without the hassle of having to work for it. If they have to work for it, they want to do something that is easy. Why else would they make stationary bikes that recline? Or even ab machines that come equipped with a built in chair? Why should I lay on the floor and do sit ups or crunches, when I could sit in a padded chair and do the same thing? Don't get me started on the AB-Lounger!!!!!!!!!!
My point is, there is no dedication to hard work in fitness training anymore. People look at the barbell and heavy weights as a hassle, it's too hard to do. Unfortunately that is the point. People enter into fitness facilities and step on to the stair stepper, or their favorite stationary bike, they plug in their headphones, turn the volume up, and watch the t.v. hanging on the wall. If that is supposed to be a workout....Then I am truly confused. Once these stair stepping, music listening, t.v. watching fitness buffs find out they are NOT getting any better, then they quit. It's not working so why do it. "I tried it twice and so far, I still haven't lost any weight" Ever hear that? I do all the time. No dedication...No results.

Follow Through. This ties in with dedication. I had a bunch of high school athletes interested in joining my gym. I told them that they needed to fill out a release, have the money ready up front, and send me an email back by the end of the week to let me know they were coming. I got two emails out of four. The two I DID get were of the "I'm still interested but....", variety. Essentially this breaks down to the problem being a lack of follow through. If you cannot do a few simple things to get yourself set up in a gym, so that you can train hard, then how hare are you REALLY going to train? If you cannot tell someone you are or aren't going to show up, how are you supposed to do any kind of workout. You may start your workout, then say "well, I showed up, that ought to be enough." That is a lack of follow through. Say your personal trainer tells you to do 2 sets of 10 reps and then walks away. As he or she walks away, you make a great show of the first 10 reps, but then decide that maybe, you don't want to do another set of 10, no one is around to make you, so why not go get a protein shake and chat with the people at the juice bar? Sounds like a lack of follow through to me!

The bottom line is that, for a lot of fitness professionals, the ones who are really trying to give people the best fitness programs out there, their clientele is not as dedicated to their own fitness as the fitness professionals are. People want deals, don't show up to their scheduled workouts, neglect to pay, and whine that things are too hard. People want their fitness ready made, in attractive packaging, and without having to work for it. Essentially, they want to pay money for a new, fit, person, without having to lift a finger. They think that the new ideas of using OLD fitness and strength training methods, are wrong, that it couldn't possibly work, and that it looks too hard or hurts too much to bother with. They want to use the kettlebell for swings but not for presses because it hurts their wrists. Really...Ok...

If you are a person who thinks all of the modern day fitness beliefs are nothing but a load of bull-shit....Then you need to get in touch with us. If you are tired of being warned that you are grunting too loud during your workout, then check us out.
Who are we....We are the Wicked Iron Underground.

Of course, you probably already knew that!