November 2009. Vol. 1, Issue 7
Strange Paradoxes, Old Paradigms:
An In-Depth Look at Kansas City’s Fitness Industry.
Aaron Lerner, NASM - Performance Specialist
Is the fitness industry in Kansas City in very good shape? This is a serious question; one that requires close examination. From the perspective of a local industry-insider, who takes pride in being a realist, I certainly would not use words such as “fit,” “healthy,” or “well” to describe the majority of people who are contributing to our demographical state of obesity, disease and addiction.
We are definitely fat; that’s been confirmed by every periodical to have come out with a “Fattest Cities in America” list in the last 20 years.
Independence, birthplace of President Harry Truman, is now better recognized as the “Meth Capital of the World.”
And when people--now days--refer to KC as a Cowtown, I doubt they are referring as much to the old cattle stockyards that once occupied the West Bottoms, as they are the current cow-people that take up most of Johnson and/or Jackson counties.
Why is this? How did this happen? And what (if anything) does this have to say about our local health, fitness and/or wellness professionals?
I don’t know, but it’s time to investigate. Consider the following facts:
The industry of health, wellness and fitness in this country is exploding at a rate that rivals the speed at which peoples’ collective health continues to decline. Nevertheless, in an industry that benefits directly from concerns regarding the health of our nation, we, as professionals must take a long look in the mirror and ask the tough question: “Are we-- fitness/health/wellness practitioners--even equipped to deal with the problems facing society? And if so, why aren’t things better?”
If one were to really probe these unquestioned assumptions and vested interests that lie behind the consumer leisure market’s framing of physical fitness, and how fitness—and health education—are made more or less available to different groups, they might find that this isn’t as simple as a “yes” or “no” issue.
Take, for example, the structure and political economy of the commercial fitness industry, the content of various forms of media, and the roles and experiences of fitness service providers and consumers. The commercial fitness industry benefits from the scientific legitimacy and political urgency bestowed upon population health issues such as inactivity and obesity. Nevertheless, we seem ill-equipped to address these issues, and I believe the reasons that account for this can be traced back to the following three key factors:
First is social class. This is, without a doubt, the most detrimental factor that stratifies obesity and inactivity, and the fitness industry’s structure reinforces this existing, unequal distribution of health.
Is this really in accordance with what we claim to stand for?
In the United States, half of commercial industry health-club members are in the top 20 percent of income earners. The club industry’s vertical stratification means that, at the top end of the market, high income earners can afford “excellent” services, and an “enlightened” approach to fitness—based on our standards and definitions. Mind you, excellent and enlightened are relative terms.
At the bottom end of the market, middle and lower-income earners can afford fewer and “lower” quality services, and a “factory” approach to fitness.
And at the very bottom, where health epidemics are the worst, and individuals are most likely to be inactive and obese, these people are excluded from the market altogether.
Again, are we contributing to this problem, or finding a solution?
Second, health clubs, fitness magazines, exercise instructors and personal trainers generally frame fitness as an individual leisure activity—something that is done during leisure time, using leisure products, sites and services, paid for out of one’s discretionary income. Attention is thus diverted away--and financially decentivized for trainers--from such alternatives as the collective provision of fitness and recreation opportunities, and ways in which physical exercise can be reintroduced as an integral part of everyday life, rather than yet another activity to be squeezed into an already shrinking supply of “free time.”
The fitness industry perpetuates the idea that health is an individual matter. It is not; inactivity and obesity are collective, not individual problems, and therefore require collective solutions, which is the essence of my agenda.
Finally, fitness consumers are educated in a limited, instrumentalist view of what the body and physical activity are for. In an image-driven consumer culture and service economy, appearance is typically privileged over substance; fitness is more often equated with “looking” healthy, rather than “being” healthy. The emphasis in the fitness field tends to be on exercise as a means to some other end: a slimmer, more attractive, healthier body. While such extrinsic benefits may create a seductive marketing appeal, they detract from what I see as a more important purpose.
It is my intention, therefore, to lead the charge of change in this matter, in a way that provides results, yet includes a wider demographic of people, while still improving the financial “bottom-line” for both trainer (aka: me) and theclient, whose value would result in the form longevity and good health, as opposed to how much money they have in their pockets to spend on what their health club deems to be "excellent" education and training.
As for the mega health clubs, let them continue to do what they do best: [insert use of imagination here, and picture lots of $ signs]. That is certainly not meant to vilify or bastardize these clubs, or the owners, for simply wanting what every other business wants, which is to improve their bottom line. However, a major separation has started to take place, and I highly recommend to consumers that they become more aware of this than ever before.
In my search to find Kansas City’s “best of the best of the best,” it must become all of our duties to help educate the people to take a more sustainable approach to fitness. What has not been promoted or conveyed by the mega-clubs are the pleasures of exercise and fitness as ends in themselves.
No longer should we perpetuate what has gotten us to exactly where we are.
I contend that we, the true fitness professionals of Kansas City, pave the way in revolutionizing the KC fitness landscape in a way that is unique, exciting, effective, lucrative and accessible.
It is for this reason that I am asking, welcoming, encouraging and wanting recommendations, referrals and suggestions from anyone who gives a damn about improving our collective, present (piss-poor) state of health.
Whether you’re the professional who believes you have something to offer this campaign, or a consumer who wants their coach or practitioner to be recognized, it’s time to reveal Kansas City’s best, and what we have to offer!
Please submit any comments, suggestions, or recommendations to me at KC’s newest, best and most-complete resource for quality fitness news: www.TrainSmartKC.com.
I look forward to hearing from YOU.
