December and January are the busiest months for the fitness industry as people approach the New Year with high hopes to find that magical program or home fitness equipment to turn their life around.
What makes you susceptible to false advertising?
Insecurities
Insecurities with how you look often propel people to impulsively buy a program that we may not be ready for physically or mentally. Watch out for programs that promise results is 30 days. Remember pictures can be deceiving. Try it sometime on yourself in front of a mirror. Try standing with a slouched posture take a picture and then try standing more upright with your core engaged and take a picture. What's the difference? Have you lost weight or is your body position different?
Fears
Often health scares propel us to take action, which is great in theory when change is needed. However, please remember that in the advertising world, sales people prey on this and try to sell you a program that may not be best suited to you at this time in your life.
Discontentment
The fitness industry loves to remind us of all those people out there who are skinnier, stronger, firmer, happier, more successful then us, then provide us with a program to get us to be just like those people. Please remember that you are an individual with different needs and a different health history. A generic program may or may not help you.
Guilt/Shame
Do you ever feel guilty for not completing past programs and telling yourself if only I could find the right program? How about if you could find the best treadmill or elliptical trainer, then I would start working out more?
Hopes/Dreams
These can be great motivators under the right set of circumstances. Be careful with advertising, often dreams of that perfect body is being oversold to consumers.
How do you protect yourself from false advertising and save yourself money in the process?
Consider the following before making a "big" investment in purchasing an online fitness program, personal training, gym membership or a $1000 treadmill.
1. Are you ready to change? Here is a simple way to test how serious you are about making healthy choices. Choose one and only one healthy habit that you currently know would help you, for example increasing your daily water intake or vegetable intake or try going for a daily walk even if it is for 5 minutes a day. Incorporate this one healthy habit into your lifestyle and maintain it for one month. Adding a healthy choice instead of taking something away is a good place to start. Once you have been successful and feel the success of adding a healthy habit into your life it will empower you to make more healthy choices.
2. Do you have the knowledge to know where to start? Often people put the cart before the horse so to speak. If I buy these free weights then I will use them at home. It doesn't work that way, how many people do you know who buy home equipment that ends up sitting in their house to collect dust? Please don't go to a fitness store to buy equipment before having a fitness plan/program.
3. Can you put a price on your health? You should. Set aside a budget this year to invest in health. Often people make the mistake of overstretching their bank account for the latest fitness fad. Remember fads fade over time. The majority of generic programs can work for short period of time, but are they sustainable ? Generalized programming can actually cause injury and set you back months from your exercise goals. Often unsuccessful programs leave you feeling bad about yourself and feeling guilty for wasting that money. It can be difficult to recover from that past disappointment, leading to more unhealthy habits and inactivity.
Who should I ask for help? Where should I invest my time and money if my New Year goal is to get more active this year?
In Regulated Health Professionals who have Professional Standards to uphold and years of education; who have a duty to put their clients needs first and are accountable to a College.
What can you expect when working with a Registered Kinesiologists?
You can expect to receive safe and ethical care.
Align Family Health & Fitness is located in London, Ontario.
We provide in-person assessments and private training sessions.
To learn more about Kinesiology and each Kinesiologists located at our London Studio, please click below: