A BIGGER WHY

When I walked in to the boardroom at Bodybuilding.com headquarters I had a flashback to walking into the wrong classroom when I was in Jr. High. If I could have found the nearest hole I would have certainly climbed inside of it- the only thing close was the garbage and I found that to be slightly excessive. Initially, I wasn’t invited to this particular meeting, but last minute was asked to come along making it an exceptionally strange entrance on my part, I even wore a button up shirt, whoah. A team of fitness industry standouts including scientists, doctors and high power executives were assembled to brainstorm new concepts for fitness program retention rates and cutting edge motivational tools. What was discussed was beyond compelling and this meeting of the minds signified a shift in our industry that I believe will change the game forever.

Bodybuilding.com is a big deal. They have hundreds of millions of unique page views to their website every single month. As the largest online retailer of supplements in the world you would imagine that these sorts of meetings would surround profit margins and quarterly financial reports…yawn. Not only were neither of these things discussed, but the hours of conversation between these masters (and believe it or not…me) were all based on how to motivate, inspire and change the lives of those that come to their site looking for answers. Let me repeat that- not one minute was spent talking about money.

One of the hurdles in our industry that was dissected was the fact that in most cases our “why” is not nearly big enough to keep us motivated. Now what this says to me is “If all you’re looking to get out of a program is abs, there’s one distraction that has the potential to derail you” enter- pizza. Hah, ok maybe not for all of us. In all seriousness though, if your goal is simply to get “abs”, it takes self-discipline made out of steel to stay focused on such a shallow reward over a long period of time, what happens when you get “abs” then what?. So, what if we tilted the focus from these image-focused goals and really allowed people to begin to understand what exercise can truly offer them.

Did you know that current clinical studies are pulling data that support the fact that a consistent exercise program offers the same results in patients with anxiety and depression disorders as prescription drugs?

Yeah- now that’s a “why” that’s worth sticking to a program for.

What if this isn’t a struggle you’re facing. Imagine if your entire life began to improve because of the benefits of consistent workouts. Nobody can tell me their life doesn’t contain at least one thing that they feel they’ve lost control of….now imagine if you had the power to wrangle THAT thing in.

So has the fitness industry just missed it from the beginning? “Wellness” by definition is the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind. It sounds like fitness, in some cases, has lost sight of establishing true wellness by focusing solely on a bodily result in hopes that it brings the mind happiness along with it…definitely a short-lived method. Another thing, the imagery the fitness industry puts out is undoubtedly inspiring but when the hopeful participants at the end of their program don’t see striated delts or washboard abs…isn’t it equally as demoralizing? Maybe the fine print beneath the models should read **5 days water deprived, 14 days carb depleted, spray tanned twice plus baby oil and diuretics**. Juuuust sayin’.

I encourage you all to truly analyze your “why” behind the program you have selected. In our Transform Programs (available at www.clutchbodyshop.com) we have done our best to incorporate life principles to establish this type of thinking but drop off numbers are staggering after the second week in all programs no matter what brand created them.

If you have thoughts about how to establish bigger reasons for people to change not their bodies but their lives through proper nutrition and training we would love to hear them. As always if you are looking for programs and products that are backed by a message of true wellness, we always appreciate you sharing our vision. #Clutcharmy #Clutchrevolution 

AMBER DODZWEIT