The Failure of the Fitness Industry: Bored Coaches, €200 Memberships, and the Lost Art of Community
“Hiya Dave,
It's been a while since Wild Geese times. How have you been?
Been using the Train Heroic app for bells workouts, and I'm still loving it. That said, I've been missing group training. I wasn't ready to see other gyms for a while but finally bit the bullet and joined a no-frills gym around the corner from me. They offer 30 minute lunchtime group classes, circuits, HIIT, barbells and it works for me because I can fit it into my lunch break. It's not Wild Geese (and it never will be😭) but it's grand.
I have a question. The coaches there are mostly grand, except one who seems very bored, doesn't correct crappy technique, or feels like demonstrating the different exercises is necessary. They all seem to prefer static stretches but I remember you not being a big fan of that, and I'd rather follow your lead on that one. My question is: how can I still do what I think worked better without coming across as a know-it-all? I don't want the coaches to hate me and then I need to find a new gym 😄 Likewise, they don't really encourage heavy weights, e.g. for kettlebell swings where the heaviest weight is a 12kg bell, but they don't fight me if I ask to use a heavier bell.
In one of your podcasts you discussed whether the fitness industry has failed. I liked your thoughts on nutrition vs exercise, which is something that you sometimes talked about in WG, and I think you're right. Can't outrun a doughnut, wasn't that a book?
Yet, today I was looking for liquid chalk and I live close to D8 Fitness. It's closed down and was replaced by a boutique gym where they offer private training and small group training. I liked the look of that until the coach named the price: between €160-€200 per month. I understand that if you specialise in smaller classes, you need to up the prices to be profitable. So, the alternative for not so wealthy folks is either to join a public gym like the one I am now going to, or one of the ubiquitous Flyfits which are very cheap but if you don't know what you're doing, you might do a lot of damage. I've always found WG prices fair, even as a starving student but there are few and far gyms between that offer the WG model at an affordable price. So... I think to some extent, the fitness industry fails poorer people. Any time I do a workout, be it at home by myself or in group class, I remember your instructions. That's invaluable, but shouldn't cost an arm, a kidney and your firstborn... Maybe you disagree!
Thank you for continuing the Train Heroic workouts and the podcast. It's a sliver of Wild Geese away from Wild Geese. I hope you're doing really well!
Mel"
Since Mel sent me that email, we have been chatting over email, but as there’s a lot to unpack in this, I think it’s worth a newsletter.
1 - Bored coach
I hate hearing this, but it’s a thing.
Like all jobs there are some people who are only there to collect a paycheck.
Which is a shame, because while fitness falls under the leisure category, it is kind of a luxury to go to a gym, the staff have the potential to genuinely change someone's life.
I have experienced this first hand how with proper coaching, not rep counting, not crushing people with workouts, but helping them realise their potential changes folks, physically and mentally.
It’s an absolute honour to be part of a person's journey, and I think any instructor who doesn’t see it that way should maybe consider a career change, and sooner rather than later.
2 - No heavy Kettlebells
Unfortunately this is the norm in most group fitness.
Most, not all.
So to run a group of mixed ability and allow them to use heavy loads is skilled work.
You have to have eyes and ears on every person at almost every moment that they’re in the room.
Ask any of my old crew and they will tell you how no one got away with anything when I coached.
I always had peripheral vision scanning, I stood in places that gave me the best view, I used the mirrors to broaden my field of view.
And I studied everyone to figure out what was and wasn’t safe for them.
Not only that, I created assistants.
My experienced crew would keep an eye on newer members even though I rarely asked them to.
No one was ever a stranger in Wild Geese, not for long anyway, which is why we had not only a strong community, but an incredible safety record.
Which meant we could let people go heavier, trust was given and responsibility was given to the individuals under guidance and watched by me and roomful of people who gave a shit.
3 - Being a Smart Arse and Stretching
Anyone under my coaching is encouraged to ask questions and challenge anything they are told.
Unfortunately, that means there are a load of people out there that are now a pain in the arse to other fitness instructors!
And I can’t pretend I don’t enjoy that thought!
So ask questions, if there’s something you want to know ask. But ask curiously, with a genuine desire for the answer, do your best not to be condescending.
And if you are going to do something other than what the instructor is saying, then be ready to explain why.
I wish simply saying “because Dave says” would be enough, but sometimes you may have to learn a bit so when you are asked you can say in simple terms what and why you’re doing it.
Static stretching absolutely has its place, even if it’s not a method I taught very often, I prefer more dynamic and movement based mobility, but I think that’s a topic for next week's newsletter
4 - The Failure of the Fitness Industry
The two points above point out where the wider fitness industry may be failing.
FlyFit got a mention in Mel's email and it’s one of many chains that pay their staff a pittance and leave clients to their own devices.
Gyms of old used to be communities.
Some still are, the good ones.
Many aren’t.
And while I do wear headphones when I train, it’s because I listen to loud music with parental advisory lyrics, not because I don’t want to talk to anyone.
One day a week I train in the local Hurling teams gym, headphones on. But I always greet people when they come in, we talk between sets,
I offer to spot, I’ll enquire when I see exercises I’m not familiar with or give advice when appropriate.
It’s friendly and a community.
And that is what all gyms ought to be, it’s how they used to be back in the day (although back then there was no bluetooth, so headphones were a bit less common)
Bring back the community feel run by instructors who give a shit, and the feeling of failing the public will diminish.
5 - High Price Gyms & accessibility
WG-Fit was always reasonably priced, not the cheapest, but for the quality of coaching, massively under priced.
But, I made a living from it.
It was fair.
To this day I still under charge, according to the business folks.
The thing is, it takes money to run a training facility and there is just no way around that.
The building rent, electricity, rates, insurance, maintenance, buying equipment and paying the staff are all costs.
That cost then is divided up by the ideal number of clients, and that is the price of the membership.
Big chains famously over subscribe themselves in the hope that people won't turn up and forget to cancel their payments, that's why they're cheap.
But for a coach to put time and effort into coaching, to go on courses and upskill themselves, that takes cash.
And yes, some gyms take the absolute piss.
There are morons out there coaching and charging 150-200 quid a month.
And when their clients got hurt, they knocked on my door to get healthy again.
I do charge a reasonable price for my online services these days, but then I have 20 years experience, I could actually charge a lot more.
But I value accessibility.
There are, on my books right now, a number of people who I am helping at Zero cost.
Not a penny.
This is because they need help and they can’t afford me.
But something an old client once said in Wild Geese when I was cornered by one of my athletes who I was refusing to charge. Kim heard the conversation, strolled over and casually stated “He charges me more so he can charge you less”
And that has lived in my head ever since.
So yes, gyms can charge whatever they like, but have an option, quietly for those who can’t afford it. Some of those people might actually turn out to be some of the best people on your roster.
6 - Liquid Chalk
Buy it on amazon. The smallest size bottles are great, I have one with a karabiner on it so it clips to my kit bag, and I buy the larger bottles to refill it. There’s no need to spend big money, it probably all comes from a handful of manufacturers and is just labelled differently.
7 - Train Heroic
Yes, I have all my WG-Fit group programs available on the Train Heroic app as well as some of the programs that I used with my athletes, usually the BJJ and Kickboxing/Kyokushin guys.
You will see all that here: https://marketplace.trainheroic.com/#/org/wild-geese-fitness-training
These are all priced I think very cheap, so most people should be able to access them along with either a gym membership or buying their kit to train at home.
My personal training is also delivered through TH, but I build bespoke plans for individuals, that obviously has a bigger price tag then the publicly available programs.
But imagine you bought the program you followed when you were there, you looked up on Spotify the “Solid Gym Music” playlist by Dave Hedges to blast through your headphones or home speaker, and it’s almost like being back in WG-fit, which is something I still miss and many of you on this email list do too.
Simple
Not Easy
Dave Hedges
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