Has "Fitness" Had Its Time?!

Ask most fitness professionals as to why people don't exercise, and the answer is often the same. People lack willpower!

As a fitness professional with almost 20yr experience in the health + fitness Industry, with both a related Masters and Bachelors degree, and international work experience in 8 different countries, my view has evolved over time.

Nowadays, the three main professional currencies are Money, Energy and Time. You can often get one, maybe two, but all three is tough. Yet the concept would appear sound. Don't virtually all of us aspire to more money, more energy, more time off..?

Taking this concept further, you will see the term MET displayed on numerous exercise machines. A MET is a unit of energy and refers to the amount of calories expended at rest (sitting idly). Now running, cycling, cross-trainers all produce different physiological responses in terms of muscle mass employed, HR response etc. But the concept of a MET allows us to compare the relative work done (energy expended) through each activity, in terms of METs.

So using this analogy, can you see how a M.E.T. is an expression of power (energy) and how by having more money, energy and time, you have more power (you show up more) in today's world? Further I use the "s" to represent success, as you can have all 3 (money, energy, time), but your own personal definition of success may not reflect your current reality.

Now what's the real reason most people exercise? To get fit? Or to maximise their energy / productivity, so that they are capable of earning more money and able to enjoy their time off (given that fit people have the stamina to pack more into their week).

So what if instead of constantly bombarding people with the need to get fit (a message either lost on many or of little "value"), we encouraged them to raise their "METs". Exercise might then become more palatable and seen as much about restoring "energy" as expending it.

Has fitness had its time? No, but I think it's time we changed how we interpret and think about it (its real value or meaning) in today's fast paced and competitive world.