Stockings, Crack and The Training Rim

Every now and then that little light bulb goes on over my head and I say, “Hmmm…now THAT’S interesting.” This happens far less frequently as the aging process takes it course, but as they say, even the Mona Lisa is falling apart.

One of my clients once referred to my facility as “like crack” for her. She just loved the energy and feeling she received when she came and had to get more of it.

Then that light bulb went on…

Over the course of history, society has been altered dramatically by products simply being re-packaged. Someone took an already existing product and found a way to alter it slightly to make it even better than its original form. And when I say “better”, I mean similar quality and less cost.

I’ll give you two examples:

1. Nylon stockings:

There was a time long, long ago when silk stockings were the only type of stockings that existed. The problem was that although they looked and felt great (so I’m told), they were ridiculously fragile and expensive. Not a good combination unless you were extremely wealthy.

Then some dude invented nylon stockings. Looked good, felt good, and were durable and inexpensive. All of a sudden, a luxury item was affordable to the masses.

2. Crack Cocaine:

There was a time when cocaine was a very chic choice among those who used illegal drugs. I remember being a kid when it seemed like a day didn’t go by where there wasn’t a pro athlete, movie star, model, etc that wasn’t in the news for having a cocaine problem.

But again, as much as people liked cocaine, it was a very expensive option if recreational drugs were your thing. Hence, pro athletes and movie stars being pretty much the only users.

Then someone came along, took cocaine, mixed it with a few other things and invented crack cocaine. Crack was a much less expensive, but just as potent option.

Again, a luxury item for the masses.

Of course the impact this had on our society in terms of crime issues is the NOT point of my writing this. The point I’m making is like nylon stockings, someone figured out a way to bring what was once a luxury item and make it affordable to almost anybody.

So what does this have to do with exercise?

The fitness and exercise industry are in the EXACT SAME SITUATION as the stocking and illicit drug industries were years ago.

Gym memberships are inexpensive but they don’t work. If you think they do you’re not paying attention.

One on one personal training can be expensive. Especially if you go to the mega chain gyms of the world where $80 per hour is the norm to work with a trainer with very little education and experience.

Enter small group personal training.

Small group personal training brings the luxury of personal training at a very affordable rate.

If you haven’t experienced our small group sessions, here’s what it’s like:

At each session, you’re instructed and guided by a trainer. Every exercise, repetition, set, tempo, etc is chosen for you. And you are watched like a HAWK to be sure you’re doing the exercise correctly.

The only catch is that you’ll share the session with 2 or 3 other people on average. Which incidentally, research has shown INCREASES your chances of reaching your goals.

You get the benefits of a personal trainer – so what about the cost?

The cost is something that over 90% of us can afford. You know how I know that?

Because small group training with us costs less than what most of us pay for cable TV. And over 90% of the people reading this have cable TV.

A personal trainer starting at $129 per month.

Luxury for the masses baby, luxury for the masses.

Author's note: Some of the above information was borrowed from Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt - two brilliant guys and the authors of "Freakonomics". A great book if you haven't read it.