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How to cut through the BS in the fitness industry

I’ve got a treat for you guys today.  My friend Katherine Whitfield recently wrote an ebook about how to see through the marketing and hype in the fitness industry, and she was generous enough to stop by and answer some questions about the industry and her new book.  I think you guys will enjoy our interview, and if you stick around til the end, there’s a link where you can get it for free (no strings attached, seriously.  Zero spam).

Hey Katherine!  Thanks for taking the time to do this interview.  For my readers who are unfamiliar with you, why don’t you introduce yourself?

Thank you for the opportunity to do this interview!  My name is Kat Whitfield and I’m a personal trainer based out of Capital Strength & Conditioning in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science, got my certification through NASM.  I’ve worked with all sorts of clients in the past, though now I almost exclusively train women.  Outside of that, I spend a good chunk of time reviewing popular diet books, fitness magazine articles, and television segments over on my blog at katwhitfield.com

So, you have a book out on BS detection in the fitness industry.  What were some of your motivations for writing it?

It’s a sort of culmination of my writing up until this point.  I fell in love with weights and powerlifting while I was in college – a direct contradiction to the message women are still being sent about how they should train.  I was so in love with lifting and gushed about it to so many of my friends that the question of if I was afraid of getting bulky, or why I would do such a thing came up time and time again.  I started blogging just as a way to rant about and address these types of fitness myths.

Over time my writing evolved as a way to help my friends and family, who would often ask if I knew anything about such-and-such product or training method.  While looking into some of these products, I was certainly angry at the false claims, but also a bit fascinated by why they worked.  How can things that are so blatantly false be so profitable?  I want to help curb some of the damage being done to people by helping to arm them against misinformation.

Definitely a noble aspiration.  What are some of the trends and tactics you see that you think are particularly harmful?

In the book, I outline seven common tactics seen in most every type of marketing material.  As far as the most dangerous one, I’d definitely have to say pseudo-science.  I go into much more detail in the guide, but pseudo-science is very destructive to the layman.  It can destroy a person’s ‘faith’ in science when, despite the Sensa commercial quoting studies saying users lose up to 10 pounds in a month without diet, they end up gaining weight.  Once the foundation of mistrust is laid, it opens one up to being mislead by those claiming to eschew the mainstream – like homeopathy or other ineffective alternative medicine practices.

Now, in the book you talk about some marketing tactics and the lengths some sites go to make money, and the claims people often make when selling productions.To play devil’s advocate for a moment:  What if I’m putting out a legitimate product or program that’s going to help people and actually IS backed by good scientific evidence?  Since we’re all competing in an ecosphere inundated with outlandish claims, dubious testimonials and before and after pictures, and flashy marketing, isn’t such behavior actually incentivized?  If I’m trying to get my product out and help the most people possible, wouldn’t it behoove me to use a lot of those same tactics?And taking it a step further, what are some ways to change the incentive structure to favor legitimacy and expertise over flashiness?

Ah yes, that is getting into tricky territory!

The thing with many of these tactics is that if they were being used by someone promoting an effective, legitimate product or program, there’s nothing inherently wrong with them.  There’s nothing too terrible about a life insurance company manipulating your fear by saying “you could die tomorrow, don’t you want your family to be protected?” since, after all, that’s true.
As well, a trainer using before & after pictures and having testimonials next to their products is to be expected.  Even I have testimonials on my site!  I think it would be hard to argue that someone is doing anything morally wrong by showing off actual customer feedback and results.
The issues arise when the market gets saturated with messages like “Get huge arms – fast!” or “Easy abs in no time!”  Those are claims that can’t be validated since “fast” and “no time” don’t have any actual quantitative value.  While any real fitness professional knows that you can’t get abs or huge arms in a short amount of time, it leads the layman to expect and desire fast, unrealistic results.  But you are right, if you had an effective arm hypertrophy program, you’d want to have that headline to draw in the most people.
What can be done about it?  I feel that most of the work has to be done on the consumer side of things, unless you want industry regulations to come into play.  Consumers need to be educated (part of my mission with this book) in how marketing and advertising works.  Marketing responds wholly to consumer behavior.  Change the consumer, change the industry.
Well Katherine, thanks for taking the time to chat, and thanks for giving us this awesome resource to help with cutting through a lot of the BS in the industry.  Do you have any parting words?  And can you tell people where to get your book (and, perhaps, the price)?
I would just say if you’re looking to help prevent the spread of misinformation like me, try to delve deep into the reasons why people are drawn to sensational headlines and bold claims in the first place.  It’s not enough to just tell someone that the latest Beachbody product is crap.  You have to explain how you know that, and the elements being used to convince them otherwise.  It’s very hard work to be an informed consumer!
You can grab a copy of my guidebook from my website here.  It’s absolutely free – I don’t even require an email address.  All I ask is that if you enjoyed it, pass it on to a friend or family member who could benefit from it as well!
Thank you again for having me, Greg!
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