Carolyn Fetters, the founder and CEO of Balanced Habits, shares the importance of why it is time for fitness to be reimagined.
Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway shared this quote that perfectly sums up the opportunity ahead:
“There will be interruptions, and I don’t know when they will occur, and I don’t know how deep they will occur, I do know they will occur from time to time, and I also know that we’ll come out better on the other end.”
2020 was most definitely an “interruption” filled with many lessons and opportunities for growth and change. It’s time to think outside the box and reimagine new possibilities that the fitness industry, as a whole, may have never considered.
“Fitness” itself is such a small percentage of what the industry provides the communities they serve. The definition of “fitness” is too vague and needs to be better understood so that government entities recognize how vital fitness centers are in the lives of its citizens. The path to fast-track this is right in front of us. The fitness industry is on the brink of forming alliances with the healthcare industry. In fact, it’s already occurring.
Never before has the world endured an epidemic that the fitness industry has the ability to all-but eradicate through the services and expertise they provide. Of course you might think I’m speaking about COVID-19.
I am not. I am speaking about obesity.
By merging two industries: Fitness and healthcare, we could work to provide a full-circle approach to the deconditioned lifestyles of the global population that has reached epidemic levels through obesity.
The Future of the Fitness Industry
We must work to shift public perception about what a fitness center offers — by fusing together fitness and healthcare, we reimagine what’s possible for our industry as well as our member’s futures. With an emphasis on functional medicine, a holistic practice that works to heal disease and promote a healthy lifestyle, we can work to offer a more personalized and integrative approach to fitness and health by focusing on the prevention, management and root causes of complex chronic disease.
To get started, fitness professionals should consider developing multiple profit centers all tied to functional medicine, therapeutic exercise and diabetes prevention.
These are the 3 steps you need to take:
1. Integrate wellness, healthcare and/or functional medicine offerings into your services.
2. Partner with a local regional hospital, physical therapy clinic, etc.
3. Hire or contract with a medical director or advisor, which would allow your club to be recognised as an essential business.
This is the perfect moment and opportunity to become everything your community needs in order to improve their quality of life. There is no better time than right now!
