Group Fitness Has A Shiny Object Syndrome Problem

And it's getting pretty bad.

Photo by Yishen Ji on Unsplash

Let’s Get One Thing Straight:

More people exercising is generally a good thing.

It’s a net positive for the world when more people choose to exercise, and when people choose to exercise more.

And the group fitness industry has done a fantastic job of doing that since the turn of the century. Group fitness allows for a sense of community, less stigma and fear of being coached directly, and for social interaction that can happen in a healthy, non-alcoholic way.

That is, unless, you’re scheduling regular drinking dates with your new workout buddies. Then we need to talk.

Now that I’ve gotten my general praise for group fitness out of the way, let’s talk about the elephant in the room for a lot of studios, particularly in the high-intensity/strength training vertical.

Group fitness has a shiny object syndrome problem.

Here’s what I mean by that.

What is Shiny Object Syndrome?

Do you remember being a child — this is especially true for those with siblings — and seeing a new toy and distinctly wanting that one more than any other toy? Even if you were fortunate enough to be spoiled for any toy you ever asked for, the new ones always drew your attention more.

Well, Shint Object Syndrome is just that. It’s being so willing to discard what you already have for what’s new, just because you don’t have the patience or attention span to see something through that’s right in front of you.

Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of group fitness studios, the likes of which I’ll refrain from naming directly, are dealing with right now.

Let me explain why this is happening and why it’s not the first time, either.

Hyrox, Hyrox Training, and The Programming Kerfuffle

I can’t say I’m not happy that my sport of choice, Hyrox, is at least somewhat responsible for this.

My doubles partner Matt and I in our World Championships qualifying race in May.

As I’ve written previously, Hyrox, as a fitness challenge, gives everyone — young, old, tall, short, large, small — a chance to compete, compete, and compete again if they’d like.

It allows people to have tangible goals to aim for: Faster times, leaner body compositions, more total races run, you name it.

But here’s where the problem exists.

Hyrox doesn’t take place in a physical gym. It’s a traveling event that is scored in arenas, convention centers, and outdoor venues, which means training for it never quite looks like the race itself.

If you’ve run a Hyrox race, you’d know. You never want to be the person sweating gallons in a gym trying to recreate and simulate a race for yourself. It’s terribly time-consuming and can be a little embarrassing.

Despite this, in my view, this is what makes Hyrox pretty damn awesome.

You will never really know what a Hyrox race will look like until you’re in the race itself.

Let me stop romanticizing it…ah, yes. The problem.

The problem is that group fitness studios are aware of just how much the sport of Hyrox has grown, and they’re trying to capitalize on it with Hyrox training classes of their own.

In theory, this is an awesome idea.

In practice…well, it needs to be heavily ironed out.

Gyms can register to be Hyrox affiliates and certify themselves as official training grounds for the sport. Yet there aren’t many strict programming modalities that go into this.

Why this gets tricky:

• Coaches who are inexperienced/lack the proper expertise in strength and conditioning/strength-endurance (or “hybrid fitness”— the exercise modality Hyrox falls under) might incorrectly program workouts for inexperienced clients

• For gyms that aren’t Hyrox affiliated but still want to jump on the trend (which is many of the big names, by the way, go see for yourself), the line is even more blurred, and programming sometimes just looks like tiring you out instead of making sure you’re meaningfully improving your fitness

• Even though Hyrox is a “race for everybody,” some might expectably fall into the trap of thinking they can just join a “Hyrox class” at their gym with no prior training, which is simply not the way to go

History Repeats Itself

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash

When CrossFit became nearly global in the 2000s, it seemed like gymgoers, even if just for a bit, gravitated away from the “either/or” approach to fitness.

It wasn’t being either strong/bulky or lean/fast — it was both.

CrossFit has gone through at least 4-5 iterations of its brand since then, but the overall community it formed has been the strongest pillar of its success. The workouts were…somewhat…straightforward?

Okay, they weren’t, but the idea of them sort of was:

1. Lift heavy and quickly

2. Aim for as many reps or rounds as you can in a short allotted amount of time

3. Repeat and retest the same workout at least monthly to show progress

Notwithstanding the occasional barbell injury, sprained wrist, rotator cuff tear, or knee tendonitis, people continually came back to class.

At least 5-6 founders had had enough of CrossFit dominating the spotlight of group fitness for a decade, and circa 2011-2015 (seriously, go Google your favorite studios’ opening date), boutique studios started popping up and franchising everywhere.

Just about all of the studios founded during this time followed the theme of what CrossFit was about — high-intensity, move quickly, get in and get out in under an hour.

And again, most of them do that pretty successfully.

However, with Hyrox revolutionizing competitive fitness — CrossFit has notoriously been extremely difficult to compete in at a high level — and making the market rethink its focus, some gyms have pivoted yet again.

Why This Shiny Object Syndrome Looks Bad

A text from an anonymous friend about a friend’s bad experience with Group Fitness SOS.

The text above is what prompted today’s newsletter.

Someone asked me, “What exactly is a weighted burpee?” To which I asked, “A what? Where did you hear that?”

I received this text in response. Burpees are a large part of a Hyrox race and a pretty essential piece of CrossFit. Needless to say, they are a staple — an unnecessary one, at that — in many group fitness classes across the country.

But a weighted one?

First of all, I was a bit confused, as I usually am when I hear of a new exercise, because with eight years in the industry, you think you’ve heard it all.

But then I found this:

Then I thought to myself: It’s no wonder that the texter blew their back out doing an exercise that has no business being in a group fitness class for (mostly) everyday people.

This is where the programming rubber hits the road, and, let’s just say, in the texter’s case, she came out with a flat tire.

I understand — it’s tempting to want to keep up with what’s trending in fitness. You might even see everyone flocking to the new studio that just opened up and feel FOMO about it.

So, as a business owner or gym manager, you’re likely wondering what you can do to stop shiny object syndrome from stealing your clients.

I’ll offer some advice as a non-gym owner that I think in the long run will save more people from injuring themselves, like in the screenshot above:

• What works is what works

  • Don’t think because Hyrox or any new fitness craze is temporarily stealing the thunder that it’s better than what you’re doing. If you offer solid programming, have amazing testimonials, and see no need to change it up,

• Think hard about what you program — don’t cut and paste

  • I can’t believe I have to come clean about this, but there is a rampant amount of trainers who are working on autopilot in the personal training industry, both individually and at the group level. Even before AI, people would copy and paste routines from the web

  • This can be a phase in some trainers’ careers, or it can last forever. In some cases and some gyms I’ve stepped into for class, I’ve wondered whether or not the coach or the director seriously considers why we do what we do in class

  • Clear, thoughtful programming gets results, and it shows. It also follows bullet point #1 — simple is better and effective is always effective

• Get feedback and listen to your client(s)

  • If people are enjoying what you’re doing for them, why would you decide it’s time for something new? It’s incredibly common for coaches and programmers to get bored with what they’re writing for clients and assume the client is also getting bored when that doesn’t happen as often as you’d think.

  • Ask your clients what they like and what they don’t like. If you’re so concerned about Hyrox trending, why don’t you ask your clients what they think? If they want a Hyrox class, they’ll ask for it.

  • If you don’t ask them and still throw something like that on the schedule, they will still take your class if they’re loyal to your studio, but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for their fitness or where they’re at in their exercise journey.

Anyway, that’s my two cents on gyms and the crazes that have been sweeping through studios.

Please, never do a “weighted dumbbell burpee” unless you’ve been properly briefed on the whys and hows of it.

Or maybe just save yourself the trouble and never do one.

See you all on Friday.