Hallelujah! Consumers everywhere can rejoice that marketers are becoming more hesitant to trot out the ‘one size fits all’ campaigns thanks to a recent report “U.S. Regional Trends: Demographics, Attitudes and Consumer Behavior.” The market research publisher Packaged Facts and looked at trends and consumer behavior in six different regions in the United States. It summed up what many consumers already knew: having a great ad campaign is not enough because consumers want their regional and personal preferences addressed.
What does that mean for those of us interested in fitness?
Well, hopefully it means a reduction in ad campaigns from fitness clubs insisting that everyone who works out there will walk out a size 2 or a clone of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hopefully it means that there will be more marketing and researches swings towards healthy, physically active lifestyles rather than just burn and grind. Hopefully it means that because there is one size of exercise that fits everyone they will work to find out what works for different types of people.
For example, if you’re weight falls into the ‘obese’ category, you don’t have to kill yourself at speeds on a treadmill that leave you breathless. The quantity of time spent, even at a lower speed, is better for your overall fitness and weight goals than trying to kill yourself running a marathon uphill. Imagine, you can walk at a comfortable 2.5 pace for 60 minutes and that’s better for you than a hard pushing 30-minute 3.0 uphill incline pace.
A lot of fitness clubs and experts have already gotten together to come up with new and inventive ways to get us engaged. Even the gaming industry is getting in on the action with their additions to popular gaming systems like the XBox and the Playstation 2.
But what else do we want? What do we, as fitness consumers really want to see? I want to see healthy women who are not a size 2 working out. I want to get a realistic idea of fitness and what it looks like. It should not be bottled and shined up to make you think that if you can never achieve that tiny waist, you will never reach fitness. No, ma’am. Fitness is not a dress size nor is it necessarily poundage. It’s a state of being.
One size doesn’t fit all – what trend would you like to see in fitness and exercise? Share your thoughts and ideas.