One of my goals during this Fall Push is to separate from my phone. One of the main factors in my low mood is scrolling on the phone. At the beginning of the Fall Push, I bought an old-school digital alarm clock so that I could put my phone in another room.

It has taken me until Week 5 to set up my new alarm clock so I can put my phone in the next room. I don’t want to start the day scrolling because I think that sets a bad precedent, and it’s much better to get up and get going rather than read all the bad news or pointless emails.

Looking ahead to the future of the fitness industry

Talking with my trainer colleague and snooping on other forums geared toward fitness professionals gave me some clarity on the current state of affairs in the fitness industry.  I think significant shifts are already underway.

Economic Uncertainty

My opinion is that if you are not a trainer working in a specialized niche like contest prep, geriatrics, Pilates, or sport-specific training, then personal training will not be a good way to make a sustainable living in the long term. Looking ahead to the future economic situation, training will be a luxury only a few can afford consistently, and it will mainly be older adults who are retired and have more disposable income. I am already hearing about studios with a solid following reporting noticeable attendance drops due to layoffs in the area.

Another Mass Exodus of veteran Fitness Professionals

I told my friend that the first mass exodus of fitness professionals happened during the COVID pandemic. I remember going to the IDEA Fitness Conference in 2023, and I believe the number they gave for trainers who left the fitness industry post-COVID was around 1.5 million.  A lot of the charismatic, dynamic, and fitness pros who have been around a long time ended up pivoting during COVID due to burnout, businesses shuttering, or realizing they could make a consistent income doing something else. I don’t blame them, and I wish I had done that too because my resume would look a lot better than it does, and I would have more experience under my belt.

This subsequent exodus of fitness professionals will be people like me in their thirties and forties, looking ahead and realizing they need to focus on self-preservation. In an online group, another trainer in his early forties lamented that before COVID, he worked at a studio with many trainers and a great community. Now he is bored out of his mind because all of that is gone, and he is on his own. He is not sure what to do next.

In the next few years, many veteran fitness professionals, like myself, will leave the industry. We may not leave the industry entirely, but I think many fitness professionals use training as a side job while working to earn a more consistent income. When I was younger, training seemed like a noble undertaking, and it was fun for so many different reasons. I am now in my forties, and the lack of financial opportunity, combined with the lack of community and the continued loss of charismatic, personable, and knowledgeable fitness professionals from the industry, is the writing on the wall for me that it is time to go.

IN LIVING COLOR

This week, I reached out to some of my former colleagues and leaders, and I am so glad I did! I have been so isolated and uninspired in my work life. A few conversations with these people, and more color is coming into the very blah landscape of my life. I have complained about not having peers at work, and now I know what I have been trying to say. Having peers is more than having people to go to happy hour with. Peers are people who may be plugged into areas you are not. Peers can offer advice and connections for growth, and there is mentorship (both formal and informal).

Color is coming back to my life slowly but surely.

I signed up for the Google Project Management Certification, and it is good for me because I need to learn the lingo and systems used, since I do not have experience. I must do everything possible to be competitive in the job market because my resume is so thin. I have found the Project management course helpful because I did not know much of this stuff, and I even crafted my career identity statement, which is giving me more language to take with me into interviews.

Don’t be idle.

One day last week, a bunch of my clients canceled, and I got the sense that I should not be idle. This “free time” is to prepare for the transition, since change is coming quickly, and I need to be ready. I did my homework for my copyediting class, practiced my answers for my job interview, and started working on the Google Project Management certificate. I’m no longer involved with charismatic Christianity, but I am still very much in tune with the Spirit, and I believe that was a nudge from Him not to be idle, but to get to work for this next phase.

Week 1 Level Up challenge

The first week went well, and I am finding it easier to get back into the groove of meal preparation and eating 4-5x per day. In fact, there is a whole lot less snacking because my blood sugar levels are stable from eating more protein and fat, not so many carbs. I don’t even crave carbs that much. Bringing back post-workout protein shakes has also helped with appetite control. I can keep this up.

I am expecting my period this week. Borrowing from Ayurvedic principles, I am not going to try to work out and do too much during my period. Reflect, rest, and rejuvenate. I read my romantic comedy this morning instead of working out and cheered on the protagonist, Anna Appleby! Go Anna!!  I think doing too much during menstruation makes things worse.

This month is a whole shift, and even my period is getting the memo. I have been taking some herbs, like Menstricare, Evening Primrose Oil, and St. John’s Wort, alongside Tylenol. I am also taking Magnesium Glycinate (which has been scientifically proven to reduce cramps), and I am not feeling as bad as I thought I would. I believe the supplements are helping to ease the PMS and period symptoms and bring balance to my system. I ended up doing a leg day on Friday and working out on Saturday, which was a massive win because there have been a few months when I barely wanted to move due to fatigue, depression, and uncomfortable cramps during that time of the month. I know everyone likes to blame everything on perimenopause, and that is undoubtedly a factor in why I was feeling so bad during my period, but I also think it had to do with my overall state. I have been down bad for a while, and I am starting to come back slowly but surely, and all parts of the body are responding, including my hormonal lady parts.

My question this week was how to bring Life In Living Color back?

  • Reconnection with old friends and colleagues
  • Focus on what is going right.
  • Rediscovering things I loved once, like the Nick Jonas song, Jealous. I couldn’t remember how it went, then I heard it, and I couldn’t stop playing it. It really feels like I was off in some alternate universe for the last five to six years, and I am getting back to myself.
  • Remember, I do have a final countdown: There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
  • Change my environment and it is coming!!

Mychal Thompson was a member of the legendary Showtime LA Lakers team in the 1980s.  He is also the father of our forever Warriors legend, Klay Thompson. I became a huge fan of Mychal Thompson on Twitter when he carried on about Jon Secada’s song. “Just Another Day.”  I completely agree. I remember hearing it on 96.5 KOIT here in San Francisco in the 1990s and thinking it was one of the greatest songs ever. The way Jon Secada passionately sings and the drama of the chorus are everything.  For some reason, this week I could not get enough of that song, and I was listening to it over and over on the way to work.  We need to bring great singers and songs back like this!!

Just Another Day in Living Color