Heyyyy Girl. Want the the secret to fast results?
I recently discovered that a well known social media celebrity has a workout DVD that promises to help you slip into your skinny jeans by the weekend and it’s equal parts terrifying and amazing.
In it, she prances around in metallic spandex, a push up bra, and full red carpet #afterdark makeup.
Not gonna lie, when I found this gem, I called up my bestie (a fellow fitness instructor) and we watched it while drinking champagne and dissolving into fits of giggles.
However, once the buzz wore off, it got me thinking about fitness marketing + gimmicks, and how the sh*t that sells is often not the sh*t that works.
No doubt. This gal knows how to sell. The promise of slipping into your skinny jeans by the weekend is brilliant marketing.
It’s like a Ryan Gosling meme that says “Heyyy girl. I got yo’ back. Bounce around, break a sweat, and BOOM. You are ready for date night!”
The problem is that the human body doesn’t work this way. You can’t drop a dress size or create any kind of lasting change in a couple of days…or even weeks depending on what your goal is.
You know better. I know better, but dayyyyyum, we want to believe it does, which is why we try this stuff…just in case, this time there really IS a magical solution that doesn’t require patience or work.
Real talk.
I’ve been in the fitness industry for 13 years. I’ve tried all the gimmicks. Taken all the trainings. Used all the equipment. Taught all the classes. Even followed a bunch of the fad diets.
The only thing that I’ve ever seen epic-yet-gradual-results from is moderate consistent effort and following programming based off all the boring stuff that I read in my exercise science textbooks in college.
Despite being marketable (and lucrative!) quick fixes don’t work. There are no magic solutions.
If I’m honest, this was a challenge I ran into when I created Hips Don’t Lie.
I knew people needed this information and that program worked, but I also knew that what I was selling – moderation and thoughtful, simple programming – had all the sex appeal of an Al Gore documentary.
But here’s irony.
The human body can only move so many ways, which means the exercises in Hips Don’t Lie really aren’t all the different than what you’ll find in the programs that promise to help you build a Brazilian butt AND magically eliminate your pain in minutes a day.
It has glute work, quad work, ab work. Elements of squats, lunges, and planks.
The difference is the progressions + sequencing.
Hips Don’t Lie doesn’t start you hard and fast. It doesn’t skip the prep work that you need to be a better mover and address the probable underlying causes of hip discomfort.
It’s designed to address all the things that we blow past in an attempt to get to the exciting workouts, which in our head is the fast track to results…buuu-uuut without the prep work is more like the fast track to frustration and even injury.
The good news is that just because it’s good for you, doesn’t mean it has to be painfully boring. You have the power to increase the fun factor.
Wanna blast some 80’s pop while firing up your glute med or getting your balance on? Do it!
Would you rather play some meditative music and find your zen with the exact same exercises? Cool beans. Get your chill on.
With the right ingredients, you have the power to make a badass dish that is tailored to what your tastes, while giving you all the nutrients you need.
Intelligent fitness doesn’t have to = boiled brussle sprouts. You can sprinkle some olive oil on those babies and roast em. Saute them with bacon. Smother them in cheese.
Hips Don’t Lie is like eating your veggies, but for your hips.
It gives you what you need, with a minimal time commitment, and you can do it at home, which means you can decide how you rock the program.
Best of all, it sets you up to successfully do the big, hard, fun exercises (or any other activity that you deem enjoyable), minus so many cranky joints.
