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By healthhabits, October 17, 2010

Canada’s healthcare system may be on the verge of a massive change.

Instead of continuing to spend billions of dollars simply treating the symptoms of disease, Canada’s health ministers have agreed that:

the promotion of health and the prevention of disease, disability and injury are a priority and necessary to the sustainability of the health system.

They also agreed that the main causes of death, disease and disability in Canada today are chronic diseases and injuries, and that a large proportion of chronic diseases, disabilities and injuries can be prevented, or at least delayed.

They continued by saying that more emphasis needs to be placed on the promotion of health and on preventing or delaying chronic diseases, disabilities, and injuries.

Doing this will improve the quality of life of Canadians while reducing disparities in health and the impact these conditions have on individuals, families, communities, the health-care system and on society.

OMG

A healthcare system that focuses on health.

Fingers crossed people.

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Reference

• A Declaration on Prevention and Promotion from Canada’s Ministers of Health and Health Promotion/Healthy Living

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By healthhabits, October 11, 2010

What does your health club (or personal trainer, or iphone app, or online fitness community, or fitness magazine, etc) do for you?

If your club is like my club, then they….

• provide fitness equipment and space to exercise
• offer the advice of their in-house fitness professionals
• blend up the latest in post-workout nutrition
• schedule fitness classes at convenient times
• bring in guest speakers to increase your fitness IQ

And, if they do all that, then you’re getting top notch health club service.

So, why is it that after I read this article from marketing guru Seth Godin, I got the feeling that today’s health club industry is doomed for extinction?

Or hopefully…evolution.

Question(s)

Why is it that over 70% of all new health club members stop coming to the gym within 3 months?

And why is it that most of the remaining 30% don’t look much better than we they first joined?

And why is it that today’s health & fitness industry doesn’t seem to care?

The Answer?

Because the current health & fitness industry is still focused on delivering products and services instead of solutions.

Think about it – most people go to a health club to burn off some fat & to get fit.

How they do it is irrelevant.

Or at least it should be.

The goal is what matters……and the health club (or personal trainer, or iphone app, or online fitness community, or fitness magazine, etc) than can shift their focus toward the goals of their clients and away from the latest fitness trend becomes indispensable to their clients.

And in my opinion, this style of thinking is a big part of the reason why Crossfit has become a major player in the health & fitness industry.

They provide results better than anyone else.

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