Top 5 New Year's Fitness Scams!

I want to officially welcome you to 2020. A new year has begun and for a lot of us, this is the time of year we reflect on ourselves and past actions and try to improve. It doesn’t have to be anything super crazy. It could be as simple as you want to spend less time on your phone and more time connecting with your friends and family. But now it’s time to strap in and get ready for my top 5 New Year fitness scams and I think number five…is going to really mess with your head. So be prepared!

#1. The “AT HOME EQUIPMENT” Scam

The dark side of the fitness industry preys on the fact that they know you want to get in shape, but also exert minimal effort and that is where devices like the Shake Weight, Electric Ab Exercisers, the Waist Trimmer Belt, and Pec Sculptor for example come from.

Now yes, SOMETHING is better than NOTHING, but devices like these will give you a false sense of accomplishment. Take the Shake Weight for example. If you spend the majority of your time on the couch being lazy, then of course 10 minutes of activity a day over the course of a month is going to yield results. It’s all about how many calories you’re BURNING vs consuming. But is this the solution to your 30 pound fat loss goal? No, because after that first month you’re more than likely going to plateau on your weight loss until you clean up your diet and introduce a more intense training stimulus. But I am not saying fitness needs to be HARD or CRAZY INTENSE to see results, I’m just saying you need a bit more structure if you want reach your goals.

#2. The “Supplement Store” Scam

So, you enter a supplement store to get your first bottle of protein because you heard it can help with gaining muscle. You’re with me so far, right? Now, this CAN be a physical store or an online store. When online if you were to buy some protein say on Amazon, at the bottom of the screen you will see something like, “people who bought THIS also bought THAT”. That’s how Amazon likes to upsell you with bundles. By showcasing the purchase history of other customers which to be honest, can be helpful if they are bundling something like a pre-workout and creatine.

But things can get real intense when you enter a supplement store. I’ve heard a sales clerk once sell protein to a guy to help with recovery, which is fine, but then walked him over to the counter to sell him fat burners to burn more fat, then some pills to lose “all his water weight” AND THEN offered a MASS GAINER to help him build more muscle. It was ridiculous and you could tell the sales guy didn’t know much about what he was selling, but knew that key words like “more muscle”, “fat burning” and “water weight” would peak the customer’s interest.

Remember that these guys are trying to make a sale so they’ll tell you EXACTLY what your subconscious wants to hear and that their other “customers” are having AMAZING results with the same supplements. But don’t be fooled! Business is business and these companies need your money to keep the lights on. Always remember that supplements are NOT the solution to fitness. Can they help you? Absolutely, but only after you’ve got your nutrition and training under control. Even my own stack is very basic and consists of BSN SYNTHA-6 EDGE Protein, N.O.-Xplode for pre-workout, creatine and fish oil. But that’s me, YOUR decision and YOUR choices should only be after you’ve done your research, understand their purpose and combine them with a smart training and dieting plan.

#3. The “Personal Trainer” Package!

It’s been a dry 2 months for personal trainers everywhere and now they’re HUNGRY to make some money. Believe me I know, I’ve worked in a commercial gym for 10 years and there is NOTHING WRONG with hiring a personal trainer. To be honest, the reason most beginner lifters fail is because they have no guidance. So hiring someone knowledgeable may just be what you need to help stay on track with your goals.

But the problem is, how do you know who to trust? Trainers are not cheap, especially if you’re training with them multiple times a week and if Instagram has taught us anything, ANYONE in can become a “personal trainer”. So here’s my advice to you. Before you whip out that credit card, request a fitness consultation. This is basically your opportunity to “interview” your trainer and see what they know. Tell them about your goals, any injuries you might have, what your diet is like, basically anything to help them build a profile of what they need to help you.

Then, ask for a workout. If they begin by having you squatting on a bosu ball, grab your stuff and run as fast as you can. But if they bring you over and start explaining compound lifts for muscle gain, or functional training for fat loss, then you’re on the right track. There’s no reason why a trainer should be trying to impress you with weird exercises.

#4. The “Custokebon Secrets”

Now I actually found this scam starting in late December because I noticed some interesting comments popping up on some of my older videos. Believe it or not, I actually do go back and check comments on older videos from time to time because sometimes I do find people who need extra help and guidance and I want to help them.  

But what I started to find about mid-December were “fishing” comments that were promoting a special type of diet and training. For example, “My mate laughed when I told them I was gonna be slimmer with just implementing Custokebon Secrets, but after I showed these people amazing effects right after I used it they’re begging me to tell them about it. Of course I won’t let them know the detail about this diet plan, haha”.

Then I found this one… “What is the best way to lost a ton of weight? I read loads of good opinions on the net about how Custokebon Secrets can help you lost crazy amounts of weight. Has anyone tried using this popular fat burn secrets?”

So you can see from these comments just how clever the scam is. They even purposely spell things wrong and use improper grammar to make you think they’re REAL comments. But the best part is that they don’t put a link which subconsciously makes you want to Google search what they’re talking about on your own.

But what happens after you google search “Custokebon Secrets”? Well you get this page right here…

First of all, when a landing page for ANY fitness, training or diet method looks like this, it’s a SCAM, trust me!  

Look at the top of the page, it says “WARNING: This is NOT for everyone”. So, immediately they’re trying to exclude you and make you REALLY WANT something that you can’t have. It’s Marketing 101 and even though I know it’s a scam, I’m still intrigued to continue reading just because of that warning! So, let’s click continue and see what this “weight loss blueprint” is all about.  

Once you click, the first thing you see is a cartoon image of a woman that says regular diet looks like this, keto diet looks like that. So, immediately what they’re saying is that you can’t possibly get in shape following a traditional diet that in actuality has worked since the birth of the fitness industry. This is a big red flag. Apparently in 2020, only people on a keto diet can lose weight and feel good about themselves. I must be old school because I always thought it was about caloric restriction and exercise.

This is a PRIME example of someone, in this case Rachel Roberts, who’s trying to surf on the KETO wave and make a quick buck and I’m going be very straight with you here…there’s NO SECRET to lose weight, gain muscle or transform your body in general. It’s all about hard work, persistence and dedication. That’s it.

And to be honest, in my opinion people ride the keto wave SO HARD because it does the ONE THING most people need to do to lose weight.  It drastically cuts down the amount of carbs they’re consuming. The exact number will be different for everyone, but when you go from eating let’s say 250g – 350g carbs a day down to about 20g – 50g a day, you’re going to see some big changes and that’s great.

Also, in order to make up for the loss in calories, you’re going to have to consume more protein and fat and in doing so are probably going to FINALLY be giving your body the RIGHT amounts of protein and fat to repair and build your body as you start training. But keto isn’t for everyone and as soon as you stop focusing on low carbs and fall back into your old habits you’re most likely going to gain weight again.

However, if you just learned how to eat the things you like in the right portions, that’s a sustainable diet that you’re more likely to adopt and follow for the rest of your life. But more to the point, is Custokebon Secrets really a SCAM? Well, yes and no. If I’m being honest it’s more “SUPER clickbait” than anything else because if you do decide to adopt Keto, you will see a change.

But the problem is:

• It’s NOT a secret!
• It’s NOT sustainable long-term for everyone!
• And drastic measures are NOT necessary to lose weight!

And what ultimately makes it a scam for me is the marketing technique of using the “fake fishing comments” I mentioned earlier that I’m finding on many of my videos which are clearly fake accounts. That is a very dishonest way to market your program.

#5. The 2020 “Image” Scam

Alright, so this might blow your mind a little. But I don’t think the biggest fitness scam to make the most money is going to be WEIGHT LOSS “hacks” or “secrets”. I think the BIGGEST SCAM of 2020 is going to be the continuous growth of the “Fat Acceptance Movement” “HAES” and pushing “Body Positivity” on our kids and big brands taking advantage of it.

Now that might sound mean, but hear me out. You should never shame someone because of how they look, and notice I didn’t say “I think” at the start of that sentence. Judging people based on looks is not right. But with that being said, if I see someone who is way too skinny or obese, NOT saying something to try to help them is just as bad. I don’t consider that judgmental, just like if I were about to inflict harm on myself, you wouldn’t think it was judgmental to stop me, right? And being heathy doesn’t mean you have to be ripped and muscular, but it does mean that you need to be eating healthy and have an active lifestyle and these things go hand in hand.  

But if we take a look at the current trends of brands like TORRID and Lane Bryant, their selections of “plus size” clothing have grown tremendously. For example, Lane Bryant now has a huge selection of plus size gym clothes and even uses terminology like:

“Introducing the Power Legging! The fit you love, now with a 4-inch high-rise waistband that holds you in and won’t roll down”

So basically pants that can hold your stomach in and give the illusion that you’re a lot thinner than you really are. Like I said earlier, marketing opportunities. But before this gets taken out of context, of course we should have clothing for all shapes and sizes and clothing that actually FITS. But when it comes to business, it’s supply versus demand and as movements like these continue to gain momentum because everyone is too afraid to be politically correct about our standards on health, companies are going to capitalize because that’s just the way big business works.

I think if 2019 showed us anything, it’s that negativity and complaining garners a lot more attention on social media than being happy and positive. Who knows, maybe in 2020 gyms will get REALLY smart and start offering partial memberships where you pay for like 10 days a month at a discount and the new slogan will be:

“Not shredded yet? That’s OK, you don’t have to be! Nobody’s perfect, so why should you? Instead of fighting it and consuming your entire life trying to become something you can’t, just accept it and move on with your life. Oh and check out our new plus size clothing line by the protein bars.”

Conclusion

NEVER accept mediocrity and NEVER accept you cannot do something you’ve set your mind to. Just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it’s unattainable. In fact, the only things WORTH reaching for are hard to get. That’s what makes you feel so good when you finally reach your goals and anything TOO good to be true, probably is! There are no shortcuts or quick routes when it comes to fitness or ANY goal in life for that matter.

But fitness doesn’t have to be hard. All you need is consistency. You don’t have to change all your habits overnight. Start off by trying to eat only one cheat meal a day and going to the gym for about 20 – 30 minutes a couple times a week. Just get into the habit of “eating healthy foods” and “GOING” to the gym. Don’t even think about the end result yet. Just start making healthy decisions a part of your lifestyle. Then after a week or two, you’re going to start feeling REALLY motivated and want a bit more guidance and it’s at that point you should start looking for a structured program.

I hope 2020 is the start of an AMAZING year for all of you and I look forward to seeing all your future transformations!