When it comes to holiday marketing in the fitness industry, messaging usually centers around burning off calories, eradicating guilt, or undoing the indulgences — implying, not so subtly, that holiday activities are not good for you.

In turn, this season’s indulgences — which are supposed to be celebratory and joyful — are more laden with guilt than they are calories. There’s a tremendous amount of stress and rich, sweet foods woven into holiday activities.

Many individuals experience quite a bit of stress around it; the fear of holiday weight gain is evident in every “sugar-free dairy-free fat-free eggnog” recipe post on Instagram or “Keto Pumpkin Pie” on Pinterest. It’s obvious in every media article headlined “5 Tips for Avoiding Thanksgiving Bloat.”

This isn’t new information to any of you. In the health and wellness industry, we’re able to quite literally capitalize on this come January 1. It’s the Super Bowl for fitness professionals and club owners.

But what if we were able to take a different approach here? What if we could help our clients, members, and community, to simply… lean into it. To enjoy, to indulge, to rest. And to do so mindfully, truly enjoying it, and incorporating it into their health practice, as opposed to having to remediate it later.

The Reality of Holiday Food and Weight Gain

Statistically, holiday weight gain, on average, only amounts to … wait for it … one pound. “Researchers dispelled the colloquial belief that Americans typically gained five pounds during the holidays. Although data from this study did support the existence of the holiday weight gain phenomenon, the amount was closer to 1 pound.”

The stress, the fear, the workarounds, the missed joy and celebration… all over a pound. Let’s let that sink in for a moment.

The toxin here isn’t the sugar cookies or the mashed potatoes — it’s the stress and the cortisol. And it’s a time of year that, again, is supposed to be celebratory, but can come with all sorts of additional stressors outside of the food and weight gain conversation. Fraught family dynamics, hectic travel, and chaotic social calendars (or the opposite — isolation), all play a role in adding a painful strain on many people the world over.

“Nearly nine in 10 [Americans] say that concerns such as not having enough money, missing loved ones and anticipating family conflict cause them stress at this time of year, according to the results of a new poll by the American Psychological Association.”

And we know that acute stress leads to health outcomes, from compromised immunity to inflammation. A 2018 study on acute stress found “poor general physical health, increased pain and disability, lower quality of life, and higher risk of all-cause mortality,” to be the result of even short periods of stress.

It’s important to point out, there are some significant negative effects from following the status quo from decades past. When it comes to messaging around food, some interesting data has been published about “food fear” and its link to disordered eating. If we look at disordered eating as a spectrum or even a collection of symptoms, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics includes “using exercise, food restriction, fasting or purging to make up for ‘bad’ foods consumed.”

This is exactly what holiday season “health” messaging has been all about, historically: making up for ‘bad’ food. Industry-wide, this has contributed to disordered eating — Northwestern also published an article about this topic.

Changing the Holiday Season Status Quo

What if our messaging to our clubs and clients wasn’t about a Turkey Burn to melt fat and burn off a big meal, but to burn off stress? To blow off some emotional steam?

Messaging comes down to marketing and communications, how we talk to our communities, how we name certain activities and class offerings, and the types of classes and offerings made available. It also comes to leading by example. Having conversations with members about what you’re doing to celebrate, release stress, and rest could be helpful.

Major change doesn’t happen overnight, but any shift you make will have a cumulative effect on your community, and the fitness industry as a whole; a small shift in messaging could have a profound ripple effect.

Imagine if each of us in this industry took just one step toward helping our clients approach the holidays with more grace and self-compassion. Instead of viewing this season as a gauntlet to be survived, what if we helped people see it as an opportunity to honor their needs — to slow down, savor, and connect with their loved ones?

This kind of supportive, inclusive approach acknowledges that wellness is not just about physical metrics — it’s about mental and emotional resilience, too. By fostering a culture that embraces rest, celebration, and joy as integral to health, we allow our communities to experience the holidays without guilt or shame, but with true vitality instead.

Let’s use this season to build a foundation of that energy: trust, joy, and holistic health — a gift that will carry through far beyond the New Year.

—-------------------------------

Industry Happenings:

Upcoming Events:

1. Athletic Business Show, November 19-22, 2024, New Orleans, Louisiana
2. International Council on Active Aging Conference and Expo, November 19-21, 2024, Raleigh, North Carolina
3. Mind Body Fitness 2025, January 8-12, 2025, Palm Springs, California
4. NSCA Coaches Conference, January 08 - 10, 2025, New Orleans, Louisiana
5. The Fit Expo, January 25-26, 2025, Los Angeles, California
6. Connected Health & Fitness Summit, February 11-13, 2025, Los Angeles, California

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upcoming Workshops in November & December:

1. 20+ workshops from Peak Pilates
2. 16 workshops from TRX®
3. 14 workshops from Oxygen Advantage
4. 13 workshops from Spinning®
5. 2 workshops from Power Plate
6. 1 workshop from Mike Boyle's CFSC
7. 1 workshop from Strive Life Fitness
8. 1 workshop from U-Jam

—------------------------------------------------

Industry News:

• Normatec Elite by Hyperice was named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2024.
• Precor announced its partnership to bring Nike Strength to fitness facilities in North America.
• Technogym opened a "comprehensive lifestyle experience" retail boutique in London.
• Noom unveiled body scan technology to combat muscle loss of GLP-1 treatment.
• Two new Crunch Fitness locations are set to open soon in Milwaukee.
• Peloton named Ford exec Peter Stern its new CEO.

—----------------------------------------------------

Thanks for Reading!

This newsletter was brought to you by Kathie Davis, Peter Davis, Ravi Sharma, Dominique Astorino, and the Inspire360 team.

—----------------------------------------------------

A Note from Peter & Kathie

The industry is changing rapidly and we are here to help you sift through all the noise and get to the good stuff. Every month, we'll bring you trending topics and the inside scoop that we believe is paramount for fitness professionals to know.

Keep Inspiring,

Peter & Kathie Davis

Want to get this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to receive the Inspire360 Global Fitness Newsletter here.