Why we keep falling for fitness fads

When fitness is experienced as a consumer product, it changes the rules. The best exercise advice is something along the lines of walking or moving regularly and keeping a moderate diet, but what’s the fun in that? Or, rather, where’s the money? There have been a plethora of stories about Peloton’s meteoric rise, semi-fall, and now plateau, but the fact of the matter is, a fitness fad going in and out of style is a tale as old as time. Remember the thighmaster? Or Tae Bo? What about Flywheel, Peloton’s now-defunct predecessor? Bet you didn’t realize NordicTrack still exists. The fitness industry always has something new to sell us — and many of us are eager to dive in, in part because we tend to treat exercise as a consumer endeavor rather than a health one. That’s the topic of my [latest column for Vox]( — why fitness trends ebb and flow, and why so many of us (myself included) fall for them time and time again. —[Emily Stewart](, senior correspondent   Why we keep falling for fitness fads [illustration of bin overflowing with fitness equipment]( Dion Lee/Vox When Tae Bo was all the rage in the late 1990s, Amanda Biers Melcher dove in head first. Living in LA, she says she’s tried “all of the workouts” — cardio barre, Bikram yoga when it was the (literally) hot thing, etc. But there was something special about the martial arts-inspired cardio fitness craze. Biers Melcher was part of star instructor Billy Blanks’s “cult-like following” who worked out at a Sherman Oaks studio — now a Chipotle — alongside A-listers like Brooke Shields, Reese Witherspoon, and Magic Johnson, even appearing in one of the workout videos. The day she and a friend — both new moms — showed up for a class taping they’d been invited to, some of the excitement wore off. “We gave our names to the young woman with a clipboard and she said, ‘Oh, good, the alternative body types are here,’” she says, recalling that her friend burst out crying when they realized what was going on. “We were the fat girls in the video.” Despite the embarrassing mishap, Biers Melcher stayed loyal to the workout ... until she didn’t. Looking back, she’s not quite sure why she stopped going — at some point, the fad just sort of faded. “A lot of people just moved on,” she says. “Everyone does what’s hot, then something else becomes hot, and everyone does that.” Like millions of people, Biers Melcher gave up significant portions of her time, energy, and maybe a little bit of dignity for a workout that she did really enjoy. And then, also like millions of people, she was on to the next thing. Billy Blanks is still around, and you can still find people doing Tae Bo. But it’s nowhere near as prevalent as it once was. That’s the thing about fitness trends: They constantly ebb and flow, often by design. Fitness is not inherently a consumer endeavor, but we tend to approach it as one. The health and wellness industry is more than happy to oblige. “Fitness is experienced in this country mostly as a consumer product, so the rules of the markets apply to exercise almost more than the rules of science or health,” [said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela](, a fitness historian, professor at the New School, and author of the upcoming book Fit Nation. “There is this constant cycle of exercise trends mostly because there’s the need to keep creating new products and flashy experiences for people to spend money on.” There’s always something that’s in vogue (like Peloton six months ago, and SoulCycle a little before that, and CrossFit a little before that), and there’s always something that’s going to replace it, just like in fashion, said Rina Raphael, a health and wellness writer and author of the upcoming book The Gospel of Wellness. “There’s no money in telling people to go for a walk, right?” [Read the full story »]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   So your kid wants to be an influencer “Influencer” has become one of the most aspirational jobs for kids and adults. What now? [Read the full story »](   How to set boundaries when your family sides with your ex You moved on from your relationship. Now your family has to move on too. [Read the full story »](   More good stuff to read today - [The introvert's guide to actually enjoying a party]( - [Pumpkin spice lattes — and the backlash, and the backlash to the backlash — explained]( - [Men have fewer friends than ever, and it’s harming their health]( - [Why movie tickets will be $3 across America this Saturday]( - [What to do when your side hustle becomes a drag]( - [Too many Americans live in places built for cars — not for human connection]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=goods). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.