HAPPY SCAM SEASON

With this being the holiday season the average person has a lot on their mind. Holiday travel plans, get-togethers, meal planning, gift shopping, and decorating are just some of the things on peoples mind. Out of all that a lot of people will first neglect fitness then embrace it.

A joyous holiday time can also be the perfect environment for corruption. Watch the news around Thanksgiving and Christmas and you’ll hear stories of charity scams, or thefts from stores and cars in the mall parking lot.

The holiday season also brings fitness corruption. The scam artists target on the fact that maybe you ate too much in November and December, and maybe you want next year to be the year you get fit. If I had a dollar for everyone who come January wants to get in shape, I’d be in the top ten of the Forbes list.

Scammers will use this time of year to make a buck off of you and others. Weight loss and health are touchy subjects, and often common sense and trust can waiver with them. With things like weight issues and health, people tend to be a little more down on their guard. If that weren’t true than the late night or Sunday morning infomercials wouldn’t be selling a billion dollars worth of sci-fi fantasy fitness contraptions.

The scammers are getting ready as I write this. They’re creating worthless but crafty diet plans, revolutionary unproductive exercise programs, and developing the next best fitness contraption that will look great in the basement collecting dust. Just like this season is a money maker for retail, it is a money maker for fitness scams.

What are the things to watch out for?

• THE QUICK FIX- Lose pounds a day in only 10 minutes. It just doesn’t work that way. Several minutes of whatever it is they purpose is not going to work. Ten minutes is barely enough time to get your heart rate up to start burning fat.

• FANCY WORDING- They think if they use fancy terms like dynamic fat metabolizing efficiency that you’ll think it’s great.  Well I just made that term up. Maybe it sounds scientific but it may as well be gibberish. These are trigger words that make you think a product is better than it really is. A product should be able to sell with elementary language if it is great as it’s supposed to be.

• REVOLUTIONARY- It will change the world and make it spin backwards. It will also build muscle, cut fat, slice, dice, and look great on your credit card bill. While there are breakthroughs in the study of fitness, they will be better publicized. If something is so great it will be talked about everywhere, not just a marketing campaign. If I figured out a real way to lose fat with no effort it would be talked about in medical literature, print and TV media, etc. Not just in an infomercial.

• THE UNKNOWING EXPERT- You all know them, or have overheard them. That guy at your job or your aunt’s neighbor. They know some great fitness secret. Maybe they have done it or heard about it through several degrees of separation. Consider the source. No offense to them but are they trained in fitness and nutrition? They may or may not have your best interest in mind but they may not be the best source. I run a fitness publication because I’ve studied it and know about it. I don’t run an auto mechanics publication because I can’t repair cars. The point is going to a good source. Get your fitness advice from legitimate sources and experts, not your friends.

• THE MAGIC BULLET- No not that TV blender, I’m talking about the pill or drink that will supposedly drop pounds with ease. They don’t exist and if they do it’s because the only weight they drop is water weight, which is not only a temporary fix but can lead to illness, irreversible damage to your body and even death.

• MIRACLE DIET- I’ve said it before and will say it forever, diets don’t work. If any of these diets worked there would be one, not thousands and furthermore there wouldn’t be an obesity epidemic.

There are many more but you should get the idea by now. The scammers will be out to make a quick buck off of your desire to better your fitness. Nothing if the world is free including fitness. So what can be done to avoid keeping the excess weight and losing valuable money?

Go to trusted and established sources. Get to your local gym and hire a trainer. Any of the more popular gyms like Gold’s and Bally’s are not out to scam you, they’re there to do honest business. Even local gyms in your area are good. Hire or just consult with trainers, get expert advice and tips.

Be cautious of what you read and hear. If you question something, then research it or ask someone who knows. As good intended as your friends may be, unless they’re trained in some area of fitness seek more established advice. There are thousands of great books out there that you can read and learn from.

If it is too good to be true, it is and it’s expensive. Be overly cautious of infomercial fitness contraptions. There is a reason your local gym doesn’t house these devices in their locations. There is a reason they pay thousands of dollars for equipment and not $19.99. If that TV ab machine worked that great there would be twelve of them in the gym.

Buy your supplements from the store or a trusted online retailer like Bodybuilding.com. Avoid too good to be true sounding products that appear in junk e mail, pop up ads, or other sources like this. Furthermore do not take supplements friends or acquaintances give you. Buy them in sealed bottles and packages from a retailer.

Overall just be cautious. Consider the source and think twice and a third time to be safe. Remember that proper eating and efficient amounts of exercise are the best and only ways to get fit, be healthy and ultimately not be taken advantage of.

© 2011 BEST FITNESS NOW