Alejandro Arce — home Thinking in Public
No. 35 · Fitness

People pay fitness coaches for the energy

Line illustration: a coach with a megaphone beside a figure lifting a barbell.

Losing weight is really hard, yet how to do it is no secret. Eat less, move more, sleep right — anyone can find that in five minutes for free.

So why does someone pay a coach hundreds of dollars a month? For two things: a plan and accountability — someone to make them actually do the thing.

That's the whole business. And most coaches market like they've never noticed.

What coaches post

The spreadsheet

  • Macro breakdowns and meal-prep photos
  • Form corrections in the mirror
  • Certifications and before/afters
Correct. Also free, on any app, in five minutes.
What clients buy

The push

  • Someone to answer to on the bad days
  • The LETSS GOOOOO — loud, screaming, real energy
  • A person who won't let today be the day you skip it
This is the entire product. Nobody's showing it.

The mismatch — one feed sells information, the other sells will

The push is the value. That loud, screaming, LETSS GOOOOO energy that gets someone off the couch on a Tuesday they'd otherwise write off — that's what's being purchased.

That's also why people go to a class. I go to yoga because I'll do it without distractions and I'll finish the class — YouTube yoga at home, I get bored halfway through.

Client shows up
Tired, no plan
Coach brings it
LETSS GOOOOO
Client does
The rep alone they wouldn't
Which is why they
Come back tomorrow

The loop — accountability, on repeat, is the product

So if you coach, film the moment right before the set — the two of you screaming at a barbell. That's the tape people buy from. Give the plan away for free. It costs you nothing, and the push is what they're paying for.

Sell the plan for free. Sell the push.

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