A letter from Arnold

I've been in the fitness industry for six decades. I know how it works. And over time, I've learned an ugly truth: the industry profits most when you fail.

Every January, gyms and apps scream DISCOUNTS.

They want you to sign up, pay up, and then quietly disappear. I've talked to gym owners who admitted something shocking: they get nervous advertising after January… because it reminds the members who don't show up that they're still paying every month.

That's the system. And I don't like that system.

We are not here just to take your money. We are here to make you better.

I have a theory: overthinking has killed billions of dreams.

You say, “My vision for this year is to finally get in shape.”

Your brain says, “Now hold on, what supplements do you need for that? What is the absolute perfect exercise? What’s the ideal diet?”

Absolutely none of that will get you in shape.

In the time you were thinking about all of those things and researching, you could have done some squats and pushups and rows in your living room, gone for a walk, and eaten a vegetable and some protein.

Researching different training plans never put an ounce of muscle on anyone. Reading about diets never caused anyone to lose any weight.

Optimization is just procrastination with a better story.

The person who doesn’t know anything about the perfect exercise or supplement or diet but just started doing something will win every single time.

Progress, not profit, first.

So for the past three years, we ran an experiment. We tested everything. And what we saw was clear, and uncomfortable for the industry: The bigger the discount, the less people train. Every time.

So we did something different.

Instead of making it cheaper to start, we made it cheaper to finish — we give you money back for completing a program.

And those members were different. More consistent. More committed. More likely to finish.

That's when I knew: this is the right way to do fitness. Most companies are happy if you pay and disappear.

We're only happy if you show up.

That’s why I built my fitness app.

You open it, you press start, and the plan tells you exactly what to do today. In a gym, or on your living-room floor.

But I have been doing this for six decades, and I know the plan is only half of it.

The rewards in fitness have always been in the wrong place: for starting, instead of for being consistent.

If you want people to get results, you don’t give the discount up front. If that worked, the gyms would still be packed in February.

The industry profits most when you fail. We only want you to succeed.

So instead of making it cheaper to start, we made it cheaper to finish.

Finish your first program, get $50 back. Finish all four, and you have earned $100 back for the year.

That’s not a gimmick. It’s because it works.

It is momentum, not motivation. Motivation is a feeling, and feelings come and go. Momentum is physics. Once you are moving, it is easier to keep moving than to stop.