INDUSTRY VIEW
PETE COHEN • PERFORMANCE COACH
Real change starts with identity, not intensity
W hat if the biggest opportunity in the tness industry right now is not helping people do more but helping them understand themselves better? For years, we have measured success through effort. More sessions. More intensity. More output. But what if the real question is not how much people are doing, but how they are feeling while they are doing it?
they achieve, and how consistently they perform. But far less attention has been paid to how people actually feel. I don’t think there has ever been a more important time for us to recognise the true impact that exercise has on mental health. Now more than ever, people are associating movement with feeling better, not just looking better. Because what we are really Behavioural change is not just about what people do It is about how people think, feel, and respond under pressure. The fitness industry has never been more
in the business of is not just physical transformation, but human transformation. More people are exercising than ever before, yet many are also more tired, more stressed, and more disconnected. This isn’t a failure of tness. It’s a sign that tness on its own is not enough.
I started in the tness industry in 1989, and over the years I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the biggest operators in the sector as a behavioural change expert. My weight loss programme was licensed by organisations such as Freedom Leisure, Life Leisure, Next Generation, LA Fitness and Village Hotels. We trained their instructors not just how to deliver workouts, but how to help people change their behaviour. Because even then, it was clear to me that lasting results were never just about the exercise. They were about the person. And if I am honest, my passion has always been for the people who join our facilities and then quietly disappear. Not because they don’t care. Not because they lack discipline. But because they don’t yet see themselves as someone who belongs there. They want to feel con dent. They want to feel strong. They want to become the kind of person who lives that way. But without the right support, that dentity never quite takes hold. And those are the people we are losing. The truth is, they don’t need more complexity. They need simple tools. Simple strategies. And environments that help them build belief in who they are becoming. Because when that shifts, everything shifts. Over the past few decades, I’ve watched our industry evolve in remarkable ways. We’ve become more informed, more scienti c, and more sophisticated in how we train the body. But despite all of this progress, something important has often been overlooked. We have focused heavily on how people look, what PC001-Stop-2 Think-A4.indd 1
advanced in helping people train their bodies. But long term change happens when people learn how to manage themselves with greater awareness, clarity, and intention. STOP 2 THINK helps organisations create practical behaviour change strategies that improve wellbeing, performance, engagement, and retention.
“The people we’re losing don’t lack discipline, they lack belief they belong.”
The real opportunity for our industry is to shift from simply helping people do more… to helping people become more aware. In my work, I talk about STOP 2 THINK. Not as a technique, but as a way of being. Because what most people need is not another programme or another push. They need space. Space to notice how they feel, space to re ect on what they actually need, space to reconnect with themselves. When people are constantly pushing without pausing, they lose that connection. And when that happens, even the best programme will fall short of what they are really looking for. If the last 20 years have been about building stronger bodies, the next 20 years must be about helping people build a better relationship with themselves. Because when people learn to pause, to listen, and to respond rather than react, everything changes. And that is where true health begins. Pete Cohen, Performance Coach, Author & Keynote Speaker To find out more, email pete@petecohen.com or scan QR code opposite to visit petecohen.com Letʼs start a conversation
13/05/2026 14:15
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2026
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