Super Junior Kim Hee-chul's Meddling: "Gym Concerns—The Survival Method for Trainers"

“Gyms themselves are having a very hard time lately. Because of things like Mounjaro and Wegovy, they will be struggling in many ways.”

A short remark from Super Junior's Kim Hee-chul went beyond mere laughter, evoking the recently changing landscape of the diet market. Moving away from an era where exercise and diet management were considered everything for weight loss, the emergence of obesity treatments as a matter of public interest is bringing new changes to the gym and trainer industry. As consumers, who used to unconditionally start with exercise to lose weight, now consider medical methods, the traditional formula of the exercise market is being shaken.

In the JTBC variety show 'Love War' broadcast on the 5th, the story of a couple experiencing conflict over their occupations and consumption habits was revealed. On this day, the boyfriend shared the motivation behind choosing his profession as a fitness trainer and the process of changing his body and life through exercise over a long period.

He revealed that during his first year of high school, he had a complex about his frail physique, standing 171cm tall and weighing 51kg. He saved the wages he received from a part-time job at a fried chicken restaurant to register for a gym, and experienced his body changing as he began exercising. He explained that he has since increased his weight to 68kg and followed the path of a professional trainer after obtaining certifications.

Exercise meant more than just a change in body shape. It gave confidence to his frail self and eventually led to his profession. Having started working as a trainer immediately after discharging from the military, he viewed his job positively enough to say, “I like the job of a fitness trainer.” However, just because it was a job he liked, reality was not always beautiful.

In the world of trainers, there exists monthly recurring pressure for sales. He confessed that he suffered continuous stress under a structure where he had to meet a certain level of sales, and felt intimidated by the thought that he alone was falling behind while his colleagues were producing results. If sales were low, his salary was also set at a low grade, and in aptitude tests, his self-esteem appeared low at around 10 points, while his burnout levels were high.

Ultimately, after deciding "I don't have the confidence to do this job," he decided to resign. Although he became a trainer by gaining confidence through exercise, fitness as a profession could actually place a greater burden on sales and performance than on physical strength. Lee Hyo-ri also mentioned the atmosphere where modern trainers must actively engage in self-PR and external exposure, noting it would have been even harder if they lacked the extroverted personality required for member management and sales.

At this point, Kim Hee-chul brought up Wegovy and Mounjaro. He said, “Gyms themselves are having a very hard time lately,” and “Because of things like Mounjaro and Wegovy, they will be struggling in many ways.” Seo Jang-hoon also agreed. Although thrown out like a joke, it was a remark that concisely showed the reality that consumer choices surrounding weight loss have become much more diverse than in the past.

In the past, the basic formula of the weight loss market was relatively simple. The core was eating less and moving more. Registering at a gym, receiving PT (Personal Training), and managing a diet were representative diet strategies. However, recently, as more people seek to manage appetite and weight through medical approaches, the diet market itself is being reorganized. While exercise is not disappearing, the formula of "to lose weight, first go to the gym" has ceased to be an absolute proposition.

This change is by no means light for gyms. Given the nature of the industry, which must secure members and induce long-term registrations, if consumer interest in weight loss shifts to other methods, existing sales strategies will inevitably be affected. Especially in an environment where sales targets are strongly imposed on individual trainers, changes in the number of members and PT registration rates are highly likely to connect directly to their livelihood.

Of course, it is also necessary to guard against simple interpretations that Wegovy or Mounjaro completely replace exercise. This is because weight loss and maintaining a healthy physical state are tasks on different dimensions. Even if weight is lost through medication, issues such as muscle mass, physical strength, and lifestyle management may remain separately. Ultimately, the future diet market is likely to focus on how medical management, dietary habits, and physical activity can be combined, rather than a method of choosing between medication and exercise.

Above all, what draws attention in this broadcast is the fact that an individual's burnout did not occur simply because of a "lack of will." A person who changed themselves through exercise, after taking that exercise as a profession, instead suffered from another pressure of labor: sales, performance, and self-PR. It revealed the reality that the gym, which appears to be a symbol of health and self-management, can also be a space of fierce survival for someone.

Kim Hee-chul's remark, "Gyms are struggling because of Mounjaro and Wegovy," can also be viewed within such changes. As we enter an era where dieting is no longer explained simply by an individual's will and effort, related industries are also being required to make new adaptations. The gym, which used to sell exercise, now faces the important task of how to prove values that are difficult to replace with medication alone, such as physical strength, muscle power, posture correction, and quality of life, rather than simple weight loss.

Ultimately, the competitiveness of fitness trainers is also likely to be determined by more than just the skill of building a body. The ability to persuade members why exercise is necessary, explain what needs to be managed after medication-centered weight loss, and suggest a sustainable lifestyle suited to each person's physical condition may become more important. The question posed by Kim Hee-chul's joke-filled remark is unexpectedly not simple. Because if the center of the diet industry is shifting, gyms must also re-prove their reason for existence in accordance with that change.