Health Magazines Sorta Suck: Video Blog41.2 lbs LOSTso farMay 15, 2008 by Israel Lagares | 26 comments

It’s been a while since I posted a video blog. In this weeks version I go over the special “ad reports” that are found within health and fitness magazines. These fake articles trick you into thinking they are articles only to shove a product down your throat as you find yourself enjoying what you read. Don’t get me wrong, health magazines have value. You just need to know how to filter through and find it.

I must warn that the video quality is extremely grainy (something happened in the conversion). Enjoy!

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26 Comments »

Comment by Blaine MooreNo Gravatar
2008-05-16 19:55:00

While they can be aggravating (especially if you don’t notice the “this is an ad” fine print) they can also be useful. Like you said yourself, one of them was for a website that you went to and enjoyed.

Advertising is advertising. The folks that put the magazine deserve to make money, and the vast majority of a magazine’s budget comes from the ads and not from the subscriptions. (Except for Consumer Reports, which doesn’t accept advertising.) I look at the ads, read the ones that quickly provide interest to me, and ignore the rest.

 
Comment by scarfaceNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 10:40:22

Thx for the post.am just wanna ask you how to loss fat fast i think am obesities.am 24 years old and weight 111kg height 176 cm.can you help me please?

 
Comment by make money in gta 4No Gravatar
2008-05-17 12:33:48

I hate reading an article and then as soon as you get to the bottom you realize it was an ad. Pisses me off, I’m supposed to be AD blind, I’m a webmaster.

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 21:26:42

LOL. Ad Blind. you are so funny.

 
 
Comment by Pauls Drinking DietNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 14:19:30

I don’t really bother with magazines much any more, for the past few years they seem to be 90% product pushing and 10% useful information.

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 21:27:00

Yep! That’s what I’m saying.

 
 
Comment by MuscleBitsNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 20:45:39

You hit it spot-on man. The problem with most health and fitness magazines these days is that they are predominately ad showcases. I’d venture to say that nearly half of every health magazine is a supplement catalog. What’s worse is it seems that these magazines push you to follow bodybuilders and top fitness models’ exercises and routines, most of which lack any scientific basis and the fact that many of the physiques aren’t drug free.

I stopped reading health magazines partly because I find recycled tips that I’ve already read. Every once in a while I’ll stumble upon something new, but this is few and far between.

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 21:29:31

I’d like to see some research on the % of magazines and how much is ads versus real useful info…

 
 
Comment by MuscleBitsNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 23:15:30

Although I don’t remember exactly where I spotted it, I do recall a claim that the average fitness and bodybuilding magazine was composed of either advertisements or “advertorials” (those ads that appear to give a sort-of opinion, as would an editorial). Fitness-wise, I’d stay away from any magazine published by Weider; they are all about the ad-sales (Think Muscle & Fitness or FLEX Magazine). Men’s Health seems to have the lowest occurrence of ads that I’ve seen in a fitness/health magazine.

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 23:26:39

Advertorials, ad reports, all the same garbage!

 
 
Comment by MuscleBitsNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 23:21:48

And I love how you threw in the “Four-Page Ad Report” on Lipo 6. I can’t tell you how many of my friends came up and told me they thought it was the most “scientifcally-proven” product they have seen because it had a supposed doctor’s photo sitting in the article with his endorsement and a bunch of “scientific claims.” :)

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 23:27:08

Man, a few years ago I was one of those that fell for it. These companies know what they are doing!

 
 
Comment by MuscleBitsNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 23:30:50

I think many of us fell victim to supplement company hard-sell tactics. I’ve never used Lipo 6, but I’ve used some other fat burners; nothing works better for me than plain ol’ exercise/cardio and a sound nutrition plan!

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-17 23:33:43

Amen to that!

 
 
Comment by MuscleBitsNo Gravatar
2008-05-18 00:04:59

We ought to start our own magazine and offer a page full of 125×125 ads! :)

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-18 12:40:56

You been reading my mind. Let’s do it.

 
 
Comment by make money in gta 4No Gravatar
2008-05-18 02:45:33

lol agreed.

 
Comment by MrCookerNo Gravatar
2008-05-18 18:49:29

Thanks for the heads up Israel.

I do all my reading on blogs and websites. At least there you can see the difference between an ad and an article.

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-18 21:38:22

No prob. Thanks for stopping by. You make a good point.

 
 
Comment by herpesNo Gravatar
2008-05-21 10:49:02

Well, ads help to create some brand awareness. The problem is, there’s so many ads going out at the same time the consumers get lost. Hard to identify which is the BEST of the BEST. Articles can be misleading as well. Are they paid to say what they said? Or is it for real? Health mags are among the many culprits out there

 
Comment by MikeNo Gravatar
2008-05-21 21:15:35

How many different ways can you show someone how to do a bicep curl, squat, lunge and “how to burn fat fast”?????

I haven’t read a muscle mag for years dude! They are 80% ads which gets annoying.

Mike

 
Comment by JohnNo Gravatar
2008-05-22 16:22:15

What really grinds my gears is how the ad shows some guy who is OBVIOUSLY juiced up on ‘roids saying, “I got all my muscles from taking supplement X calorie loader/protein shake.” Oh, really?! I doubt it.

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-22 17:32:40

Damn, I forgot to mention that. But you are right on point.

 
 
Comment by MuscleBitsNo Gravatar
2008-05-22 23:07:53

I think the most notorious are MuscleTech’s ads. They always have some quack doctor and the most “science-centric” diction in their so-called ad reports. Even worse, they are the most expensive supplements available and they claim that they are the product of university testing. So Johnny-boy goes out to the store and buys MuscleTech because it claims it was researched at [insert university here]. What the average consumer doesn’t know is, the research at that university was not for the product, but instead just generic research on a few compounds within their supplement. The studies have nothing to do with their MuscleTech brand whatsoever. Some marketing scheme…

Comment by Israel LagaresNo Gravatar
2008-05-23 07:53:55

Wowsers, I wonder who’s their marketing director…dudes a genius!

 
 
Comment by ValcaNo Gravatar
2008-06-03 23:44:07

This video had me on the floor laughing when you tore out the pages of those mags. Keep up the good work and make more videos, they are awesome! They should put you on TV :P

 
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    • My name is Israel. I used to be the kind of guy that was always in shape: a gym rat. But over the last few years I have fallen off tremendously. This is my final attempt to get back into shape and get to where I once was using this weight loss blog as my main tool.
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