What is the future of fitness magazines?

If you ask most bodybuilders where they got their inspiration to live the lifestyle, chances are most of their stories would match up. They’d say “I saw a magazine featuring Arnold” or “There was a picture of Dorian Yates that really inspired me”. For the most part these inspirational pictures would have likely be found in a long running magazine like Flex or Iron Man Magazine. That’s not too surprising, especially when you consider that many professional bodybuilders were inspired by images that they’ve seen between one popular magazine or another. But as we move further and further into the future, people are realizing that the popularity of print magazine are starting to lose sway. It makes you wonder, is print dead where fitness magazines are concerned?

Currently we’re living in an internet age where any and everything is accessible through desktop computers, laptops, and smart phones. Access to anything is just a click away and that includes the kind of images and articles that would give your average bodybuilder inspirational fuel. In this digital era it’s becoming more and more apparent that as we move forward, the magazines that were once the focus of the fitness industry will eventually fade away to be replaced by digital outlets.

Of course that doesn’t negate the history of the popular magazines that has brought so much attention to bodybuilding and other fitness related endeavors. But the reality is that in order for there to be a future in fitness, everyone is going to have to go digital. If the recent trend of YouTube fitness stars hasn’t proven that already, then just look at the success of the other classic fitness magazines that have gone digital. Flex Magazine has integrated into Flex Online rather smoothly and has proven that in order to survive in the digital age, adaptation is a necessity. One of the biggest bodybuilding outlets (and the world) is bodybuilding.com – and they don’t even have print magazine.

Of course, this isn’t just something effecting the fitness industry – it’s effecting the entire scope of print media. Check out this comparison of this year’s first quarter to last year for the leading magazine publishers:

Graphic shows the top 10 publishers in Q1 2015.  Source: MagNet

This switch to digital surely makes sense in today’s society where anyone can have a smart phone everywhere they go – but it especially makes sense for the bodybuilding community. No matter how far this industry has grown it is still a niche sport and the internet provides a level of connectivity bodybuilding fans to connect in ways that were previously impossible. Since the advent of the internet fitness enthusiasts have been finding a new outlet for their inspiration. Reddit Bodybuilding, Bodybuilding.com, and other forums of the like have converted many fitness fanatics and has produced tons of new fans. This new digital age has allowed individuals with a new and unique voice to flourish. No one form of media rules the day and through the expansion of the online fitness community many new people have a voice and a platform to get their own message across, inspiring legions of others in the process.

So is print dead? Not entirely. Magazine racks at your local supermarket or convenience store will always be filled with some kind of print media. But the truth of the matter is that you no longer need to rely on that one special issue with your favorite athlete in order to be inspired. With the digital era in full swing, inspiration is all just a click away and that’s exactly how it should be. So when the new generation of bodybuilders proclaim in interviews that they became inspired by the big mass monsters in Flex or Muscular Development… will it be on the magazine or the computer screen?
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Do you think print media in fitness is a thing of the past? Let us know what you think in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.