The Problem with Fitness Influencers Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Alpha Life The Problem with Fitness Influencers Social Media Fitness and Bad Info by Tanner Shuck March 5, 2022March 3, 2022 Tags Opinion, Powerful Words Fitness Influencers Educate or Entertain I have a love/hate relationship with fitness influencers and social media. I love social media because it's an incredibly powerful tool to spread positive information and knowledge. But it's also a potent tool for spreading useless info and terrible advice. Social media is rampant with "fitness influencers" performing bogus exercises, useless training circuits, and party tricks. The sad truth? This nonsense is what gets the most likes and views. They put out content purely for entertainment: content without substance, depth, or any actionable takeaways. Every day you see these trainers – with thousands or even millions of followers – perform flying push-ups on stacked-up dumbbells, climbing two ropes with a med ball between their feet, or doing a standing ab wheel rollout on a barbell. The majority of their content is just "Hey, look at me and look what I can do!" It's narcissistic and egotistical. Here's my issue. What are these party-trick videos teaching people about exercise? Absolutely nothing. How is watching some IG clown doing a backflip burpee with battle ropes helping the average guy who struggles to perform five push-ups? It's not. It's teaching the average person nothing about proper exercise, mastering the fundamentals, or training in general. Not only that, but often it only makes them feel worse about themselves and their current physical condition. Most fitness on social media is nonsense. These people don't care about you. These "influencers" are much more concerned about getting more likes and followers than helping you achieve your goals. Want to lose weight? Eat less. Walk more. Want to get lean and build muscle? Lift weights and eat more protein. See what I'm saying? No one wants to hear the unsexy truth. Effective training can be boring. Getting good results requires a ton of fairly mundane and repetitive workouts done day after day, year after year. You rinse and repeat the same 20-30 movement patterns over a lifetime. A lean, muscular, and strong physique is the product of consistent hard work prioritizing basic movements for years. Any trainer that truly wants to help you isn't going to entertain you; they're going to educate you. A good trainer won't tell you what you want to hear but rather what you need to hear. They may not always give you the advice you want, but they will give you the advice you need. Consume social media intentionally. Know the difference between a good trainer and an "influencer." Don't be entertained. Be educated. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Alpha Life Embrace the Suck If you never find yourself in the suck, then you aren't trying hard enough to accomplish anything. Every worthwhile goal is found on the other side of the suck. And there's only one way to reach it: get mad, dig deep, and fight. Motivation, Opinion, Powerful Words, Strong Words Chris Shugart October 22 Alpha Life Anti-Estrogens Synthol and Johnny Law In this issue: A fresh look at Proviron, anti-estrogens, Synthol, and avoiding the long arm of the law. Living Better, Pharma, TRT T Nation February 2 Alpha Life 6 Gym Villains You Love to Hate Read this and know who to avoid... or avoid becoming. Opinion, Our Opinion, Strong Words TJ Kuster February 27 Alpha Life The Real Reason You re Not Making Gains This is either going to make you feel better or feel worse about your training progress. Either way, you'll learn something valuable. Bodybuilding, Motivation, Opinion, Powerlifting & Strength, Strong Words Charles Staley July 27