I'm a social media fitness junkie. I enjoy reading several blogs related to exercise and nutrition. I like to scroll through the book of faces and the twitterverse for posts and tweets which provide decent information or a bit of humor related to our wonderful fitness society.
Recently, I've noticed a sure fire way to get a lot of attention in the online fitness world. All you have to do is bash, ridicule, or condemn an individual or group of people because of nutritional beliefs or workout regimens they may be currently following.
I used to make fun of the Zumba crowd, "they should be outside sprinting - doing HIIT, its' a damn waste of time taking a dance class!"
I used to think Orange Theory was a place for people that were afraid of real strength training, "How can you call it a training session without heavy squats or deadlifts"
I used to joke about people who needed a "24 day challenge" to get in shape, "How pathetic, some people need to spend $150+ on supplements and join a challenge group just to lose a few pounds."
What was my problem? Why was I such an A-Hole?
Then I realized I was wasting negative energy worrying about what others were doing, when I should be focusing on what "I' need to do to make myself better and make my clients better.
There is too much positive information and research to neglect learning and expanding your knowledge relating to health and fitness.
Instead, it's become increasingly popular spend time proving others wrong, and make them feel like a mental midget for following a specific training program or nutrition protocol.
If a person wants to do a 24 hour fitness "body sculpt" dumbbell training session, it beats sitting on the couch watching the Bravo network.
If some sort of cleanse or weight loss challenge gets someone on the right track so that they pursue a healthy lifestyle, by all means go ahead, do what you gotta do to make yourself better. Some people are making fantastic lifestyle changes because they see what they can accomplish in a short period of time.
Crossfit takes a beating with facebook rants, blog posts, and instagram memes. Too many people focus on the negative (rhabdomyolysis, improper form/technique on lifts, and misuse of repetition ranges for certain exercises), but there are a lot of positive things that occur in the Crossfit community and a lot of great coaches who run excellent programs. I originally wrote about it HERE, almost 2 years ago......
If you are active, feeling good about yourself, and seeing positive results, that's really all that matters. So Crossfit commandos, Zumba warriors, and Elliptical Enthusiasts- keep doing your thing.
Recently some fitness folks are in an uproar because Planet Fitness is getting rid of their squat racks......
SO F'IN WHAT? I'm never gonna train there, and my clients aren't gonna train there, it makes no difference to me what happens at Planet Fitness. For some gym owners it might provide an opportunity to by some second hand squat racks at a good price.
So why all the negativity?
As the obesity epidemic continues to escalate, it's important that people just get up off their ass and do some form of exercise. Just because someone partakes in and activity you find ineffective, they should not be castrated in a public forum.
Even though you may not like or agree with every training program out there, life is too short to waste time focusing on the negative. Unless you're "calling out" Tracy Anderson, then it's okay.
Embrace movement, encourage results, and try to appreciate the positive.
