Not Another Resolution Piece

You can all relax, as noted this isn’t a New Year’s resolution post or anything like that, but it’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these, so I wanted to make this something good for the first one of the year.
 
The state of the fitness, S&C or training industry, whatever you wish to reference it as, has some great things going recently, but is also in worse shape than ever in some ways. Things like social media, and I’m not here to hate on social media because I like it when it’s done right, but social media has made things more confusing, and even dangerous, than ever. For today I want to hit on a few things, things that fall into one of the categories generally; things I like that I’ve seen recently, recent, or semi recent, things I don’t love, but see the value and somethings I absolutely cannot stand.

To recap, if you know me you know these things

 Weights, cardio/conditioning, eating the good stuff and proper recovery: Yup, insert double heart emoji.

Fitness classes, and other modalities not traditional training: Don’t love em, but totally see the value.

Fit teas, crash diets, fad diets, anything Dr. Oz says, magic trick exercises, anything related to Beach Body, fat shaming and fear mongering: I see it and I want to punch the wall, so yeah I hate them.

Things I’m liking

Getting started however you can- I was once one of the dunder heads that thought you must start by doing strength training or you’re wasting your time. I’m thankfully not that coach anymore. The world has changed so much in the last 20 odd years, it is so easy to be sedentary (and I love my lazy days trust me), folks simply aren’t moving much anymore, so yeah whatever gets them off their backsides, I’m in, go for it.
 
Training for reason that are more beneficial than the scale- We all know the scale is a jerk and isn’t going to give an accurate reading on how healthy you are. There are ton of other things that factor into your health, so focusing just on that, is a less than ideal approach. Focus on other things, weight will come down and the body will change, without being a slave to the demon number reader.

Things I don’t love, but see value in

At home virtual gyms (Peloton, Tonal, Mirror, etc…)- Yeah, do you remember the 2nd part from above? So it’s going to get folks moving, that’s a W in my book. My only real issues with these is the “coaching” that’s on offer is about 90% cheerleader and 10% coach, not to mention the programs are subpar to bad. Also, they are so damn expensive, like wow expensive. So, if you have it, it gets you moving, let’s face it we all need a cheerleader sometimes, use it to the best of your ability.

Things I absolutely can't stand

(if you get uncomfortable easily skip this part)

The wrong folks handing out advice (I’m talking like specific programming)- Cool you got fit, congratulations on reaching your goals, but you are far from qualified to be handing out advice. Also, the coach that’s a bodybuilder handing out nutrition plans is really bad too. People go to school for this stuff and work really hard to be sure you get the proper advice, do not spit in their face by buying a “meal plan” from Doug the fitness hammerhead down at the gym (or on Instagram).
 
Any coach being a  piece of garbage, but getting a pass because of "their knowledge"- To me, this is similar to the old boys club or old big wigs that don’t get in trouble for their past but very ugly sins because they’ve been around so long. There are a many coaches that are getting a pass on being piles of garbage, because their knowledge is so valued. To hell with that, no amount of knowledge is worth putting someone like that, up on a pedestal to any degree. There are hundreds of smart coaches out there that you can get similar or the same information from, don’t give the dirtbags the time of day. I’m not naming names, but if you think I’m talking about the person in your head...I am. Nobody is perfect, but there must be a line, otherwise, we continue to pedal the cycle.

OK, sorry got a wee bit aggressive and dark at the end there, I have strong ideas and opinions, oops. If I didn’t bore you to death or scare you off at this point, thanks so much for hanging in there and reading this first piece of 2022. I hope everyone out there is off to a great start to their year (and if not, no big deal, you got time).

Have a great week everyone and get after it!