Manipulating the social algorithms to get better fitness advice

In the world of social media fitness, there is a ton of noise. What’s true? What’s fake? What’s maybe ok for some but inappropriate for others?

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

The best way to quiet the noise and get the crappy stuff to disappear into social media abyss is to disincentiveize the creators. We stop clicking, liking, engaging, and we trick our own algorithm into giving us fitness content that is science-based, nuanced, and positive.

So how do we tell the difference?

Though it can be very challenging to figure out what’s helpful and what can be destructive, I have some general, easy to spot red flags you can look out for. I’m not going to go deep into why because we would be here all day.

• Anything labeled “fat shredding.” Its buzz-word-y at best — designed to play on peoples’ desire for quick fat loss. This goes for both fitness and nutrition advice.
• Most “you’ve got to try this” style advice. More often than not, these seem to come from non-credentialed fitness enthusiasts who tried something once and it burned so they thinks it’ll work for everyone. Be skeptical.
• Anything flashy or complicated. There is a popular phrase amongst fitness professionals that says “boring is best.” This isn’t intended to be a…