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 literal statement, but oftentimes the most effective exercises and programs, tend to be repetitive and highly-inclusive of fundamental movements.
• Anything that hurts when you try it. For fncks sake, just stop if it hurts.
• Anything recommended by someone without any credentials. Just because it looks slow and controlled and difficult and is preformed by someone who is fitted entirely in GymDolfin in the video doesn’t mean its (a) an effective exercise in general, (b) and effective exercise for your goals, and (c) like, a real exercise at all.

Now what?

Now that we’ve talked about some red flags to look out for when consuming content, let’s look at reshaping your algorithm to try to make sure the advice you’re getting is sound, science-backed, and works in support of a keeping a positive, inclusive gym environment.