Industry Toxicity

Before you start reading this I suggest you grab yourself a coffee, bulletproof of course (NOT) and get in a nice warm fuzzy mindset because a rant is coming.

Why is it that looking a certain way ranks higher for knowledge than actual knowledge?

Why do guys look up to meatheads and assume they know what they are doing?

Why do girls look up to ‘pretty’ girls for fitness and nutrition advice?

Why does no one actually research what he or she are reading before deciding it’s factual information? If I looked like Steve Jobs and told you this text you’re reading is actually yellow and not black, would you believe me just because I looked like a smart ‘nerdy’ guy?

Probably not…

Then why the hell do we, as a society look at the physicality of someone giving out information, for advice on how to be fitter, faster and healthier when that information actually comes from the brain and not his muscles or her abs?

Answer me this... Who’s advice would you ask for when it came to being better physically?

Now, while I would not be prescribing an overhead squat to a beginner, I sure as shit wouldn’t be giving girls false hope that doing body weight circuit training is going to do anything even remotely positive for 'toning' their physiques either.  

And yet in today’s society, based solely on appearance, the social media girls opinion is clearly being given more validity, despite having no reference to actual formal education on what she is prescribing via her Facebook and her business website.

Now, of course, the fitness famous will claim they are doing this all because they want to help girls “love their bodies” but is it really their number 1 priority or is it actually money?

I was lucky enough to meet a marketing director who has had the ‘pleasure’ of working in this field before and when I asked her why this shit works she told me the following:

In regards to the videos they post... It is mostly from a marketing strategy:

1. Videos have a better reach in comparison to photos - more people reached = more potential clients

2. Text overlay is better as audio does not come on automatically

3. Women like to be inspired for workouts = videos are getting shared

4. Some people don't have access to a gym = workouts you can do anywhere are highly shareable

5. Most (?) women are afraid of lifting weights = fluffy 'toning' videos are hugely popular

6. Women like to 'tone.'

 6 dot points and not one of them is based around education of ACTUAL facts.

I say fuck the toning, fuck the fluffy videos and fuck misinformation. It’s about time someone pulled the curtain down on all the crap that is out there and stop perpetuating the absolute drivel some of these popular pages are putting out there, and instead give people some ACTUAL facts.

The sad reality is, that without change, the current trend in this toxic industry just makes it easier for women to become trapped in the abyss of poor advice.  

So instead of learning something and becoming self-sufficient, we see girls bunny hopping from 1 fitness page to the next, receiving the same shitty advice on bodyweight training for toning, glute kickbacks against fucking air as ‘resistance’ for getting a firm bum, and clean eating to lose weight.  

And why do I care?  Aren’t I just another person making money in the fitness industry?  

Well yes, I do earn a living in this industry, but instead of selling bullshit information I teach people what I know. I’m not selling lies, I’m not selling a "6 weeks to abs" package or a 4hr diet… Fuck it, I’m actually not selling anything other than the knowledge I have learned and the mistakes I have made so that you don’t make them also.

But most importantly I’m teaching people how to become self-sufficient.  I’m teaching people how to not fear food, how to re-introduce themselves into society and how to actually live their lives without being controlled by their diet or their goals.

Search for knowledge when looking for inspiration or a coach. How they look in reality means far less than what they know.

Diet Smart. Not Hard.

Coach Dean.