The Hypocrisy of Instagram Social Justice Warriors in the Fitness Industry

I'm writing this , not because I think I'll get more followers or because I want to be edgy. I'm writing this because I'm a little angry and frankly just tired of some of the bullshit. I have a tiny following of around 400 or so which is barely a speck when it comes to instagram so don't have to worry too much about pissing anyone off.

As on all social media and in life , people are on different sides of debates. You have left leaning, right leaning, and the rest of us that are somewhere in the middle of most things. And I'm not just talking about our politics. There are some things we see as acceptable, that others may not. The fitness industry is no different. on social media, especially instagram we have people who portray themselves as one thing in order to sell you products, mostly supplements, and training programs that may or may not be as good as advertised. They claim that they are all natural knowing they have had some help or have simply just won the genetic lottery or both. They post a deluge of sub par less than effective workouts while posting even more "booty" pics to get even more followers. We all know about these types of people and if you are a fitness professional worth their salt, it annoys you. and you hope that most people will recognize real and go with talent and know how, instead of juiced to the gills and "miss new booty"

There is another type of instagram personality which to me is just as bad. And that is the "SOCIAL MEDIA FITNESS JUSTICE WARRIOR" OR smfjw. They may have once been one of those instafamous fitness people, but have seen the light. now they work on behalf of the masses, trying to call out all those fake personalities. They grew their following by gratuitous booty pics or squatting with girls on their back but have realized that its all a farce and now want to help spread the word. The only problem with that is just as they were once indoctrinated into that fake natty world, they have done the same in this one in which there is no room to question them. Their followers are just as loyal, fanatical, protective and praise everything that they say or do. yes, they may be educating people as to who they think is on the right side of this but they are just as invested in growing and maintaining a following. for if you give great advice on a deadlift or diet and no one is there to read or see it, does it make a sound? The problem is that just as with the fake fitness world, in this one any attempt at debate is promptly met with being blocked and your post deleted.

I ask, when did we become a society that was so divisive that we can't even allow for simple debate? there are trolls out there that live to make trouble on certain posts just to stir the pot. but there is something to be said about at least acknowledging other's viewpoints. This is what colleges and universities used to be about. Now, we no longer allow differences of opinion without protest. How are we supposed to learn from eachother if we can't even stand when someone writes a differing opinion on your instagram post without you blocking that person? To me that says you either don't believe in what you are saying or are unable to sufficiently back up what you say.

For instance, I used to follow a female physique competitor from canada, who I really admired for her work ethic and positive attitude. She'd post about her journey and had quite a few followers. She worked hard day in and day out but still found time to post regularly and it was appreciated. I would post congratulatory comments when she won or thumbs up for her various physique transformations. That is until one day she posted an article by her coach, about an exercise which I know a little bit about and utilize with my clients regularly, about how it was a horrible exercise and if performed would most likely cause injury. I read the article and did my own research, combed through a little data and I concluded that I wholeheartedly disagreed with him. I commented on her post and even left a link to where I found my information. I thought, no big deal. we all have our opinions on exercises as fitness professionals. The next day though, I found that this woman had decided to block me and delete my comment. I didn't really understand why as it wasn't rude and only had a differing opinion on the specific exercise. There was nothing in it about her or her coaches ability but she obviously took enough offence to me simply disagreeing with her coach and I guess by proxy her, her first inclination was to block me.

In my opinion, this is exactly why we are where we are in the world. We can't simply be in front of someone with opposing opinions. Our opinions and sides have become our identities. And if you oppose or disagree with what I am saying, you are disagreeing with my very being and I can not abide that. so I have to remove you from my sight. Whatever happened to having your convictions questioned? How strong can they be on your own without your tribe of followers backing you up? not very I'd say. but what do I know? I'm just a guy with 4oo or so followers.