Stronger Than Your Boyfriend
Stronger Than Your Boyfriend
What Fitness Influencers Are Getting Wrong
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If an influencer is telling you that carbs are the devil or their exact program will get you their exact body... run. This week, we tear into the worst of fitness influencer culture: fear-mongering about food, "what I eat in a day" videos nobody asked for, cheat day videos that glorify binge-restrict cycles, and the strange new world of "looks maxing" (yes, we learned what mewing is).
We also cover the red flags to watch for, why the boring basics never go viral, and the one type of influencer actually worth following.
The lesson, as always: curate your algorithm. Preferably to dogs.
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Welcome to the Stronger than your boyfriend podcast. Podcast for anyone into fitness. You knew it was coming, especially for all the Chads out there. And you'll know exactly what we We are Heather and Katie, owners of Bar5 Fitness, here to help Chad sift through the both the fitness information that permeates the fitness industry. Oh Chad. Today we are talking about what influencers, fitness influencers, are getting wrong.
SPEAKER_00Yep, they get a lot wrong. Most of them. I mean everything. Not everything. Yeah but everything. End of end of end of podcast. Mic drop. Bye. Yes. I feel like the the biggest thing in the I don't know if this has always been around on Instagram. I feel like Instagram just started as like if you post a picture of a flower and now it's just a bunch of influencers and especially the fitness influencers just trying to fucking scare you. It's the scare tactics. I mean, it's seed oils will kill you, it's eggs will skyrocket your cholesterol. Veggies are slowly destroying your insides, and there's glyphosates on everything, and they'll kill you on your oatmeal, and gluten is the devil, and eating honey will kill all the bees, and dairy will give you acne everywhere. And carbs bad, fat bad, eating bad. Eating is bad. Like it's everything. It's if you have if you are following someone who is demonizing anything, you should stop following them. Because you can't really demonize anything, especially when it comes to food. Yeah. Because we're talking in the fitness space right now. We donuts are fine. Cake is fine. Pizza is fine. It's not gonna fucking kill you. And if you have it once in a while, especially it's not gonna kill you. But it's like these idiots out there are just, they're just trying to get the likes and the follows and the the attention. And honestly, I think a lot of these people put out false information just to get clicks, and they know that they're fucking doing that. Oh, totally. And you know, there's this one guy, he just he didn't eat, he didn't eat veggies, and now he eats, you know, then he he only ate meat and then he started eating fruit and he's like, well, that's okay. Then he started eating honey, and he's like, well, that's okay, and now he eats veggies again, and he's like, well, that's okay now, and now he's selling fucking protein bar, and it's just like, of course, you're just trying to sell your shit. Like, it's they're demonizing foods for a follow, and I think that is extremely dangerous and extremely unhealthy for most average people to follow because then they're gonna feel like a bad person if they do go out for their birthday and they have some pizza and donuts or whatever. And the basics aren't sexy and they don't sell, they're not captivating. No, it's really boring to watch someone say, Well, get your hundred grams of protein at least every day and strength train two to three times a week and make sure you get enough sleep and drink some water. Like you walk. You walk. It's just you're not gonna get follow followers unless it's unless it's controversial. Right. Which is sad, but it's true. And it's hard to make the same repurpose content entertaining. Right. So, but that's what works. Yeah. I there's no way around it. You can't change that. So anyone who's using a scare tactic, run far, far away. Or at least know if you follow them, they're a bullshitter. Yeah. And they're just trying to get you follow and get your eyes and your attention.
SPEAKER_01For sure. I think there's there's the the marketing hooks, there's also the aesthetic hooks, right?
SPEAKER_00Fitness, yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Fit nas, yes. Fit nas. People who will show their bodies and then say that this is the way I did it. Like this is the program that will get you X when that is a complete lie, because that worked for them, maybe. And maybe actually that's not even what they did, right? Potentially not, kind of the biggest thing. Yeah. But also just this belief that one program will work for everyone to get X, Y result, right? Like that's not how it works. Um, everyone's individual, yeah, and everything has to be different. And aesthetics really shouldn't be the focus anyway.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, I mean, it's just another red flag. Don't for yourself and for who you're following, aesthetics should not be the priority or the only focus. And this is, you know, people selling their bodies essentially for people to pay them money for their supplements or their program or their diet plan or whatever. That's been around for years, forever.
SPEAKER_01That's the reason the fitness industry is. Yes.
SPEAKER_00And it's yeah, that's not what it should be. Right. It that's not what health is. No. Especially the people who are really ripped and muscular, they're probably not the healthiest, even though they sell it as they're the health, healthiest. And that could be, that could be physically, that could be mentally and emotionally, because that's a you know, health, your health span encompasses all of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Your mental, emotional, physical health. And it's it's just for you as a person, don't make that your focus. Make it about how you feel about your life, about your I mean, you want to feel good about your body, right? But buying someone's, you know, videos and Instagram, you know, whatever they post, that's not it. Like we've always talked about. Your program has to be individualized, your diet is individualized, right? You like other things. These foods aren't magical. There is no magical food, there is no bad food. You could, if you track your food and you know, you know, exactly what you can eat, as or how many calories a day you can eat to maintain your weight, you can eat a donut every goddamn day if you want it. And it's not gonna do anything. So that's just an example. Here's the other thing I can't stand. What I eat in a day videos. Oh. You don't like it. Just fucking gag me. They're so lame. They're so lame, no one cares. No one cares. Why also, why are we following someone else's diet? Why do you think that people fucking care about what you eat every day? I don't know. It's so boring. It's so lame. Learn your own body, follow your own diet. This is what we're talking about. It's, I can't just stop. People who are doing it, stop posting it. I mean, sure, you want to post a fancy meal just to show off what you're eating? That's like what Instagram is, I get it. But it's these like full videos on what I eat in the day. Good for you. Great.
SPEAKER_01What I'm eating in a day is a polyamorous single mom travel blogger.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, or like a trad wife. What I make and my churned butter, whatever. Fucking stupid. And then cheat day videos. Oh. This is the worst for me. This is worse than the what I eat in the day videos. Okay. Because just can we not, we are promoting binging behavior. That's true. And I feel like the people who are watching those videos are the people who suffer from that. And this is actually serious because I think a lot of people who are, you know, they're they're very fitness-minded, they they do a lot for their fitness. I feel like they probably have struggled with this at some point. Maybe not necessarily binging, maybe it's they eat a meal and they feel bad about themselves. I I don't again, if you want to post a meal that you've enjoyed, great, but it's like the entire cheat day videos. Why are we, why are we eating that much shit? I mean, no one's gonna feel good doing that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Even those people who are super ripped and they can handle the 10,000 plus calories that they eat, they don't feel good about themselves at the end of the day. Right. Doing that shit. And they know they're doing it just for views and likes and shit. And I I think more people than you think, than we all think, struggle with that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it really does kind of reinforce this binge restrict mindset.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because most guarantee these people who are doing these cheat day videos are not fucking eating for two days. Or they haven't eaten two days leading up to that. Yeah. No, there's at least not enough. They haven't been fueling. I just know for a fact. Yeah. I know for a fact they're not doing it. And I it just there is there is a way to figure out how to balance everything. Yeah. And you can have the pancakes and the burger, it's fine. But we don't need to do it like that. Right. And if you're seeing these super ripped influencers that you follow doing it, you're thinking you're gonna think that you can do it too. Right. And then you're gonna be like, well, why am I, why do I feel bloated all the time? Why am I putting on body fat? Because you're restricting, you're restricting, you're restricting, and then you're binging pretty much, whether you want to call it that or not. Whether you think that you're restricting or not, you're gonna do it. Yeah. You are gonna do it. Because that is how shit is sold. That is what you're gonna feel like you have to do, or you're gonna go in the gym and you're gonna hammer yourself with cardio. The cheat day videos, don't watch. If you're gonna watch, watch the what I eat in a day over the cheat day. Or don't watch both. That's the best. Yeah, it's just better option, okay? Don't watch any of that shit. Oh man, it's just meah. God, this is why I don't I don't follow any fucking fitness influences.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it kind of sounds like you have more than I do because I don't see any of this stuff.
SPEAKER_00It's not, it's I've seen it in the past. I mean, I know they still happen. Yeah. I know they still happen. Yeah. I don't, my algorithm on my Instagram is curated for mostly dogs and gay shit. Like, it's not wonderful. Yeah, it's not, it's not that, but you know, we have a fitness business. Right. Yeah. It it sometimes it'll pop. You know, it does too. And it does sometimes for me because I do. I like to sometimes I'll put like repost like a funny trainer video and with that. Then you start to get more. You start to get more if I go down that rabbit hole. That's why they'll pop up for me. Yeah. Because, you know, I'm a trainer, I do it. I think some of that shit's funny, but mostly it's dogs and gay shit. I love that. I love that. Curate your algorithm to something else.
SPEAKER_01Yes, go for it. Please do. Yeah. So, okay, what else do we hate about Citizen Fuzzu? So everything dangerous advice, pedaling products, yeah, cleanses. Why? I don't think cleanses are that big anymore on like the internet, but they are still a thing in like uh I don't even know what culture this is. Bravo coach culture, like housewives and my wife's culture. The yeah, I yeah. So I mean, those are still out there. Um literally anything that doesn't have nuance. Right. So if you get a hook and it gets your attention, yeah, chances are that's not the whole story.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And be careful with people who are giving health advice. Yeah. Who are these people? Are they doctors? Are they real doctors? We're not talking about chiropractors here. Or I don't know, a psychiatrist. Are they doctors? Are they are they dietitians? You know, I health advice, just I don't know. Don't just don't. Yeah. Don't change your algorithm. I don't know. I just just know every video you see on the internet is trying to hook you somehow. Yeah. And they will do anything to get your attention. Yeah. They will say anything, they will do anything, they will be anything.
SPEAKER_01That's the thing, is it works. In marketing, it works. Yeah. And that is like you are taught that you need a hook.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And and while it may be entertaining, and let's say it does hook you, don't buy their shit. And don't, don't take, if you're, if you can do this, fine. If you can just listen to their bullshit and be like, meh, I'm not gonna take their advice. But the problem is most people are, yeah. So they're they are taking their advice, or they're slowly, you know, their their view on things are getting skewed. It's just like, whoever you surround yourself with, people, you will start to be like it.
SPEAKER_01I really do think that people are getting more literate with, specifically with influencer culture and media. Yeah. I think that the, especially like Gen Z, those below Gen Z, was that Gen L5? Why are we listening to the new one? I don't know. Well, they're gonna, I I don't know. They're gonna come up and think that Gen Z is awesome. Is that the 20-year-old peeps? Yeah. Okay. I think they are brilliant, and I think that they have I think that it's really hard because they were inundated with the internet and information and like so many things that it's like overstimulating and just like attention spans are horrible and it's not their fault. No, but they're also extremely open-minded and generous, and like I just I I really have hope for the future when I think about like the future generations. But and I think that they are coming up with a literacy that boomers for sure, and maybe even millennials, don't have about the internet. Like, I I do think that like, for instance, like, you know, my parents or people my parents' age will watch something, not know if it's AI, not know if it's real, not know. They'll just listen to. But Gen Z fucking knows. Like they're like, that's bullshit. Well, and they can call it.
SPEAKER_00And I there's something about, you know, even like, you know, smart, successful people, maybe they're older, older millennials or boomers. I s for some reason, if they see it on the internet, they think it's true. Right?
SPEAKER_01I don't know why. And I don't I don't think that people believe, like the younger generation doesn't believe that. They know how much bullshit is out there and they can play with it. Yeah. And I I think that's good. I think literacy is improving in the younger generations. Yeah, yeah. Well, that's media literacy.
SPEAKER_00That's good. I don't pay attention to that, I don't think. So that's good to hear because I just figured we were fucked with the younger generations because they're just like I don't know.
SPEAKER_01They're just I mean, I do think there's gonna be a huge impact on attention span and like I mean it's gonna be bad, but in general, but delayed gratification versus Yeah, a whole bunch of stuff. But yeah, I do think the literacy right now is better in younger folks, which is good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And lastly, if you're following anyone who says blank something maxing, like looks maxing. What is that? Oh, you don't know this fucking trend? See, I talk about Gen Z and then I don't know any of their stuff. It's like something maxing. We're protein maxing. We're looks, looks maxing. There's a there's some dude going around, he's like a looks maxer. He's getting all these surgeries to like make himself look Okay. Yeah, fucking weird. Anyone who says they're blank maxing. Isn't there a thing with your tongue that you do on a picture?
SPEAKER_01To looks max? We sound like such fucking old elder millennial slash boomers. We would do that. What's the tongue thing? I don't know. A way you put your tongue. This was actually this is actually old news, but there's like a way you put your tongue to do something with your face. I don't know. John, do you know what this is? Yeah, that's looks maxing. Oh, looks maxing, giant! That's what I'm saying. Yeah, that's also like called mewing.
SPEAKER_00Mewing! What's mewing? Mewing. You're like, the only tongue pop up. The only tongue trick I know is when you eat too cold of ice cream and you put it on the roof of your mouth to help your. That's the only thing I've ever heard with the tongue. No, this is different. This is this is Okay, yeah, so that's what I'm saying. It's like everything maxing. First of all, we don't need to max out anything. It's so stupid. It's a and of course it's a guy doing looks maxing. Why? Like this dude, well, I don't know. There's probably more, but it's like doing like jaw surgery. Like, it's kind of scary, actually. Yeah. Like a young person doing all this plastic surgery to be max looks surprised.
SPEAKER_01Is it like the new biohacking? Like now people are doing other things to make it. Yeah, it's just like go to extremes to I I don't know, but yeah.
SPEAKER_00But now, of course, it's like, you know, everything is maxing. It's you know. Gotta go all out. Don't just don't. Use that if you're gonna follow it for entertainment. Yeah. Because it's kind of entertaining. Like what? Now I'm gonna go look for it. Okay, mewing? Yes.
SPEAKER_01What is is that the like the jaw? I don't fucking know. You do something with your tongue and it makes your jaw line be better.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I feel like probably men and women are doing that. I don't know. Everyone likes likes a nice draw a line. Yeah. Okay, mewing. Mewing, add that to the list. Looks maxing. Looks maxing.
SPEAKER_01I don't even know half of it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Those are the chads. Yeah. Don't follow them. Don't follow them. Or follow for entertainment and just know that it's stupid.
SPEAKER_01And know that it's entertainment. Could be very entertaining. Very much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Maxing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00We're pod maxing. We're totally pod maxing. Pod maxing and you know, being awesome, maxing. Lifetime. Sound like a millennial. Okay. Anyways.
SPEAKER_01Yep, that's it. That's what we don't think about.
SPEAKER_00There are fitness influencers that you could follow.
SPEAKER_01Apparently, yes. Or we influencers? I don't know. But we actually have one of our like oldest videos. Do you remember when we made a video from God, 2020? Was it when we were making fun of them? Yeah. There's two videos and they're reals and we should bring them back. The problem is that our cameras weren't good quality back then. So like if we repost them, they look like shit. But they're funny. Yeah. Because I don't know, we did a bunch of stuff and I made my lips really big and it was awesome.
SPEAKER_00I mean, yeah, I feel like you have to be an influencer to sell. Which I guess we sell shit. We sell our coaching. We sell a lot of coach. We should have awesome coaching and programs and coaching.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But I do think, so back to where I was going with Lindsay being more media literate, whatever. I do think that's why I think that's why online coaching and like online personal training is so competitive now and saturated. Because of this shit. Because of the shit. And I think people are also getting smarter about it. And they to be honest, like our person in-person personal training is fucking way blowing up more than online training, right? And I think a lot of people, a lot of trainers will probably say that. I think there's two reasons. One is like, you know, COVID hit and everybody went online and now they want to get back in person and that'll be a thing for a while.
SPEAKER_00Yep. Yes, that's the other reason.
SPEAKER_01And two, because I think that sometimes like having this like influencer online fitness thing now is becoming more of a like, oh wolf, that's just bullshit. Like that's not real.
SPEAKER_00Which is good. Maybe that's right.
SPEAKER_01I think that's why our literacy is like improving. So now they're looking for people with real knowledge and people who really train all the time.
SPEAKER_00Which is great. And that is good. I do I feel like I have seen a slight trend that like a little shift. Just women, especially. Just lifting. You know, they're like just showing whatever. That's cool. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I've also seen a lot of the very big, I would call them influencers, but they weren't that people that actually do research and like, you know, like people who have PhDs and do research and have been doing this for 20 years or whatever. A lot of times they'll take like a video that someone else has made and like comment on it. Yeah. And they'll be like, okay, here's why I agree or disagree. Which I think is an interesting It's an interesting trend then I'm saying. Trend. Yeah. I think it's cool for a lot of reasons. One, it it takes out some of the bullshit. They like call out a lot of bullshit. Yeah. And two, they also help lift some of the smaller people who have small accounts and like bring them up and get them followers.
SPEAKER_00I like to watch do it. He's kind of comes off as an asshole, Lane Norton. Oh, okay. But he's smart and he knows his shit. Yeah. He does that shit all the time. He's very passionate, but he does call. I like the calling out of all the bullshit. I really do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But I the trend, if I see someone do like, why? It's like a video of someone watching their phone and the videos in the background and it just loses me. I'm not gonna fucking watch you sit and comment. Other than I don't know why, like Lane Orange is just like, yep, this is why. But he brings science. He he's like, well, this is why because of the research. Yeah. This is why they're fucking wrong. Yeah. But everyone else, I'm just like, I don't care what your take is on that. Yeah. I don't want to watch you watch a video and shit on people.
SPEAKER_01Will it be eventually the it's the person who made the video watching the person who watched the video and then like spawn to it?
SPEAKER_00It's gonna be a whole bunch of videos. It's gonna be a conception. We're watching everyone, like you see multiple people watching, and there's video. I don't know, I can't get it. I love it. That's why I just watch dog videos or animal videos or gate the gate bit. Yeah, happy fries. The uh it's coming out in July. So happy fries, go fries, go fries, try to fight out here.
SPEAKER_01The lesson is dogs and gauges. That's that's the best thing you can do is follow dogs and gauges. Okay, with that, it's out.