Spring Training Tips: Health and Fitness in Social Media
Social media is a double-edged sword that has to be used wisely. In the health and fitness world social media is great when it comes to 3 things:
Information - The sheer amount of information and content that’s available is unprecedented, making it easy to get what you need to pursue your goals.
Entertainment & Motivation - There’s plenty of entertainment and motivation across all social media platforms, and while health and fitness isn’t meant to entertain, it can be made enjoyable and inspiring. It gives us just the boost we’re looking for when we need a little motivation.
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Connection - Social media connects people and groups together. Making connections with like-minded people improves your overall experience and increases engagement, as well as the likelihood for success, a key point in health and fitness.
There is a down side to social media, however, in that social media can unnecessarily distort your reality.
Finished Product - Social media has an inherent perfection bias where posts can be carefully constructed to look absolutely perfect. Pictures of vibrant colored food and perfectly chiseled bodies can make anything less seem bland. Don’t let social media wrap you up into a false sense of “perfection”.
Unvetted & Unqualified Sources - There’s a lot of noise out there and everyone is a coach, authority or guru, whether real or perceived. It’s important to vet the sources. Social media has a self-oriented bias and often times the tips, advice and recommendations that are offered work for the source and may not necessarily work for you.
Unnecessary Pressure - Social media can have you feeling bad about yourself pretty quickly. Based on how you’re feeling and what you’re seeing, you may begin to act outside of your own self-interest. For example, today might be your rest day from the gym, but if you see someone on Instagram post a gym selfie, you may feel bad that you didn’t go and end up heading to the gym anyway. You may see an amazing photograph of an omelet on Pinterest and because yours could never measure up, you may feel bad about yourself and make a bad food choice instead.
When it comes to social media, keep it in check, and use it as a tool for information, connection and inspiration, not a metric for self-evaluation and judgment.
-- Brandon Mentore: Optimal Sport's Personal Trainer/Health Coach, Strength and Conditioning coach, Functional medicine practitioner and Sports Nutritionist