Why Social Media is Ruining Our Lifts

Hey there! Welcome to our little corner of the internet where we explore all things fitness. Each week, we'll take a deep dive into the secrets of a healthy lifestyle, busting fitness myths along the way, and making exercise a breeze with some super handy tips. So, get ready to join us on this exciting fitness journey!

This Weeks Healthy Discussion

• Filtering Through the Feed

• Parchment and Quills

• Two Bicep Tips

Filtering Through the Feed

I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets distracted by social media at the gym and sees a new exercise that catches my attention. It usually ends up with me going over and giving it a try, completely disregarding the workout I was currently doing.

This is a problem.

We live in a world where thousands of fitness influencers are posting every day, trying to make it big in the industry. Now there is nothing inherently bad about that until misinformation becomes the sole purpose of gaining fame.

These influencers know what works and don’t stray away from it. It’s clear that even false information sells and it’s also an easy way to get some followers too. That’s why they continue to do it.

When your mind is flooded by countless pages, it is impossible to filter what is fact and what is fiction. You can scroll for hours, looking at a million different workouts that are “the best for the muscle growth”.

This is why we need to open our eyes to false media.

So, let me help you develop your filter for spotting these types of videos out.

When checking out fitness creators, usually the ones who know what they are talking about, speak in “maybe”.

What do I mean by “speak in maybe”, well let me tell you.

When someone knows a significant amount of what they are talking about, they understand that there is no “one size fits all” answer for everyone. Especially in the fitness industry.

For example, if you see someone talking about "the best chest exercise” this wouldn’t be someone who speaks in “maybe”.

Someone who does would say something along the lines of “This chest exercise might be the best to grow your chest”

It’s still a good hook, however they specifically chose the word “might”. This is because there is no guarantee that this exercise will suit everyone due to how many factors there are when programming an exercise for someone:

• Past Injuries

• Enjoyability

• Body Structure

• Mobility

• Availability of Equipment

• Mind Muscle Connection

To just name a few.

I see lots of beginners who let social media influence them about worrying what angle they should be pressing at, or how to bias the long head of the tricep, when this isn’t their biggest worry.

My focus would be to first find their favourite exercises, then work on the consistency of training past discomfort. This intensity is where they will grow the most from.

Parchment and Quills

Recently I made the switch to a “gym journal” instead of writing everything down on my notes app. This was probably the best decision I have ever made.

The reason behind this was I found that when logging my lifts on my phone, I would find it easier to immediately go to social media and 10 minutes would fly by and I wouldn’t even notice.

Buying a journal fixed that problem.

There’s also something nice about having a separate book which has all my past lifts and weights I did. If I’m ever feeling nostalgic or doubting if I’ve ever made any progress, I can just flip back and see what I’ve done.

To make it even more personal, I write how I felt during each lift. If it felt off or great then I’d write it down. This is where it gets more individual compared to just using an app for logging.

You do have to get used to bringing your journal around with you and at least for my case, my gym friends will always make a little joke about it, which I do always find funny.

But if you can deal with that, I highly recommend purchasing a journal if you don’t like being on your phone in the gym.

Two Bicep Tips

Who wouldn’t want to grow some massive biceps.

1. Lead with your pinky finger. Sometimes all that’s needed to improve your bicep curl is changing the way you think of the movement. Next time you are doing some bicep curls, think about curling the pinky finger up and when you are about to reach the top of the movement. It doesn’t have to be much, but just the slight change can make a big difference.

2. Control the Eccentric. This is a popular tip on a lot of movements, however just as important on any bicep exercise. Don’t rush the movement, control the weight when lowering down and explode on the way up.

See how it goes and let me know!