When it comes to marketing and exposure there’s no doubt that social media outlets including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are invaluable to fitness professionals. You can reach an incredibly large and diverse market, and communicate all kinds of information quickly and effectively. Obviously I utilize these resources through my occasional blogging and Facebook posting and my recent YouTube adventures. It has been suggested to me by multiple that I should open an Instagram account but I just can’t bring myself to do it, and here’s why.

It seems to me that how many followers a person has on Instagram is being confused for credibility and knowledge as a fitness professional. Looking good and taking good pictures, posting the right motivational quote, snapping pics of your salad…I don’t have a problem with trainers and fitness instructors doing this to demonstrate what it takes to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. I know as well as anyone that it takes a lot of work. But this is not the same thing as being educated, knowledgeable, certified, and being able to teach safe class or train an individual on their specific needs and goals. Sure, you can have both a popular Instagram account and be well educated and good at your job, but unfortunately this is not always the case. I work out with one of my clients in the gym in his building. A couple weeks ago there was a girl in there who I will admit had a pretty great looking body-slim, toned muscles, low body fat (I’m not into the fake boobs and her ass was also questionable…but that’s Miami). Nothing she did in the gym explained in any way how she looks like that because in the 30 minutes that I saw her working out she didn’t do a single exercise that was worth a damn. Then she spent the last 20 minutes of her time in the gym attempting to take the perfect selfie. This place is like a funhouse of mirrors and she tried all of them. I’m making an assumption that the pic was for Instagram and I could be wrong, but nonetheless she demonstrates a population of fitness bloggers or Instagram “models” that I see all the time. They look good, so whatever they’re doing is working well for them, but when they get clients with extremely different capabilities and needs, they are doing things that are totally inappropriate for that person.

An example of how Instagram looks nice, but can be as real as reality TV, is a former student of mine who also has many Instagram followers. His page is covered with pictures and videos at the track at Flamingo Park, workouts on the beach, more stuff about the beach lifestyle, beach, beach, beach…the guy lives in Hialeah. For non-Miami people, Hialeah is nowhere near the beach. I will give the guy credit that he has his degree in Exercise Physiology, but let’s just say he wasn’t my top student. And a manager at a local training facility refused to hire him. So at least he’s not completely clueless, but he’s not that great, and his Instagram posts are BS. Sure, everyone knows how to work a pair of scissors, but that doesn’t make you a hairdresser. You have to go to school and obtain a license from the state before you can say that. So just because you can pick up a dumbbell, does that mean you know how to design a fitness program for someone? I don’t think so. What happens if you give someone a terrible haircut? They’re pissed, then their hair grows back. But what if you’re an uneducated trainer and you push someone to the point of rhabdomyolysis? Best case scenario they go into kidney failure, worst case scenario they die. I realize that sounds a little apocalyptic, but it’s happening more are more. I’m not saying that I believe if someone is on Instagram and has a lot of followers that they automatically don’t actually know anything. I just want to encourage people to be more aware of the true qualifications of the people they choose to get their information from.

Does the person have formal education in an exercise related field? What certifications do they have and are they high quality? What kind of work experience do they have? In addition to being what many people consider a hobby, exercise is a burgeoning field of science with an increasing population of highly educated and effective people studying and working to improve the health and well-being of the general population. Wouldn’t you rather get your tips from one of them? This is how I have chosen to set myself apart. I don’t do gimmicky short-term challenges, I don’t sell myself out with cheezy pictures of every workout I do because honestly there are too many. I have spent years of my life, tens of thousands of dollars, blood, sweat, and tears to read, study, practice and teach as much of what I know as possible. So, thank you to those of you that have shown me how much you value me, my knowledge and my experience by being my real-life followers in class and in training. A picture may be worth a thousand words but in this case I’d rather help you in person.