This should be about the simplest piece of guidance that you ever get as a trainer or coach in the fitness industry: don’t bad mouth your colleagues, peers, or even the YouTube/IG fitness guru who makes you want to punch a wall. And don’t ever look down on your clients, someone else’s clients or the poor sap struggling to get work one of those hip thrust machines that have suddenly become all the rage.
Nothing good comes of it, you look bad for it, and most of the time you just end up living your online life in an echo chamber with like-minded people who make you even more likely to troll those that dare not bow before you superior wisdom or rank in fitness cult.
Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day
No one, no client, no coach, no trainer, ever responds positively to the person who gets a high putting others down. You may think some people really deserve it. You know, fitness models, Instafit trainers and the like, but they probably get some things right.
Remember, the industry is full of cultish figureheads and they got to be that way because anybody can be a fitness guru. ANYBODY!
This results in all kinds of crappy and pointless discussions about good exercises, bad exercises, knees over toes, things I learned in yoga but I now call mobility exercises, you’re an athlete, how dare you call yourself an athlete, you’re going to wreck your back, you’re too afraid of wrecking your back, knees, shoulders, wrists, joints, and keto diets make me feel awesome so you have to do them, all delivered by someone auditioning for a reality show slot somewhere.
But, even that YouTube/IG snake oil salesperson probably delivers the goods for someone. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be as popular as they are. Right? Because, for as much ignorance as you find among so-called trainers and coaches, the general public is orders of magnitude uninformed. And if someone gets them to feel like they broke a sweat or discovered the secret to eternal fat-loss, they’ll worship at their feet or vagina-scented candles.
There are more people not going to gyms or being active than there are people doing stuff. It’s just math. And of all the people who do stuff, most are so far down the totem pole of achievement that even a session of vigorous birdie dancing can seem like a high-intensity interval training routine.
Which means, raging against the have no clues of fitness is like trying to hold back the tide. It’s kinda crazy.
Tribalism = Trolling
So, that’s about the trolling that comes from a deep sense of frustration. Then, there’s the trolling that comes from having always been that one person in the gym who hogged the equipment and was better at doing things than anyone else. You resent everyone who is not as good as you or as dedicated.
You make for a good troll. You have your following, fellow trollers more than likely. You might even be articulate enough to have your own system or training system for other coaches. Or, you may be the guy who is totally sold on a system or methodology. You’re the guy who believes in “fundamentals” and “science.” Lord knows you like to let everyone know how much you believe in both.
Sometimes you are a determined troll and sometimes an accidental troll (you didn’t mean to troll but it just came out that way in the comments section).
Shaming is Contagious
Diet shaming, fat-shaming, and general obnoxiousness is a form of trolling as well. Sadly, the so-called professionals are not immune to being culprits. They may be able to word things better but they sure can feel disgusted by lesser mortals who are not dedicated to the iron.
Paying clients, successful peers, and almost anyone with common sense will tell you that they are turned off by negativity that arises from people being opinionated and judgemental. It’s good to have an opinion, but the Internet, a text message or, a comment under a photo are not the places to express them eloquently, especially when you are doing it under duress in bathrooms or in your car (if you are still alive to read this, dumb-dumb).
Coaches and trainers who believe in the value of their work for all populations, independent of the way the clients look or the amount of effort they are able to generate, they are more likely to be focused on goals, motivation, building rapport, and building long-term relationships with their trainees. Being the guy who helps and has patience with lesser mortals is being the guy who gets to succeed. That extends to your fellow coaches and trainers.
There is nothing that irks us more than seeing coaches and trainers putting each other down. People have become immune to boorish behavior because the consequences online are non-existent. Everybody does it. It then translates into targeting almost anyone who falls outside of a fitness orthodoxy and that makes the non-pro collateral damage, and you then become desensitized even more to your behavior towards others.
Curiosity and Professionalism
Curiosity is your best resource. Your ability to appreciate new thoughts, ideas and approaches to problems is going to hold you in good stead for years to come. Wanting to find an intellectual sanctuary, a tribe, or a path that means you don’t have to think about alternative routes is okay, too. Wanting everyone to think like you or thinking that everyone who is wrong needs to know they’re wrong, is not a healthy path to take.
Think of any time that your free unwanted advice, even if it is not trolling, has been heeded.
Trolling your fellow professionals is definitely a bad look. Trolling civilians is a really bad look. Try changing the conversation instead of blowing it up.