Cutting the Crap
If you’ve spent any time trying to get fit, you’ve likely bumped into some frustrating roadblocks put up by the mainstream "fitness industry." It's often filled with dogma, unnecessary rigidity, and a focus on aesthetics that can make fitness feel more like a chore than a path to better health.
As someone who works in this space, I want to call out five things that seriously grind my gears—and that you should feel free to ditch for good.
The All-or-Nothing Mentality
"Clean eating," "perfect macros," "zero sugar"—it can feel like everything you eat or drink needs to be flawless, or you’re a failure. That’s exhausting and frankly, unsustainable.
Newsflash: Life happens! If you want a beer with your friends at a social gathering, drink the beer. If you want a slice of birthday cake, enjoy the cake. Fitness and nutrition should be about consistency over perfection. One meal, one drink, or one day won’t derail your progress. Focus on making good choices most of the time.
Going Full Ham Every Time You're in the Gym
We've all seen the posts: "Go hard or go home!" or "No excuses!" While intensity is great, the expectation that you must crush a personal record (PR) every single session is absurd.
Some days are just better than others. Whether you're dealing with mental overload, a nagging injury, or those terrible seasonal allergies (hello, Austin sufferers!), sometimes giving 70% is all you have. And guess what? That is more than enough. Showing up and giving a smart effort, even a reduced one, is the true win for long-term progress.
Putting Mental Health on the Back Burner
Yes, exercise is a fantastic tool for improving mental health. It can be a genuine "crutch" in the best way. However, the minute you start beating yourself up because you missed an incredibly strict lifting schedule, you're defeating the entire purpose.
Fitness should support your life, not stress it out. Take baby steps that genuinely make you feel better. If you need a few days off and that means just taking a long walk with your obnoxious husky (or favorite pet/person) before getting back to the gym, then I call that an absolute win! Prioritize your peace.
Thinking Certain Exercises Are a MUST
I see this one a lot. The industry loves to declare certain movements essential.
Take the bench press, for example. I don't like it. I really, really don't. (Though, yes, as a trainer, I’ll sometimes program it for myself because I’m a masochist.) But the point is: If you don’t like an exercise, don’t do it! If you hate Bulgarian split squats (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), you don't have to torture yourself. There are plenty of other effective quad/glute-dominant exercises you can sub in. Find what you tolerate and enjoy, and stick with that.
Defining Fitness by a "Perfect Body" Standard
In mainstream media, very low body fat and muscle definition are often presented as the only valid measure of "peak fitness." This is a lie. Lifting isn't just about aesthetics. Full stop.
Maybe your definition of peak fitness is being able to throw that 50lb bag of dog food over your shoulder without assistance. Maybe it’s just making sure you can run around with your kids on a day-to-day basis without getting winded. Fitness is about capability, strength, and health—whatever that looks like for your life.
Lifting and exercise are powerful tools for capability, health, and a better quality of life. The focus should be entirely on what your body can do for you in the real world. You get to decide what "fit" means for you.
What's the most annoying fitness industry trend you've come across?
