Walk into any gym, open any fitness app, or scroll through your feed for five seconds, and it becomes very clear: we’re living in the noisiest era in fitness history.
Every day, a new “expert” emerges with another flashy method, another secret, another “this changed everything for me” shortcut.
Consumers are confused — and rightfully so.
What’s interesting is how quickly the conversation shifts to who is responsible for the mess.
Maybe trainers are the problem now. Maybe influencers are the ones ruining everything.
Is the industry obsessed with shortcuts because people demand them, or because companies profit from them?
The answer isn’t as black and white as people want it to be. But the phenomenon is worth dissecting, because it says a lot about the zeitgeist today, and why so many people feel lost despite having more information on hand than at any other point in time.
This isn’t another article about discipline. We handled that last time — through the lens of privilege, access, and real human circumstances.
This time, the focus is on responsibility, culture, and the incentives that lay beneath, to shape the modern fitness landscape.
THE PROBLEM DIDN’T START WITH BAD INFORMATION — IT STARTED WITH TOO MUCH INFORMATION
There have always been bad ideas in fitness. That’s not new.
What is new is the speed at which those bad ideas spread.
20 years ago, a poor training concept died quietly inside a local gym. Maybe it stuck around for a couple of die-hards, but it certainly didn’t go viral.
Now it just takes one trainer with a ring light, a pair of booty bands, and possibly a willingness to say something incendiary, and you can bet it can reach a million people overnight. And remember – social platforms reward novelty — not accuracy.
So the content that spreads like wildfire is rarely the most helpful. It’s the most clickable.
This all leads to a brutal reality:
The fitness industry doesn’t reward the coaches who know the most. It rewards the coaches who look the most confident when they’re oversimplifying things, rage baiting, or misleading.
When you combine that with the average consumer’s desire for things to be easy, you get the perfect storm: Low quality advice spreads. Echo chambers form. Nuanced advice gets ignored.
ARE TRAINERS PARTLY TO BLAME?
Yes.
But not for the reason most people assume.
I don’t think most trainers are intentionally misleading anyone.
I don’t think most trainers are lazy.
And I certainly don’t think most trainers are malicious.
But a portion of the profession has given up on leading, and has settled instead for chasing whatever already works on social media.
When trainers stop setting standards, influencers fill the vacuum. The average person can’t tell the difference between a qualified coach and an enthusiastic internet hobbyist — and at scale, that creates a level of confusion the industry still hasn’t figured out how to reverse.
Trainers who do know what they’re doing, often stay quiet.
They’re tired of fighting the algorithm, or being drowned out by louder personalities.
They’re tired of trying to explain that real progress doesn’t fit neatly inside an 8-second clip, an aggressive crash diet, or even a singular 6 week program.
But here’s the hard truth: When qualified coaches refuse to speak up, they unintentionally let misinformation win. And that silence has consequences.
People start believing deadlifts are “dangerous,” carbs are “toxic,” and one exercise can “build your dream body.”
So yes — trainers share some responsibility for the current climate, even if their intentions are good.
…BUT INFLUENCERS ARE DOING THE HEAVY LIFTING WHEN IT COMES TO MISINFORMATION
Most fitness influencers aren’t actually trying to make anyone stronger, healthier, or better informed. They’re trying to make content. And they use a fairly predictable formula. Choose a flashy movement, make a polarizing claim with a trendy hook, rinse and repeat.
Influencers bypass the truth and go straight for the dopamine. If it’s not shareable, savable, or clickable, it’s not for them.
And consumers reward the behaviour. Because it’s human nature to buy into that stuff.
That brings us back to the second big question.
IS THE INDUSTRY OBSESSED WITH SHORTCUTS BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT THEM, OR BECAUSE COMPANIES PROFIT FROM THEM?
The answer is both.
Consumers want shortcuts. Companies sell shortcuts. Influencers promote shortcuts. And the cycle keeps turning.
Fitness sits at the intersection of three human desires: To look better, to feel better, and to get both with minimal inconvenience.
People are busy. Some are lazy.
So any product or message that promises “easier” becomes instantly attractive. And companies know that a shortcut sells far faster than a process. Why offer a comprehensive, well-designed training plan that takes six months to deliver results… when someone is willing to pay triple for a detox tea that promises everything in 14 days?
There’s no conspiracy here.
It’s just capitalism applied to human insecurity.
That insecurity grows louder when the people who actually know how to help are drowned out by the ones who don’t.
THE REAL ISSUE: WE’VE CONFUSED “ACCESS TO INFORMATION” WITH “ACCESS TO WISDOM”
We live in a time where anyone can publish advice. But availability isn’t the same as accuracy.
Having more information doesn’t make people more informed. It just makes them more overwhelmed. That’s why the average gym-goer still asks the same questions they asked 30 years ago:
“What’s the best exercise for X?”
“Should I do cardio or weights first?”
“Why are these squats hurting my knees?”
“How do I get rid of fat in this area?”
Instagram is full of answers, but very few explanations.
People might be lazy, but that’s not the reason why they’re confused.
They’re confused because the system profits from keeping them that way.
SO WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE US?
The fitness industry isn’t broken — it’s just noisy.
It’s full of consumers being told everything except what they actually need to hear, and it’s full of companies that know confusion is a goldmine.
The solution isn’t to censure the influencers or shame the consumers. The solution is leadership.
Coaches need to step up with honest messaging and calibrate the notion of results to the long term.
Because the truth is simple: People don’t need more fitness content — they need a filter.
And that’s where real coaching comes in.
An ACTUAL Call to Action
And if you’re reading this and you’re tired of the noise, tired of trying to figure out who to trust, and tired of starting over every few months, you don’t need a shortcut. You need the right guide.
The right coach doesn’t add confusion — they remove it.
They cut through the noise, simplify the process, and help you build something that lasts. My clients all have one thing in common: They’re into the kind of direction and results that aren’t built on trends or theatrics. My slogan on this website – “Real Training. No Nonsense” – rings true and is evident from the second a person starts with me.
If you’re ready for that kind of direction — the kind that isn’t built on trends or theatrics — I’m always accepting dedicated in-person and online clients who are above the shortcuts and gimmicks.
Just the truth, applied consistently.
