Do Influencers Have Their Claws In You?

Fitness & Tech

Author

Bradley Abbott
October 06, 2023

Fitness, Tech, and the Juicy Conspiracy

Do you feel alone when you go to the gym?

Are you ‘under the influence’ of other people?

Do you care more about your looks than all of the ‘other benefits’ exercise gives you?

Do you get bored easily in the gym?

Are you scared to talk to people in the gym?

Fitness anf technology together can be beneficial for us, however, technology has become abused and people didn’t really think about the consequences technology has on peoples perceptions about their self-esteem, confidence and image of themselves, until years after technology was introduced. And now we have a society of people who are afraid to talk to people in the gym and ask for help when they need it. This is, in part, due to the fitness and gym ‘Influencers’ that religiously, and sometimes, aggressively post themselves as a type of “guru” to sell shit. Think about it - The lighting, the camera angle, the photo-editing, and now, the AI that is used to perpetuate their false messages about, ‘if you eat this way, then you will get this body, and you will look like this’. This has a major impact on people’s confidence levels and self-esteem, and here’s why -

. . . when people try their programme and they don’t end up looking like that, especially when you are a young age, then your confidence is shot (this is particularly important for young children and parents to take into consideration). And although it might seem a bit farfetched, this is honestly why some people try and take shortcuts, i.e. steroid use, overtraining, other “hacks”, and giving their money to these “gurus” because they become baught-in to their ideas.

Don’t get me wrong, technology is so useful, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without it, you know, we couldn’t apply for jobs easily and find work, we wouldn’t be able to use these nifty tracking devices to track our sleep, water intake, and calories, and the distance and time of our workouts. But using AI? This is where you should draw the line, because people become too over-reliant on it and they end up losing a skill set pretty quickly! They lose the ability to write, to perform simple mathematical equasions in their heads, the ability to communicate with people face-to-face, the ability to read, and to be independent of other influences.

Have you ever noticed that we take our phones and our fitbits everywhere with us now? We have become so overly reliant and dependent on them that it’s like we’re worried some major shit is going to go down if we don’t have our phones on us, it has become rediculous!

. . . It effects our sleep, it effects our relationships, our communication . . . I mean, this should be a ‘no-brainer’ at this point. So why do we do it? One word: ‘Dopamine’.

A chemical in our brain, that activates when we get that notification, that phonecall, that imessage. Sleep, one of the most fundemental NEEDS of our lives has become somewhat elusive to us because we have become glued to bluelight (FitBits, TV’s, smartphones, etc.), and this has a MAJOR impact on fitness performance and health! We wonder why we’re sluggish in the gym? A major, and most important part, is that we didn’t get the amount, quality, and/or both of sleep that is needed to replenish our muscle, skeletal, neurological, and other cells to recover from our last workout and from the stresses of our day-to-day lives (work, foods, environmental, nutritional deficiencies, etc.). So what’s the solution?

Here are the steps to help sleep and communication:

  1. Communicate your thoughts with your loved ones and express that you want to get more good quality sleep.

  2. With your partner/family, communicate your plan to cut out blue light 30-60 minutes before bed, and explain why (i.e. messes uo the chemical signalling in your brain for sleep)

  3. Spend time either with your family or on your own, to engage in activities that help you wind down: writing, reading, jigsaw puzzles, a game of cards (this ne works for my fianc’e and I, even when she gets competitive), meditation, breathing techniques, and so on.

  4. Consume foods that help you secrete melatonin such as eggs, salmon, bananas, and cherries.

  5. Limit water intake at least 1 hour before bed.

  6. Be patient, allow enough time to see a difference - it takes time to develop a new habit!

  7. Remember to keep communicating with your loved ones and ask for their support.

Thank you so uch for reading you guys! I love you all!

Thanks for reading!

Brad

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