Fitness Updates... The Quickest Way to Alienate Non-Lifting Friends
ron555bravo
Posts: 17 Member
It seems as though there is an infinite amount of different views and reasons why people have a social media accounts. For me it was always a way to keep myself accountable for my goals; I mean, if I post that I'm gonna do something and then I don't follow thru, then the truth about my failure will be out for all to see. This approach worked well for a bit, but you see, I don't have any serious lifting social media friends, and my regular fitness posts and photo-check ins apparently alienated all of my non-lifting friends....have any of you experienced anything similar? Just curious 🤔
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I didn't have that happen. Some of my friends said it was inspiring to watch my transformation when I did my bodybuilding shows. I think it's because despite having to live a very committed lifestyle during prep my social media presence was balanced. I shared a couple of photos and some of my workout stuff, but in general I used MyFitnessPal to share that stuff.
If it's Instagram just use fitness hashtags to draw in likes. If it's Facebook maybe ask yourself whether you're oversharing or how much you care about if you are pushing people away. I love lifting and seeing my friends in their fitness pursuits, but the daily flexing pictures are not about accountability, they're vanity.11 -
I don’t do Instagram at all, so no comment there. I’m in a few nutrition and fitness groups on Facebook where I take part in discussions, but outside of that I don’t post anything at all about my training, diet/nutrition or progress on FB.
I don’t feel that it does anything for my accountability because I’m only accountable to myself for my success, so it would feel like pure vanity to me. I imagine I’d get a few courtesy “likes” at first, then most people would probably just tune me out because it’s not their thing. I prefer to keep those discussions in fitness focused places such as MFP, where I’m pretty much entirely amongst people with those same specific interests.14 -
I have a separate Instagram account for family stuff, and one for fitness. Some family and friends do follow my fitness one but they are free to unfollow if they decide they are not interested. I use this site and Facebook specific groups to chat with like-minded individuals who share my interests. I don't post fitness photos or statuses to my Facebook page though, I find that stuff is better suited for here and my fitness Instagram.12
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I don’t do Instagram at all, so no comment there. I’m in a few nutrition and fitness groups on Facebook where I take part in discussions, but outside of that I don’t post anything at all about my training, diet/nutrition or progress on FB.
I don’t feel that it does anything for my accountability because I’m only accountable to myself for my success, so it would feel like pure vanity to me. I imagine I’d get a few courtesy “likes” at first, then most people would probably just tune me out because it’s not their thing. I prefer to keep those discussions in fitness focused places such as MFP, where I’m pretty much entirely amongst people with those same specific interests.
Sounds like the most logical approach, thanks!1 -
I have a separate Instagram account for family stuff, and one for fitness. Some family and friends do follow my fitness one but they are free to unfollow if they decide they are not interested. I use this site and Facebook specific groups to chat with like-minded individuals who share my interests. I don't post fitness photos or statuses to my Facebook page though, I find that stuff is better suited for here and my fitness Instagram.
I had an Instagram account for a while, but I never really became a fan of it, so I deleted it. Thanks for sharing!!!! 💪🏼0 -
I learned very early on that keeping things separate works for me.
For updates/progress and things I have my fitness buddies to chat with. I don't bring up any health/fitness/nutrition things with people that are not about that life.
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I have lost about 185lbs so far, along with all but 2 of my friends that were friends at my heaviest. Sadly, bettering yourself can bring out the worst in others.13
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I didn't have that happen. Some of my friends said it was inspiring to watch my transformation when I did my bodybuilding shows. I think it's because despite having to live a very committed lifestyle during prep my social media presence was balanced. I shared a couple of photos and some of my workout stuff, but in general I used MyFitnessPal to share that stuff.
If it's Instagram just use fitness hashtags to draw in likes. If it's Facebook maybe ask yourself whether you're oversharing or how much you care about if you are pushing people away. I love lifting and seeing my friends in their fitness pursuits, but the daily flexing pictures are not about accountability, they're vanity.
Interesting to read several comments on the "vanity" aspect of fitness posts (photos). I guess I never really looked at it from that perspective. Having spent almost half of my life around bodybuilding, I guess blinded me to the perception of those who would consider spending hours in the gym and in front of mirrors vain 😂 (as silly as that sounds). Thanks for your insight!
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I don’t do Instagram at all, so no comment there. I’m in a few nutrition and fitness groups on Facebook where I take part in discussions, but outside of that I don’t post anything at all about my training, diet/nutrition or progress on FB.
I don’t feel that it does anything for my accountability because I’m only accountable to myself for my success, so it would feel like pure vanity to me. I imagine I’d get a few courtesy “likes” at first, then most people would probably just tune me out because it’s not their thing. I prefer to keep those discussions in fitness focused places such as MFP, where I’m pretty much entirely amongst people with those same specific interests.
Same here. Also, for me, it doesn't come down to anyone else holding me accountable. I am accountable to me. I have my goals and my decisions and they are really no one else's business.3 -
Request friends who lift- prob solved2
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I dislike those whom post their business upon their personal accounts, their personal life upon their business accounts and/or "Like", their own posts!1
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I have a separate Instagram account for family stuff, and one for fitness. Some family and friends do follow my fitness one but they are free to unfollow if they decide they are not interested. I use this site and Facebook specific groups to chat with like-minded individuals who share my interests. I don't post fitness photos or statuses to my Facebook page though, I find that stuff is better suited for here and my fitness Instagram.
I do exactly this, it’s works well
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Dunno. I have plenty of friends who lift and most of us agree that seeing daily "progress" pics gets a bit old at times. Unless you've made some truly visible progress or it's a vid of a new PR or something we don't need to see your new stringer or daily pics of your biceps.
However, this applies mostly to general social media accounts like Facebook and I suppose texting each other. If you have a specific account set up to showcase your awesomeness then go for it. If people don't like that they can avoid looking without missing other possibly important details and updates that aren't about how much tonnage you lifted this week or that new pumped selfie you took in perfect lighting.2 -
I'm a runner, i post my runs on Facebook... people who aren't interested don't have to follow me.6
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I didn't have that happen. Some of my friends said it was inspiring to watch my transformation when I did my bodybuilding shows. I think it's because despite having to live a very committed lifestyle during prep my social media presence was balanced. I shared a couple of photos and some of my workout stuff, but in general I used MyFitnessPal to share that stuff.
If it's Instagram just use fitness hashtags to draw in likes. If it's Facebook maybe ask yourself whether you're oversharing or how much you care about if you are pushing people away. I love lifting and seeing my friends in their fitness pursuits, but the daily flexing pictures are not about accountability, they're vanity.
great (and accurate) perspective.0 -
what do people think when something great (life changing - elevating) happens to you. 'WHAT ABOUT ME" and that Is the long and short of it. unless people are on the path with you they mostly are not interested/feel threatened./1
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I'm not trying to sound mean, just give perspective. Seeing constant posts about someone's workouts, selfies, especially selfies showing off their bodies, pics of them working out or at the gym, etc. is annoying, and to me screams "Look at me, look at me!" I personally unfollow those people. Posting an infrequent progress picture or update is one thing, and doing it all the time is another. If you want to keep doing it on your main page that's your choice of course, but I think it's better suited for a fitness-related place like a facebook group, or a fitness instagram account or something like that.8
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SandSeaSkySoul wrote: »I dislike those whom post their business upon their personal accounts, their personal life upon their business accounts and/or "Like", their own posts!
I love crossover accts and support my friends/family in business on ANY account especially personally. I was - for 30 years a small business owner - and I support entrepreneur efforts///if you cant count on your own friends and family what is it all about alphie? I like my own posts at times...I can be a fan of myself and self promote. body builders to religious buffs to other cultures and countries...love diversity it KEEPS YOU VIABLE ANd RELEVENT4 -
ron555bravo wrote: »It seems as though there is an infinite amount of different views and reasons why people have a social media accounts. For me it was always a way to keep myself accountable for my goals; I mean, if I post that I'm gonna do something and then I don't follow thru, then the truth about my failure will be out for all to see. This approach worked well for a bit, but you see, I don't have any serious lifting social media friends, and my regular fitness posts and photo-check ins apparently alienated all of my non-lifting friends....have any of you experienced anything similar? Just curious 🤔
I really think this mostly stems from people being not very broad minded - kind of like. church people do church gym people do gym and so on...I like people who LIKE IT ALL AND DO TONS. OPEN MINDED.4 -
Over the years, I've surrounded myself with likewise individuals. Those friends who are hostile are either unfollowed/restricted/hidden or banhammered. I have no time for jerks.
On FB I made a separate page for fitness related posts, where friends/acquaintances can follow my progress in powerlifting, or ignore me. I use IG for all fitness where the personal and fitness may never intertwine.2 -
Whatevs. Like I am any more interested in hearing about their homely little baby triumphs than they are in hearing about my big sweaty lady gym triumphs.
Oh congratulations, it turned 3 months, you must be proud. I can do 5 chin ups and am proud of that. Both are laudable achievements and we are both playing "look at me". What the hell is social media for other than playing "look at me"??
If they're truly your friends, they'll grin and bear it. If they can't grin and bear it, then your mother was correct and you don't need friends like that anyway.10 -
I quit Facebook personally. I have just found it to be a drama filled waste of timeborn_of_fire74 wrote: »Whatevs. Like I am any more interested in hearing about their homely little baby triumphs than they are in hearing about my big sweaty lady gym triumphs.
Oh congratulations, it turned 3 months, you must be proud. I can do 5 chin ups and am proud of that. Both are laudable achievements and we are both playing "look at me". What the hell is social media for other than playing "look at me"??
If they're truly your friends, they'll grin and bear it. If they can't grin and bear it, then your mother was correct and you don't need friends like that anyway.
Yes, look at me! I agree! I quit Facebook personally. I have just found it to be a drama filled waste of time. This is about the only forum I am active on. I have in the last 4 months dedicated my life to hard work and discipline,something I knew little about earlier in life, 28 out of 30 days a month. What do I have to show off, bruises, cuts, calloused hand, and so far have not regained a monkey ton of weight.3 -
I don't actually understand why people get upset about what other people post, baring total nudity or overt violence/racism/sexism/hateful content. If I'm following someone on social media it's because I care about them in some way; so I want to see their babies, pets, accomplishments, etc. If I didn't care to see those things I wouldn't follow them and the problem would solve itself. If it makes you feel good to share, I don't see any reason not to. If your friends are bothered it they can deal with it on their end. Unfollowing someone but remaining "friends" on sites like FB always amuses me though, to me it screams "I don't care about your life, but I want you to still see me!"
That being said, I don't post my workouts or my progress on social media. 90% of my friends are not at all interested in fitness, so I doubt they'd be excited about those updates, but also I just don't share much there in general. Heck, it took us a year to share our wedding photos because we just kept forgetting to sort through them all. Plus, it only takes one stalker before you realize how dangerous sharing your daily routine too often can be.2 -
I'm only actively sharing with a Whatsapp group of the members of my family who also want to lose weight and tone up. We've only been doing it for two weeks and we haven't posted selfies, but that may change when we see visible results!
But as to sharing the results more widely, I can't imagine anything worse. I don't want to see someone else's pecs and biceps (or gluteus maximus) and I'm *fairly* sure nobody really wants to see mine (including me!) .
I left Facebook some time ago because I was bored with how often people shared the vital news of what they'd had for breakfast. Frankly, my dear, I didn't give a damn.0 -
I don't actually understand why people get upset about what other people post, baring total nudity or overt violence/racism/sexism/hateful content. If I'm following someone on social media it's because I care about them in some way; so I want to see their babies, pets, accomplishments, etc. If I didn't care to see those things I wouldn't follow them and the problem would solve itself. If it makes you feel good to share, I don't see any reason not to. If your friends are bothered it they can deal with it on their end. Unfollowing someone but remaining "friends" on sites like FB always amuses me though, to me it screams "I don't care about your life, but I want you to still see me!"
That being said, I don't post my workouts or my progress on social media. 90% of my friends are not at all interested in fitness, so I doubt they'd be excited about those updates, but also I just don't share much there in general. Heck, it took us a year to share our wedding photos because we just kept forgetting to sort through them all. Plus, it only takes one stalker before you realize how dangerous sharing your daily routine too often can be.
I have relatives that I have unfollowed but not unfriended. It would not do for them to know that I am disgusted with how god-bothered, racist, homophobic, politically conservative and generally unenlightened they are so I have them as friends but never, ever look at or respond to the awful and/or delusional stuff they post. I'm pretty sure they all think I'm a secretly queer, satan-worshipping, communist terrorist based on the things I post and have unfollowed me too anyway.
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born_of_fire74 wrote: »I don't actually understand why people get upset about what other people post, baring total nudity or overt violence/racism/sexism/hateful content. If I'm following someone on social media it's because I care about them in some way; so I want to see their babies, pets, accomplishments, etc. If I didn't care to see those things I wouldn't follow them and the problem would solve itself. If it makes you feel good to share, I don't see any reason not to. If your friends are bothered it they can deal with it on their end. Unfollowing someone but remaining "friends" on sites like FB always amuses me though, to me it screams "I don't care about your life, but I want you to still see me!"
That being said, I don't post my workouts or my progress on social media. 90% of my friends are not at all interested in fitness, so I doubt they'd be excited about those updates, but also I just don't share much there in general. Heck, it took us a year to share our wedding photos because we just kept forgetting to sort through them all. Plus, it only takes one stalker before you realize how dangerous sharing your daily routine too often can be.
I have relatives that I have unfollowed but not unfriended. It would not do for them to know that I am disgusted with how god-bothered, racist, homophobic, politically conservative and generally unenlightened they are so I have them as friends but never, ever look at or respond to the awful and/or delusional stuff they post. I'm pretty sure they all think I'm a secretly queer, satan-worshipping, communist terrorist based on the things I post and have unfollowed me too anyway.
That's fair I suppose.
Fortunately my hateful family members started dropping off my friends lists when I started responding to their hateful posts with things like, "you understand this applies to me right? How could you say such hurtful things about your niece/cousin, especially in such a public way?" But I do have 2 family members on my wife's side whom I cant really confront so I just roll my eyes at their posts and scroll on. I totally understand how exhausting that could be if it were a large amount of them, and my original comment was pretty judgey. 0 -
Accountability works differently for everyone I guess.
Posting to social media daily about my goals, progress pics, achievements etc for likes, shares, comments never appealed to me as a way to hold myself accountable - Can definitely appreciate how it can for others and to each thier own. Theres more than 1 way to skin a cat and kudos to those who do.
I just figure at the end of the day these friends, family etc on social media that like, share, comment are not the ones putting in the hard work day in, day out. If I dont hit that workout or end up having that extra 2, ok maybe 6 slices of pizza lol - That's on me!
Friends and family dont come into the accountability equation for me.
Set goals - smash the crap out of them - clap for myself is my idea of accountability.
Mfp is great source for surrounding yourself with like minded fitness focused folks! Good luck on what works for you!1 -
Smiling ,good morning..I needed to gain weight put on muscle. I have and in my two year journey of lifting weights daily except Sundays I have grown to understand that others begin to feel as if they can't measure up . So I only let my actions and body point the way . Your doing great consider this woman as a lifting friend Prophetess Sharon1
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