Recently a reader of this blog asked me to comment about those in the industry that are known primarily as internet marketers.  While most in the strength training and fitness industries talk about these people with disdain, I’m not sure I totally feel the same in all cases. 

I suppose the biggest issue that some people have with the internet guru who doesn’t work with someone in person is that they can’t possibly know anything about how things work in the real world.  To this I say bullshit.  My good friend Erik Ledin works primarily with bodybuilders and fitness competitors online and many of them are very successful.  Maybe you don’t want to be doing rehab online, but I’m not about to discredit anyone who is doing something or selling something that works regardless of whether or not they’re currently in contact with people.

Guys like John Berardi, Alan Aragon, and Lyle McDonald all come to mind when talking about making money online and I have no doubts that they’re all putting out good content.  As long as the content is good and it works for those who purchase it, I could care less who you’re working with.  There are a LOT of shitty trainers who actually work with people so I’m not sure how this suddenly became the criteria we use to determine whose products are worth buying and whose aren’t.

 
It seems to me that with many trainers and coaches if you’re making a lot of money online you’ve sold out and you’re not given the respect you might otherwise deserve.  To some trainers it appears that there is some sort of nobility to working endless hours until you’re burnt out and making minimal dollars until you reach the top.  To me, if you’ve created a fat loss product and it works (and it isn’t full of typos and plagiarism – you know who you people are) you deserve every cent you make whether you’re working with a single person or not.

On the other hand, the people that piss me off are those with huge lists who become affiliates of everyone on the planet who has a product launch and endorse them without any concern about whether or not the new product is a giant pile of dog turd.  These people, even if they have good products themselves, go on my blacklist because I have no respect for anyone who sells junk strictly for the sake of money.

 
Good products for money = Respect.  Bad products for money = Blacklist.

 
And for the record, none of this is meant to discredit any of the guys killing it in the trenches and still putting out great products.  You know who you are and these are always the top products on my list.

 
What are your thoughts on internet marketing and fitness products?

Over the past few weeks I’ve had a couple of thoughts piling up in my head that I figured would make a quick little post.

1.  I am so blessed.

Having had my daughter only 17 weeks ago I can only say that this has been one of the most exciting times in my life.  Despite the 2am diaper blowouts and the sleep deprivation, every morning I get to wake up to this beautiful face.

2.  My wife is incredible

Lest you think I’m one of those guys who falls in love with his children only to forget the rest of his family, I really do have to give credit to my wife for becoming an outstanding mother.  As I said, I am blessed.

3.  The Body Saw is sick!

Last week Nick Tumminello posted this  exercise on his site which I think is an incredible anterior core progression.

4.  How do you determine success?

If you’re a trainer and you’re working with a person that came to you to lose weight and they weren’t losing weight would you consider them a success?  Your damn right you wouldn’t!  In fact, it isn’t all that common for busy trainers to consider “firing” that client in order to accomodate someone who was more “dedicated”.  To be honest, up until a while ago I might honestly have done the same thing.

Then recently I had the good fortune to attend a journal club meeting at which exercise researcher Dr. Bob Ross was presenting.  Throughout the course of his brilliant lecture, he presented study after study that demonstrated waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness are much bigger predictors of mortality than body weight.  In fact, a fit person who is obese has less of a mortality risk than an unfit person who is of normal body weight.  And both cardiorespiratory fitness and waist circumference can improve without ANY weight loss as long as they are physically active.

While the ideal situation would be to have our client lose weight, reduce waist circumference, AND increase their level of fitness, is it not still acceptable to help them become healthier an extend their life even if they aren’t as dedicated to their nutrition as they should be?  Or are we so vain that the only thing worth accepting money for is the change in physical appearance?

Personally, I’ve decided that I’d rather have them reframe their goals from weight goals to health goals so that they’re not expecting results that are never going to happen given their current level of dedication.  In this way, I’m not promising something for their money that I can’t deliver, but I’m not discouraging someone from physical activity (which is something I don’t think anyone should do given the state of affairs in North America).

Check out a 27 minute presentation by Dr. Ross HERE and let me know what you think.  He’s a great speaker and the time flies when you hear him talk.

5.  High Fructose Hype?

Last week a study released by researchers at Princeton University suggested that High Fructose Corn Syrup may contribute to obesity more than normal sugar.  But is the evidence convincing enough to suggest that we should entirely avoid HFCS?

A while back I read a blog by Alan Aragon suggesting differently and saying it generated a lot of discussion is an understatement.  It has 371 responses as I write this!  But if you want to go toe to toe with Alan you’d better come equipped with studies because he’ll take you to school (which he does with those who oppose his views in the comments).

If you’re deathly afraid of high fructose corn syrup check out the blog.  It is worth reading.

6.  Crush It…Should be Crushed

A while ago I heard a lot of hype about Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It so I picked it up and read it in a little under two hours.  If you know nothing at all about social networking and internet promotions this book might be valuable to you, but I found it a little bit more like a rah rah motivational speech than anything else.

Gary suggests working until three in the morning and really “crushing it”.  To me, the whole idea of working countless hours and leaving comments on every blog possible to drive traffic to your own blog is working hard, not working smart.  Granted, Gary is a millionaire and I am not so he’s obviously done something right.  I guess I just expected more information and less of a cheering squad.

Oh…he did mention something useful in the book.  If you distribute videos you may want to check out Tube Mogul so you can share them with various video sharing sites at the same time.  Mind you, it took Mike Boyle to point this out to me because I probably just glazed over this part when I was bored.

7.  Lottery tickets are God’s punishment for people who are bad at math.

Consequently, they are also my punishment because I always seem to get stuck behind people who are buying them.

8.  What if you won 50 million dollars?

A couple weeks ago while I was waiting behind a lottery ticket picker (do they really need to select their specific tickets?) I wondered exactly what most people in the fitness industry would do if they won the 50 million dollars that was offered that week.

I realized that I would definitely travel and I certainly wouldn’t work nearly as often, but I’d still train people because this is my passion.  If you wouldn’t, perhaps you’re in the wrong job.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Leave ‘em below.