Five favorite Instagramers

Recently, someone asked me what should be a simple question. “Who are your top five favorite Instagramers related to your field?”   I really had to dig deep. Why? Because there’s so much BS out there, that`s why! I’m not talking about influencers of fashion, makeup, or modeling, but because the question was related to the healthcare and fitness world, I’m talking about those in or near my profession as a rehab therapist and exercise trainer. I was able to come up with the five examples after several minutes and even added two more, but it wasn’t easy.

Every week I spend a few hours searching Youtube and Instagram for people who are giving out helpful, realistic, and hopefully unique information and advice. I’ve been doing this for at least a decade and in that time, I have come across maybe ten people or organizations who I consider to be actually using their brain and thinking outside of the box. What I see the vast majority of the time are people who feel they just need to be on your screen, no matter what. It’s a constant parade of therapists, coaches, fitness junkies, and unfortunately many people with no certification but have been physically blessed with something that will get them followers. By the way, did you know anyone can get a personal training certificate online within a few weeks and not even have to touch a weight or piece of equipment?!

The internet world provides a huge stage for anyone with a camera and a connection. Many of them look very professional or knowledgeable and due to inexplicable human nature, if it’s on a screen, we believe it for the most part. But don’t be fooled by high production value or a lot of views and subscribers. The information many of them spread is either marginally helpful or just straight up unhealthy. One good example is when it comes to how to properly do self-massage or “myofascial release”. So many times I have seen someone telling me to take out a golf ball or a baseball and lay on top of it so it presses into my body to “work out the knots”. This demonstration is also usually accompanied by them stating that it will hurt like hell (or similar) but that its necessary so suck it up. I’m sure the concept of “no pain, no gain” is a familiar one to my audience but it’s a thin line between discomfort that means good change is happening, and pain that signifies tissue damage. Basically, if it hurts so much that you have to suck it up and cry through it, you’re probably causing trauma to your tissues and that pain response is trying to tell you to stop.

Even the Massage Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Chiropractors have decided they need to jump in also. Those videos are typically not very helpful because the majority of these young therapists are pretty much just regurgitating what they learned in school a few years prior. And I am sure many of my colleagues with years in the field (I have over 20) will agree that what we learned in school was for the most part faulty. Even most of the continuing education courses tend to recycle and rename concepts that are aged and have been proven incorrect or ineffective by research studies. If you have ever gone through rehab for an injury or post-surgery, you probably spent a lot of time at appointments for weeks or months on end. Why? Because the methods used are vastly ineffective or at least just provide short-term relief. This is what pushed me 16 years ago to use my brain and move in a different direction than my counterparts (click here for my bio). The rehab and medical system is flawed and, and …. Ok, let me get a hold of myself because I could go on forever. I will soon structure some videos or articles to get into more details about the subject, but for now it’s important that you be aware that there`s a lot of bad info out there that can actually hurt you, so no matter how good the video or the speaker looks, take it all with a grain of salt. Below is a list of folks I think are on the right track-

Naudi Aguilar at Functional Patterns

Luka Hocevar at Vigor Ground Fitness

Phil Daru

Physiotutors

Mark Wildman

Overtime Athletes

Movement Parallels Life

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