I am addicted to reading fitness blogs. Every morning I pull out my iPad and read a least six while enjoying my breakfast. It's my morning ritual.
I follow some fantastic ones too.
Blogs chalked full of the latest science and research. Others containing some very healthy and very tasty recipes, and others that make me, personally, strive to become a better person, a better trainer and a better writer.
However, with the great also comes the not-sogreat, including blogs written by people with some fine looking abs, but with absolutely no fitness background.
Some of these "bloggers" do not even write their own blogs. Instead, they buy their fitness columns from a number of different websites online and then put their name in the byline.
How do these people become so popular? Fitness experts who have never even trained a real person in their lives and do not hold any industryrelated credentials whatsoever?
You can thank social media.
This is where these socalled experts pose looking all amazing and beautiful in hopes that we will be dazzled by their glutes so we forget to check to see if they have any actual certifications. And, sadly, most of us fall for it.
I don't blame people, though. I have followed some too. It's hard not to as beauty always seems to trump brains in this industry.
To help you follow some great blogs, ones that are written by competent individuals who know what they are talking about, I have complied a list of my top 10 (in order). Give them a follow and start your morning learning better health and fitness too.
1. Nerd Fitness www.nerdfitness.com Steve Kamb's blog is perfect for people who want their fitness jargon broken down and explained in normalperson speak. His blogs are super interesting and he uses a lot of Lego and Star Wars to get his point across, so how can you not love that?
2. Charles Poliquin www.poliquingroup.com Poliquin is one of the world's most accomplished strength training coaches and his blog is ideal for the serious athlete to the weight lifting enthusiast. His blogs are science-based, with all studies cited.
3. Nia Shanks - Lift Like a Girl www.niashanks.com Shanks is a strength and conditioning coach whose blog is dedicated to teaching women how to build better bodies in a sane and simple way. She blogs about a number of topics ranging from her favourite recipes, to the best workouts for women, to empowering women.
4. Breaking Muscle www.breakingmuscle. com This site has a number of different bloggers contributing to it (including Shanks), and is best suited for athletes, Crossfitters and serious weight lifters.
5. Tony Gentilcore www.gentilecore.com Gentilcore has been featured in a number of publications ranging from Men's Health to Muscle and Fitness and his blog is the one to hit for nononsense information (read his: The Difference Between Good and Bad Stiffness, awesomely good and funny). He takes no prisoners and has the credentials and cojones to back his words up.
6. Girls Gone Strong www.girlsgonestrong.com This fun website is run by nine women who are experts in their respective fields. You will find information ranging from pregnancy and working out to how to reduce your risk of injury.
7. Nutrition Striped www.nutritionstriped. com McKel Hill, MS, RDN has one of the most beautiful blogs on the Internet. Her site is dedicated to showing people how to live and feel their best with better nutrition. She has wide range of blogs from informational (Should We Supplement?) to recipes that never let me down (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Banana Bites).
8. Oh She Glows www.ohsheglows.com Angela Liddon's blog is a go-to if you are vegan, and/or if you are in need of some energizing, plantbased recipes. Over one million unique readers visit her blog each month, and she is a New York Times bestseller with her amazing Oh She Glows
Cookbook. I am obsessed with her recipes - and I'm not even vegan!
9. Naturally Ella www.naturallyella.com After her father had a heart attack, Erin Alderson decided to stop eating fastfood and processed meat and embraced becoming vegetarian. Since then her blog, which features whole food, vegetarian recipes, has become the go-to site for people looking for recipes featuring real food, without counting calories or carb grams.
10. Marc and Angel Hack Life www.marcandangel. com Marc and Angel Chernoff are professional coaches who have been recognized by Forbes as having "one of the most popular personal development blogs." Their blog is the place to head to if you are looking for proven strategies for finding lasting happiness, success, love and peace.
PJ Wren is a local trainer and writer who encourages you to visit her blog at www.fitnesswithpj.com.
