A fitness influencer is deadlifting the veil on the toxic lies the wellness industry uses to gain followers.
Hannah Barry, from the UK, is an online fitness coach focusing on helping “women get strong and lean without sacrificing foods they enjoy.”
Barry has dedicated the last eight years to her fitness journey, but after accumulating 94.5K followers on Instagram she is finally admitting to some of the deceitful practices that she and other fitness influencers utilize.
“I used to be a really toxic fitness influencer,” Barry admitted in a viral TikTok video. “Now I’m just not so toxic and I want to tell you some bulls–t that goes on within the fitness industry that you probably don’t know about.”
She revealed that most one-on-one coaching sessions purchased are often not completed by the influencers themselves but are commonly done by “shadow coaches” pretending to be the person who was hired.
The trainer also shockingly shared that “ab workouts are posted purely for engagement.”
“I never really did any of the ab workouts I actually did,” she said. “They just got millions of views. I know that’s so sh—y to say but it’s also so true.”
“Ab workouts don’t actually build abs whatsoever.”
She advises viewers who want rock-hard abs to do heavy squats, deadlifts and heavy compounds to gain those ripped stomach muscles.
Barry also warns that hormone-balancing smoothies, cleanses, detoxes and anything similar are “all bulls–t as well.” “They don’t work,” Barry simply stated. “You have a liver because your liver detoxes your body for you.”
The first tell-all video went viral with 86.8 thousand views and hundreds of comments from eager viewers asking Barry to dive deeper into her scandalous revelations and thanking her for her honesty.
The Instagram influencer continued her exposé with other tips for people trying to meet their health and fitness goals.
“You can not spot reduce fat off your body,” Barry said in a follow-up TikTok video.
The fitness coach told viewers that fat-burning belly workouts and “absolute bulls–t” as she explained that you can’t tone a muscle or turn fat into muscle but have to lose fat and gain muscle.
“There is a lot of people with eating disorders in the fitness community. A lot,” she warned in another TikTok video.
Studies have found that eating disorders, particularly among adolescent girls, spiked during the pandemic and a recent study found that TikTok promotes “toxic” diet culture and “glorifies” extreme weight loss.
On Instagram and TikTok, the hashtag #Thinspo has been banned and now redirects users to mental health and eating disorder resources, but similar hashtags such as #Fitspo, #WhatIEatInADay and #BodyCheck abound disguised as fitness and health content.
Fortunately, celebrities such as Hilary Duff and fitness influencers like Barry are speaking out about eating disorders and false narratives about health and fitness.
If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, you can get help. Call the National Eating Disorder Association helpline at (800) 931-2237 or visit nationaleatingdisorders.org.