Examining The Google-Bot Trainer
The Internet attracts both good and bad. Some seek and share knowledge, while others spread garbage…
Unfortunately, the fitness world often operates in the latter half.
Those who spread garbage violate a unique set of commandments. Not the classical Ten Commandments, rather a list created by the honorable folks at St. Wilhelm’s (a worldwide sponsor of STRENGTH and POWER):
http://www.saintwilhelms.org/Commandments.htm
#5 is one of my favorites…
Don’t expect me to believe what you can’t prove.
Despite the simplistic nature of this commandment, it is often ignored in cyberspace. Anyone can create a webpage. Anyone can create a blog. Keyboard warriors hide in anonymity as they feverishly peck at the Google search engine. Perhaps they believe in an imaginary Google-Bot Trainer certification.
Such Google-Bot Trainers (GBT’s) are easy to find. They often throw out insults on Youtube, or perhaps Google for answers to message board queries. Their responses are easy to identify, as they are often copied word for word from another source.
The GBT reminds me of the youngster who cannot figure out a basic mathematical equation without a calculator. They don’t actually understand math, but can find an answer when offered the calculator. Google-Bot Trainers operate in the same fashion. They don’t actually know anything, and may not even train. Give them a search engine however and they can fool many unsuspecting readers.
Oddly enough, these keyboard warriors would all but disappear if everyone followed the 5th commandment per St. Wilhelm’s. If you are really such a big shot, come out and show yourself. Stop pretending to train people that don’t exist and stop pretending to perform feats that you’ve never attempted.
Think about it, would you hire a surgeon who never performed an operation? Hell no! So why should anyone listen to a so-called coach, trainer, or athlete who doesn’t know jack about jack!
For example, I recently had someone (attempt to) critique a fighter’s conditioning program that I had created. I later learned that the individual had never fought, never coached, and had never even worked with ANY fighter from ANY combat sport. He had never done anything, yet proudly appointed himself as a subject matter expert.
On the Internet, people get away with this kind of rubbish. In real life, it would be a different story. Think about it…
Can you imagine a stranger entering your boxing or MMA gym? Upon entry, he tells the trainer that he is doing everything wrong. The trainer would then glance over and say, “Who the f_ck are you?”
The stranger would then announce himself as a Certified Online Blogger, and may even flash his Google-Bot Trainer card.
At this time, the stranger would likely find himself laid out on his back, or perhaps thrown through the door. It wouldn’t be pretty.
But hey, Google-Bot Trainers operate with a different set of rules. They don’t actually train, they just talk about training. The don’t actually train athletes, they just talk about training athletes. They don’t actually know anything, they just talk about knowing something.
So, if you come across one of these certified specialists, it is always useful to reference St. Wilhelm’s 5th commandment.
And ask yourself this simple question. Where would the Google-Bot Trainer be if the Internet vanished? I know that I’d still have a gym full of athletes waiting for me to train them. Can the Google-Bot say the same?
Ross
16 Comments so far
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Outstanding post Ross. This is one of the best little articles I’ve read here in a long time. Keep up the great work.
PS: Love the keyboard warriors pic!
I love the rants. The theme remains the same: actions speak louder than words. Whether you want to lose weight or you claim to know what you’re talking about.
Don’t tell me…show me.
Good stuff.
Ross comes with the truth yet again. There are always gum flappers running around the web! It’s time we teach them a lesson in tapping and snapping.
I laughed my ass off reading this.
And FYI, there’s an armchair quarterback at JP Fit’s site flapping at the gums. This topic would serve him well.
The irony is that WE as fighters are usually the ones viewed as unintelligent. It is comical to see the ignorance originate from the non-combat crowd. Who would have thought this crowd would lack basic literacy skills?
BD
This entry epitomizes everything that I love about this site. Great job Ross.
And BD, don’t sweat it. The armchair champ that you referenced likely receives 3 hits a day, and 2 are from himself. Ha!
You couldn’t have said it any better… Thanks Ross, keep it coming.
This is exactly what the world needs. Let’s expose and weed out these cowards and crush them. Sorry, but these types piss me off to no end.
please tell me that this guy calling you out challenged you. like say, an obsurd amount of wt to be deadlifted… im ready for a new video.
Great article! Thanks for the reference to the Church!
These guys are the standard, unfortunately.
Awesome post Ross!
Ross, you owe me. I laughed so hard that I spilled coffee all over my suit.
But in the spirit of the holiday season, I will overlook the stain. Instead, let’s promote the new Hooked On Phonics course.
For the critics who cannot differentiate between their and there, or too and to, there is hope. Reading comprehension can also be improved regardless of your genetic limitations.
http://hooked-on-phonics.com
Keep’em coming Ross.
Brian
AMEN!
It is no different in my world; The Fishing World.
The fitness world is, however, worse.
The only good that comes of it is that the real athletes take these guys up on their challenges and really do complete the tasks or workouts that the GBT only dreams he can.
Nice job Ross!
Let the action takers rule and the action fakers drool.
Levi – Some asshole took a cheap shot at one of my guys (in writing of course, not literally). I wish they would come down for some video taping, but that will never happen. But trust me, I certainly made the offer. I’ll pay traveling fees for this clown.
Fighters deserve respect, bottom line. No keyboard jock should ever think otherwise by throwing out insults about one’s character, heart, or worth ethic. If you’ve never been there, don’t pretend that you have (not you personally, just “you” to whomever).
Excellent article. I was excited to see a reference to the church on here. What I like about St. W’s is the same thing that I like about this site: You prove what you say.. in videos, in articles, in training logs… and, most importantly, by word of mouth.
I walked into my gym the other day and saw somebody reading a copy of one of your out-of-print books and I finally know why he’s able to keep up with my Infinite Intensity conditioning.
I believe it because you prove it. Great blog Ross.
P.S. Second post because I hit the 1 for my name instead of the 2.
This kind of ’subject matter expert’ has infiltrated just about every passtime known to man.
It’s rife in my endeavour of riding a motorcycle. So many people offer opinions on how one should ride or why someone went down, that you wonder if they ever found themselves in that situation before.
I have to confess that earlier on, I was one of those ‘experts’. I would watch Youtube videos and do plenty of forum browsing to see what the experts were saying, and then repeat that information elsewhere in the Internet. ALl the while having never attempted the trick, feat, skill or whatever in question.
It’s an easy trap to fall into, because it gives you an ego boost, all the while you remain behind the keyboard.