THE EVOLUTION OF TWITTER
Twitter has changed from the days of people relaying messages about what they were going to have for lunch to mundane things such as “shopping for new shoelaces, #YOLO.” Granted those posts still remain, but Twitter has become a source of more instant information even in the internet age. More breaking news now is shared through Twitter before any online news site is able to break it. People who are on the scene of any event can give an up to the second account of events allowing us to have a real-time connection. Due to its 140 character limit, tweets must be short, concise and to the point. It allows for the removal of rambling insights or editorials and gets to the heart of an issue. Twitter is instant and able to reach a large audience. A majority of President Obama’s updates and shared information come via Twitter. Twitter is the best place if you follow celebrities, athletes, musicians or comedians. You get an up close and personal account of their lives from their own thumbs in real-time.
TWITTER AND FITNESS/NUTRITION
If you are looking to make changes in your fitness, nutrition and health, Twitter can become your best friend. It has become easy to find and follow great accounts that keep you up to date with workouts, nutrition information and motivation. Here in no particular order are my top 10 fitness and nutrition experts to follow on Twitter:
1. DAILY FITNESS TIP – @DailyFitnessTip
This account tweets a ton of great content regarding diet, fitness and general health information. They provide links to things like best restaurant meals along with information on different styles of workouts and exercise.
2. FOOD BABE – @thefoodbabe
Vani Hari aka the food babe is a writer and food activist who digs deep into uncovering what really goes into the food you are eating. She was behind the movement that successfully had Kraft foods remove dyes from their macaroni and cheese. She tweets a lot of amazing information on various food items and products and what is truly in them. She also exposes products that do not contain what they say they do.
3. MARK SISSON – @Mark_Sisson
Mark Sisson is the man behind the Primal Blueprint and runs Mark’s Daily Apple. He is one of the leaders of the paleo/ancestral eating movement and always provides up-to-date and relevant information and studies on all things paleo. Mark is in incredible shape and tweets out great recipes that are of course 100% paleo.
4. MONICA REINAGEL – @NutritionDiva
Monica Reinagel is a nutritionist and best-selling author who runs the very popular nutrition diva podcast. It is one of the few podcasts that generally only runs 5-6 minutes in length and gives you quick tips to get you on your way. Monica uses Twitter in a similar fashion and tweets straight to the point on all issues nutrition with links to articles on the subject. Monica is extremely up-to-date on current nutrition topics, so if you hear about a recent study or nutrition issue you know she will be providing information on the topic very soon.
5. CHRIS KRESSER – @chriskresser
Chris Kresser is a successful author who looks at all approaches to a healthy lifestyle. He will tweet about cutting-edge nutrition information but also includes information on topics such as stress management as well. Chris is one of my favorite people on Twitter as he covers a wide range of topics all involved in becoming healthy.
6. FITNESS & NUTRITION – @FITNESS
A verified account with over 2 million followers @FITNESS is one of the go-to sources for fitness and nutrition information. @FITNESS provides bite-sized tips that are easy to take away. Tips and information are always good but it is sometimes an issue of putting them into practice and this account posts a great amount of motivational pictures and quotes.
7. DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON – @TheRock
Everybody knows The Rock and if you are a guy or girl into strength training you want to follow him. Dwayne Johnson is an extremely motivating and inspirational person who tweets pictures of his incredibly intense workouts as well as great motivational quotes and encouragement. If you think you have a good work ethic, follow along with The Rock and you will see what determination and focus really looks like. JUSTIN BIEBER – @justinbieber Sorry I don’t know how that slipped in…
8. ROBB WOLF – @robbwolf
Another leader of the paleo movement, Robb Wolf is a research biochemist and New York Times best-selling author. Rob tweets an incredible amount of valuable information. He is engaging with his audience and covers a wide range of information, recipes and paleo success stories.
9. JAMIE OLIVER – @jamieoliver
This might seem like a bit of a weird choice for fitness and nutrition but bear with me. Regardless of your stance on him, Jamie Oliver has been a driving force behind the real-food movement in multiple countries. He has set out to make people healthier and trying to remove junk from many places including kid’s school lunches. The man knows his food as well as anyone in the world and tweets out a lot of great recipes.
10. CROSSFIT – @CrossFit
Whether you are involved in Cross Fit or not this account keeps you up-to-date with the popular form of fitness training. Tweets involve motivational success stories and pictures along with inspirational quotes and of course a lot of training information.
TWEET NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE
With over 600 million users including people like the Pope and the Dali Lama, Twitter is not going away anytime soon. If you are planning to get fit and healthy now is the time to take on both approaches and arm yourself with the information to lead you to success. Featured photo credit: born1945 via flic.kr
