Be Fit With Biray

When it comes to subscribing to blogs, you have to spend a lot of time sorting through a million foggy-blogs before finding those that are substancial (and hopefully, still active) enough to read. I don’t care if Technorati claims over 70 million blogs online. I just want to know which blogs are worth following and which ones I should avoid completely. And in terms of health and wellness, the challenge is even greater to find blogs that are informational, creative, and let’s face it, honest. (We are all sick of hearing/reading/blogging about quick fix weight-loss and fitness gimmicks.)

Like many online addicts, I’ve spent countless hours on the web looking for relevant blogs in my profession. This week, NOEDb (Nursing Online Education Database) published the top 100 Health and Wellness blogs. (Now I can finally have my Second Life back. LOL!) The list covers all blogs dealing with medicine, general health/disease, weight-loss, diet, nutrition, physical activity, strength training, and alternative health/medicine.

Although a list like this has been long overdue, I am ecstatic that it’s finally available for people to use as a reference (if you haven’t been subscribing to them already). But I have to make one big comment about this list (okay, maybe two)…

Glancing at the blogs, I’d say most of them are written by those who are NOT professionals in their field. This, by no means, invalidates these blogs - in fact, it probably validates them more. They have no ulterior motives. Their authenticity relies on the combination of experiencial knowledge, passion in wanting current & relevant information, and enthusiasm for their topic. Perhaps they are a greater resource than their professional counterparts. It’s somehow more endearing to follow a newbie in his journey to train for a triathlon than reading a professional trainer’s how-to blog to triathlons (aka training guide, aka from his book, aka that you should buy, aka from Amazon.)

So I started thinking: Why didn’t any of the blogs written by personal trainers, group exercise instructors, or lifestyle/wellness coaches make this list? I know they exist. Don’t these health/fitness professionals have experiencial knowledge, stay current on industry education, and have enthusiasm for what they do? I would hope so. So, why wouldn’t this list reflect these professional blogs? Mmm, something to think about…

The article also mentions the lack of alternative health/medicine blogs. It only listed 4 quality blogs under this category (not counting the 2 pilates and yoga blogs), of which 2 were on acupuncture/pressure, 1 on massage therapy/body work, and 1 on Chinese medicine. Quite a limited range. Isn’t there a growing community in alternative medicine, naturopathy/homeopathy, and other holisic and complementary health practices?

So, where is the presence of our health, fitness, and wellness professionals in the blogosphere?