Most people in fitness know how to train. That\u2019s not the problem. The issue is they don\u2019t know how to talk about it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what stood out most in a conversation with author and keynote speaker Jen Gottlieb. Before she became a speaker and entrepreneur, she was a personal trainer herself \u2013 someone who understood the work, but struggled with the part that actually gets people in the door: communication.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go from being able to hide behind a role,\u201d she told Muscle & Fitness,<\/em> \u201cto having to actually be yourself, and you\u2019re risking being judged.\u201d<\/p>\n For a lot of trainers and fitness creators, that fear shows up in familiar ways\u2014overthinking, hesitation, or waiting until everything feels perfect before posting anything at all. But as Gottlieb sees it, finding your voice isn\u2019t about confidence showing up first. It\u2019s about putting in the reps until it does. And in a space where attention is tied directly to opportunity, learning how to communicate might matter just as much as knowing how to coach.<\/p>\n Gottlieb doesn\u2019t think the issue is a lack of skill. It\u2019s something more internal.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much noise that comes up,\u201d she says. \u201cI actually refer to them as symptoms of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n That \u201cnoise\u201d shows up as perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and the constant feeling that someone else is more qualified. In fitness, that\u2019s amplified by the environment. It\u2019s a results-driven space. People are used to measuring progress, seeing improvement, and knowing when something is working.<\/p>\n But communication doesn\u2019t work that way.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re risking people thinking you\u2019re cringe or saying, \u2018Who the hell does she think she is?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n So instead of posting, people hesitate. They tweak. They wait. In most cases, they end up doing nothing.<\/p>\n The irony is that the same mindset that helps people succeed physically\u2014the attention to detail, the discipline, the desire to get it right \u2013 can actually hold them back when it comes to being seen.<\/p>\n A few years ago, you could grow just by posting consistently and staying within the lines. That\u2019s changed.<\/p>\n Gottlieb calls it the shift from social media to \u201cinterest media.\u201d Content isn\u2019t just shown to your followers anymore\u2014it\u2019s pushed to people based on what they engage with.<\/p>\n Which means if you\u2019re not giving the algorithm something to latch onto, your content disappears.<\/p>\n Her term for what doesn\u2019t work: vanilla content. \u201cIt\u2019s basically content that everybody would like,\u201d she says. \u201cJust nice content. Doesn\u2019t really state my option.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem is, nobody cares about nice.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want people to say one of two things only,\u201d she explains. \u201cYou want them either to say, \u2018Oh my God, me too\u2026\u2019 or you want them to say, \u2018Not me. I hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s uncomfortable for a lot of people, especially in an industry where being liked feels important. But staying in the middle\u2014trying to appeal to everyone\u2014is what gets ignored.<\/p>\n With a crowded space like fitness, being ignored is the bigger risk.<\/p>\n For anyone who\u2019s ever hit record and immediately felt awkward, Gottlieb\u2019s take is simple: that feeling foes\u2019t go away on its own.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the weirdest thing in the world to talk to a camera,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Even for someone with a background in acting, it took time. The difference is, she treated it like training.<\/p>\n \u201cI live stream every morning while I put my makeup on,\u201d she says. \u201cI do it to practice speaking to the camera like a normal person.\u201d<\/p>\n That idea of treating communication like a skill you train is where most people fall short. They wait to feel confidence before they start, instead of understanding that confidence is a byproduct of repetition.<\/p>\n She also offers a practical fix for the robotic tone a lot of people slip into when they\u2019re on camera.<\/p>\n \u201cI think about someone I love and I imagine that I\u2019m sending them a video message,\u201d she says. \u201cSo, I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Hey, [name],\u2019 and then I just edit out the \u2018Hey, [name] part.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s simple, but it works because it shifts the focus.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re thinking about how you look or sound, you\u2019re thinking about yourself,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not supposed to be for you\u2014it\u2019s for the person on the other side of the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n In fitness, consistency is understood. You don\u2019t expect results after one workout.<\/p>\n But online, people expect traction almost immediately. When it doesn\u2019t happen, they stop. This is one of the biggest mistakes Gottlieb sees.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might be posting for a very long time before you get your first hit,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Her approach is to remove emotion from the process and treat it like a habit.<\/p>\n \u201cPosting one time per day\u2026 needs to be a non-negotiable habit,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Not because every post will work, but because eventually, one might.<\/p>\n When it does, it can change everything.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like it\u2019s an overnight success,\u201d she says, \u201cbut for mem, it was years.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the part most people don\u2019t see.<\/p>\n One of the biggest barriers for fitness creators is the idea that they\u2019re not \u201cready\u201d to speak yet.<\/p>\n They haven\u2019t been doing it long enough. They don\u2019t have enough clients. They\u2019re not the best in the room.<\/p>\n Gottlieb pushes back on that completely.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t necessarily need to be an expert per se,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Instead of trying to position yourself as the authority, she suggests documenting the process.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be on a journey,\u201d she says. \u201cCome along the journey with me as I do it.\u201d<\/p>\n That shift, from teaching to sharing, is what resonates now. People aren\u2019t looking for perfect. They\u2019re looking for real.<\/p>\n The people who grow aren\u2019t the ones who wait until they have everything figured out. They\u2019re the ones who start talking while they\u2019re still figuring it out.<\/p>\n By the end of the conversation, Gottlieb circles back to something that reframes the entire idea of showing up online.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have a service, a story, or a product that helps people, visibility is your responsibility,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not about ego or attention for the sake of it. It\u2019s about access.<\/p>\n Every day someone doesn\u2019t share what they know, someone else fills that space. Sometimes with less experience. Sometimes with less care.<\/p>\n This is the real cost of staying quiet.<\/p>\n In a space like fitness, where the barrier to entry is low, but the impact is high, being good at what you do isn\u2019t always enough.<\/p>\n People have to know about it, and that only happens if you\u2019re willing to be seen and heard.<\/p>\n Follow Jen on Instagram @jen_gottlieb<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nWhy Do People Stay Quiet?<\/h2>\n
Why Playing It Safe Doesn\u2019t Work Anymore<\/h2>\n
![\"Jen](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Jen-Gottlieb-walking-down-the-street.jpg?quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Reps Matter\u2014On Camera Too<\/h2>\n
Consistency Is the Real Separator<\/h2>\n
Authority Isn\u2019t About Being the Expert<\/h2>\n
The Responsibility That comes With Being Seen<\/h2>\n