A former Navy SEAL turned fitness expert has been criticised by social media users after he appeared to share a video a video of a child balancing a log on his shoulders while undergoing a physical training exercise.

David Goggins, 49, is renowned for his outstanding endurance and fitness and looks to inspire others on his Instagram.

The American ultramarathon runner and public speaker regularly uses his Instagram to showcase his exceptional physical condition and provide updates from his life.

Goggins has also trained elite athletes including MMA star Tony Ferguson, prior to his fight against Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett at UFC296. 

Ferguson had claimed that Goggins had ‘damn near broke me’, according to MMA Weekly.com, during his preparation for the bout. 

In 2006, he came second in the 320-mile Ultraman World Championships Triathlon in Hawaii. He would later run the Moab 240 ultramarathon, coming second in the event and has written two books about his life story, while urging others to reach their full potential.

On Thursday, the American, who has 12.6million followers on Instagram shared a video of a child undergoing an intense training session on his Instagram.

In the video, the child appeared to have his feet spread between two posts that had been dug into the ground.

The child had squatted down between the posts and had balanced a large piece of wood over his shoulders.

Ex-Navy SEAL David Goggins has received criticism online after posting a video of a child undertaking an intense training regime

The American ultramarathon runner and public speaker regularly posts inspiring messages on his instagram and encourages others to stay fit and healthy

Tony Ferguson teamed up with Goggins ahead of his fight with Paddy Pimblett

He was accompanied by what appeared to be his trainer who seemed to be shouting words of encouragement towards the young child.

Under the weight of the log, the child was seen grimacing and shouting back at the man as he balanced on the two posts.

Under the video, Goggins added a caption in which he lumped praise on the child for their resilience.

‘I love this f***ing kid!,’ Goggins began.

‘While most of you won’t agree with the mental and physical training this kid is going through, what will come out the other side will be a motherf***er you do not want to f*** with!

‘Any obstacle that is put in front of this kid, he will easily be able to navigate and conquer!

‘This is the epitome of who’s gonna carry the boats and logs!

Goggins took to Instagram to lump praise on the young child, praising the child for his resilience

‘I would pick that young kid to be on my team over 99% of the men in this world today! Stay hard!’

It appears Goggins had intended the clip to be a motivational post for many of his social media followers, but some fans were left divided in the comments. 

‘Nah, this is child abuse,’ one wrote. Another added: ‘I disagree David and I respect you. This is trauma, not building confidence.’

‘He’s too young for this kind of “training”,’ another added.

Another added: ‘This is child abuse!!! WTF.’

‘This is f***ing outrageous child abuse!!!’ one Instagram user wrote. ‘As a psychologist, I can tell you that this is NOT OK. And it does NOT build resilience. This is completely unacceptable behaviour from an adult towards a child. 

‘This is horrible and it’s just as horrible that you admire it which only shows that you have not understood trauma nor the trauma you experienced yourself which fuels your internal dialogue.

‘I don’t think you have any understanding of what children need if you applaud this. Nor how to create resilient children. Please do not glorify this. It’s child abuse.’

But some hit out at Goggins on Instagram, claiming the video was ‘child abuse’ 

Instagram user, @richiehardcore added: ‘Yeah nah, we can have resilient sons and daughters without literally torturing our kids. This is too much.’

Mail Sport has contacted Goggins for comment.  

Others hit back at the comments that had claimed that the video showed child abuse.

‘LOVE IT,’ one wrote with two fire emojis. ‘STAY HARD. I get criticism for the way I train my students. People think it’s child abuse but the reality is those people commenting that… are what’s wrong with today’s society and are making the kids weak.’

One wrote: ‘Never give up,’ while one Instagram user wrote: ‘Unbreakable. Most won’t get it.’

Another Instagram user delivered a long response to the clip, writing: ‘As long as the kid has the option to put the log down and receive help in the process should he request it, I think it’s fair game, assuming he agreed to partake in this training. 

Others though joined Goggins in lumping praise on the young child in the comments section 

‘Doing hard things doesn’t translate into abuse unless the individual, young or old, is forced to or maliciously manipulated into doing something they don’t want to do. According to translators, malicious intent and trauma doesn’t seem to be taking place here. 

‘Unless it is revealed that the kid is being forced to perform this action in a longer feature video, this seems to be a kid testing its strength and endurance. Go, kid! Remember to take breaks every now and then.’