Navigating Fitness Advice: A Simple Approach

Before you run far away from this topic, allow me to elaborate. Fitness advice is one of those subjects that can conjure anger, frustration, and dogmatism.

Everyone seems to have their own camps of thought. Fitness has never been so divisive or passionate as it is today. From the extreme to the nuanced, fitness has expanded well beyond a simple run in the park or “I lift weights.”

For discussion purposes, and to prevent this from becoming book-length, I’ll divide the sources of fitness content into two simplified camps.

1. The well-researched, PhD types who cite every single piece of advice with a peer-reviewed paper. They tend to tease out one or two specific parts of a study to fill their narrative.
2. The social media influencers who are out to exchange their supplement, program, or service for your cash. They like to make bold claims, title videos and posts with clickbait, and try to be as extreme as possible.

Now, on the more subtle side of things, there’s nothing wrong with a little research to back up your claims. Conversely, there’s also nothing wrong with trying something new and a little wild to spice things up.

But there is another culprit at large. With the good-ole internet comes the deluge of information. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information available literally at your fingertips.

What to do?

Simple. When I help someone with their training and they voice their frustration over the number of programs to choose from, I will advise them to pick any program and stick with it for a month. Over time, they will surely find what’s working and what isn’t.

The same strategy can be used for who or where you’re getting your info. If you like a certain influencer, go for it. Follow them, try their programs, and listen to their advice. Your gut will tell you to either stay the course or move on.

The point is, no one has time to screen every single guru, influencer, or researcher out there.

You’re smart. Make things simple. You’ll know when you smell B.S.. Embrace the process.

Happy lifting!