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So here's
the bottom line question...when it comes
to fitness, who do you believe?
Well, believe
me (no pun intended!) when I say this...you
CAN make good, educated decisions when it
comes to what works and what doesn't in
fitness, even if you don't have "insider"
knowledge about every single product, author
or training technique you come across.
My main goal
here is to give you some solid decision-making
ideas to help you steer yourself in the
right direction.
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My OTHER goal here is to help you avoid the "paralysis
by analysis" that often plagues those who aren't
sure where to start or who to believe...they end
up doing nothing at all, which is NOT the best way
to accomplish something!
1. The
TRUST Factor...
The first method
of determining what's good and what's bad is finding
a person/coach/trainer you trust...somebody who
walks the walk, who has spent time "in the
trenches" and who really cares about what
they're doing. Somebody whose recommendations
you know are based on knowledge and experience.
Here's the thing...some
of the most knowledgeable people around when it
comes to training don't have any "real"
qualifications at all! Their knowledge is based
on their own reading and their own gym hours.
Yet this can also be a very dangerous thing.
Those "real"
qualifications do serve a purpose. Ideally, you
want to find somebody who's got a good base of
knowledge in the theoretical and plenty of practical
experience in the gym...somebody who is not afraid
to acknowledge the validity of other people's
theories and practices. For me, this is a HUGE
determination of who to trust...any coach who
thinks that only THEIR way is effective is an
idiot. Just like there are many good ways to get
from point A to point B in a city, there are plenty
of ways to accomplish fat loss and muscle growth.
Some ways are better
than others, naturally, but many ideas have merit.
2. Consider
the Source And What They Have To Gain Or Lose
When you read a
muscle magazine and come across a 4-page "informational"
report, it's pretty easy to figure out what the
company has to gain by putting forward this information.
You know it's going to be slanted in favor of
their product because they want you to buy it.
As good as the information they present might
LOOK, you have to take it with a grain of salt
because they have a lot to gain by your accepting
the information.
Here's the problem...even
very good studies quoted in these ad reports can
be very loosely interpreted to "prove"
the product works. They know that chances are
good you're not going to be looking up and actually
reading these studies.
3. What
Do You Do When 2 People You Trust Say 2 Different
Things?
That makes things
a bit trickier and that's when you need to educate
yourself, think things through and sometimes even
take BOTH people's advice and test it for yourself.
I'll explain...
For example, if
one person says "long-duration cardio is
the best way to lose fat" and the other person
says "interval training is the best way to
lose fat", and you trust both people, what
you'll need to do is see what works best for YOU.
Neither method of
cardio training is necessarily wrong - both methods
have their pros and cons and both can be more
appropriate in certain situations. If both people
put forward good arguments, you need to test it
on yourself if you want to really find out what
works best for you. Do 3 weeks of long-duration
cardio then gauge your results then do 3 weeks
of intervals and gauge your results.
Honestly, this isn't
perfect either but it'll give you a good idea
of what works for you and what doesn't.
And if you don't
want to test both opinions, then read MORE opinions
to see if somebody else puts forward a better
explanation.
Let me put it this
way...I know for a FACT that not everybody reading
this article will agree 100% with every bit of
training information I put forward. That's totally
fine with me! In fact, I prefer it that way because
it means I'm pushing the envelope.
It then comes down
to how you feel about the reasoning behind the
techniques and your willingness to give the techniques
a fair try. It's the same thing when you have
2 trainers who disagree - heck, they may BOTH
be wrong!
4. The Gut Check
Ever heard the phrase
"if it sounds too good to be true, it probably
is?" If some diet program makes insane claims,
they'd better have proof to back it up. Lose 10
lbs in your first week? It's possible...if that
10 lbs is mostly water.
At the same time,
don't be fooled by people who claim that fast
results AREN'T possible. Because I can tell you
from experience, you CAN see quick results IF
you've got the right training and nutritional
program. Many people want you to believe you have
settle for less because THEY have settled for
less and don't know how to get more.
There's a happy
medium in that respect...don't be afraid to try
for big results but temper your expectations because
there's a reason those ads all have to have small
print that says "results aren't typical."
5. Doing
SOMETHING is Always Better Than Doing NOTHING
If you're sitting
on the couch, eating potato chips and watching
8 hours of TV a day because two different coaches
said two different things about training and you
don't know who to believe, I can promise you that
the answer won't come to you on reruns of the
Cosby Show.
Likewise, the person
who has all the theoretical training knowledge
in the world but who doesn't put any of it into
practice is NOT better off than the person who
knows hardly anything about training but who goes
for a walk every day and tries to eat more fruits
and vegetables.
So even if you're
getting conflicting advice, use your best judgement
and DO something. If it's not working after a
few weeks, you can change. There's no contract
to sign.
6. How
Do You Tell When Information is BAD?
There will be times
when information is just plain bad. That's when
you go to your resources...ask people you trust
(I'm happy to help you with questions you have
about training info), post a note on a forum that
has good people on it (personally I would recommend
Charles
Staley's forum - I work with Charles and he's
definitely a good, honest resource), do some research
online.
If something doesn't
smell right about the information, definitely
do a little research before trying it out.
CONCLUSION:
The bottom line
with all these tips is that contradictions in
training information are a fact of life...they'll
always be very knowledgeable, well-educated people
who disagree completely about different aspects
of fitness.
But don't let contradictions
stop you from moving forward and forming a plan
of action...chances are, these contradictions
won't matter a hill of beans in terms of your
overall results.
Long-duration cardio
or intervals? I prefer intervals but it's not
wrong to do long-duration cardio if it works better
for YOU (just ask my wife!).
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