Fitness and Nutrition Information Overload and Contradictions

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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 does not in fitness, even if you do not 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.

My other goal here is to help you avoid the "paralysis by analysis" that often plagues those who are 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 which 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 do not 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 someone who's got a good base of knowledge in the theoretic and plenty of practical experience in the gym … someone 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 achieve 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 look 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 cited 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 is not perfect either but it'll give you a good idea of ​​what works for you and what does not.

And if you do not 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 everyone 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 reason 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, do not be fooled by people who claim that fast results ARE NOT 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 a seat for less because THEY have settled for less and do not know how to get more.

There's a happy medium in that respect … do not 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 are not 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 do not know who to believe, I can promise you that the answer will not come to you on reruns of the Cosby Show.

Likewise, the person who has all the theoretic training knowledge in the world but who does not put any of it into practice is not better off than the person who knows very 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 judgment 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, do some research online.

If something does not 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 do not let contradictions stop you from moving forward and forming a plan of action … chances are, these contradictions will not 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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