Fitness Advice: How much of it is good?

The most common thing I see every single day in the gym is people exercising incorrectly. And, the reason for this is, people are learning by watching others and by what others are telling them to do. With so many opinions about fitness and the thousands of overnight “trainers” giving their advice, it’s no wonder why so many people are exercising toward injury and away from progress. For this very reason, I have listed my three points to help you determine whether your fitness advice is good or bad.

1.) Explanation – when someone gives you advice, trainer or not, ask them to explain to you in detail the advice they just gave you. And, don’t take answers like “I read it somewhere”, “my friend is a personal trainer and they showed me” or “it just works, try it.” All of these answers should be red flags to you and are more than likely a great indicator that you should forget their advice.

2.) Don’t judge a book by its cover – the decision to take someone’s fitness advice should not be measured by how good they look physically. Believe me, there are all kinds of ways for someone to look good on the outside: growth hormones, hormone therapy, and many other drugs that are all readily available to enhance the physiques of both men and women. So, be very careful not to associate good advice with good looks. The person giving you advice may well have become physically fit from hard work but we all have different genetics; what works for one person may not work for another.

3.) Educate yourself – this is exactly where it began for me. I was given advice from many people over my younger years, of which most I took blindly, and most was bad advice. After reading, learning, and many trial and errors, I learned the correct ways to exercise, eat, and recuperate my body. Learn about the body and most certainly how to exercise the right way using correct form and technique. Then, you will know what’s right and what’s wrong in terms of advice.

Remember, as with everything in life, “You can’t see what’s wrong until you know what’s right.”