“There’s a thousand different ways to skin a cat.”
Social media is the most powerful tool for sharing knowledge. Learning how to exercise is as easy as logging onto Youtube and watching instructional videos. The problem is there are countless certified AND non‐certified trainers offering their philosophies and exercise strategies. How do you know which ones are the most effective? How do you know which ones you should use?
People are egotistical and are always looking for new ways to innovate an idea in order to call it their own. We’ve come full circle now where instead of spreading the awareness of the fundamentals; trainers are posting videos and articles of doing squats on bosu balls or pushups on tight ropes.
Beginners are confused now more than ever on how to train properly.
Bro‐Science vs. Real Science
There are three different types of people that exercise. There are the uninformed or ignorant – they don’t know what they’re doing and they’re not willing to listen to outside sources for help. There is the Bro‐Science crowd. – I saw this Huge Bodybuilder guy doing this, and it obviously worked to get him, his results. So I’m going to do it myself and see what happens. Then there are the scientific fact before action people – the people that believe only the latest scientific research behind exercise or
nutrition, before they implement any sort of new strategies. But many times they get so caught up in the Principals and latest facts from a new published study that they never really just get down to business at the gym and actually LIFT!
I personally believe in the Wieder principles, they are like the 10 commandments of weight training that are tried, tested and true. Every beginner to advanced weight lifter should learn them and practice them on a regular basis. Yes, you should still try new techniques and find what works
personally for you and your body type, but always remember that the basic’s of lifting: heavy compound movements is the foundation of all great physiques.
Now let’s talk about Diet & Nutrition. What fuel are you putting in your body in order to ensure optimal recovery? Do you eat 6 small meal every day? What about the Ketosis diet? How about the caveman diet? What diet is the best one to use to get shredded?
Personally I’ve embraced the “If It Fits Your Macros” diet. This diet is based around calculating how many Calories/Macros you need to eat, every day according to your fitness goals. You have a daily maintenance level of calories or macro’s to eat in order to sustain your healthy body weight. To
increase lean Muscle, or Reduce Body fat, you must adjust your Macro’s.
If It Fits Your Macros means you figure out your calorie intake, then you find out how many grams of each macronutrient you have to eat to make up those calories.
I personally brushed off IIFYM, when it first became popular with Dr. Layne Norton’s YouTube videos on the subject. But Ignorance and lack of knowledge on the subject was really my way to quickly dismiss it, as we have been so ingrained with Miss‐information passed down from the great Bodybuilders of the late 80’s that always stated that you must eat 6‐7 small meals per day to keep your metabolism going strong to burn calories and body fat.
What Works Best for YOU?
The truth is that everyone’s body is different and no diet or workout plan will be perfect for you. That being said, there continues to be more and more studies done on nutrition and training and the results cannot be overlooked. You are a unique individual and your body responds differently
than every other person on this planet. You must listen to your own body and take action and implement a strategy, but also have an open mindset to real scientific evidence and adapt your program based on these findings. Whether you are ignorant to learning new information (in which case START LEARNIN!!), A Bro‐Science guy or a Scientific Facts exercise enthusiast, you have to experiment with different styles of exercise routines and diet plans to find out what works best for your body.
The final note for trainers out there it’s important as a trainer to live and breathe your philosophy. It’s not about what you know it’s about what you do with what you know. And if you’re a beginner looking for the right information I’ll say this to you…. JUST GET STARTED!! Just get started and
the results will come. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, doing something is better than doing nothing.
Be persistently flexible in your approach to exercise. No one has all the right answers but everyone has something valuable to offer. Take the best of everything you learn from multiple sources in order to find out what works best for you so that you can create and live your own exercise philosophy.
You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for life!
Dean Brandt
Founder & CEO at Totalbodyhealth, CEO & Founder at Xtreme Promotions and Owner at BodyByBrandt
