4 Ugly Truths About Fitness I Wished I Knew Before Serious About It
Knowing these would have saved me a ton of time, effort, and money
I’ve been working out for about 10 years now.
The one thing that hit me pretty hard when I learned about it is the idea that working out isn’t for anyone, it’s for yourself even if you think you know this, you never really do until you’ve taken the time to internalize it and think about why you’re working out in the first place.
Is it to look good to please others? Is it to fit into the crowd? Or is it to build your health with longevity in mind?
The truth is the fitness industry isn’t as glamorous as you thought it should be. In fact, it’s rampant with misinformation simply because content drives earnings. The more eyes you have on your content, the more influence you have and the more valuable you become.
It’s why we have content that promises you quick results if only you did this or that.
With all this content on social media, we still see the World Health Organization (WHO) talking about how there’s more than 1 billion people in the world are now living with obesity in 2022.
Clearly, something doesn’t add up right.
If only I knew these, I wouldn’t have gone down the rabbit hole of following the misinformation online, thinking that I could achieve results quickly.
I’ve learned that the hard way but hopefully you don’t have to.
Here’s how.
1. Media’s Portrayal Skews Your Idea Of Fitness
Social media’s view of fitness is mostly limited to looking great by having a chiseled chest, v-taper back, and six-pack abs.
Fitness influencers talk about them endlessly, making us think that we need to follow their advice to achieve our best physique. But they conveniently left out something:
The usage of steroids.
These steroids are usually known as appearance-and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs). Some athletes and bodybuilders use them as a way to enhance their physical appearance or physical abilities.
According to research:
“Around 3 to 4 million people in the U.S. use anabolic steroids without a prescription for nonmedical purposes.”
So it’s more common than you think.
Even some A-list actors are doing it as the pressure for stars to shape up faster opens up this “shortcut”. Taking steroids in itself is fine. The problem comes when you’re setting unreal standards for other people to chase towards.
People without experience in the field are highly impressionable and setting this expectation pushes them to target something that’s unattainable which might defeat their confidence in the long term if they don’t achieve results.
Now, I’m not saying that the only route to achieving an awesome physique requires you to take steroids. Instead, the route towards achieving this physique is attainable but it’ll probably take you a long time.
That is why my preference for any workout or diet regime is a sustainable approach for the long term.
2. Getting A Shredded Six-Pack Abs Isn’t Healthy
One of the most overrated fitness want is to achieve the shredded six-pack abs.
Everyone who’s seen it probably at some time thought of working towards it. Yet after working their abs for a period of time, they realize it’ll take much more time and effort to really achieve the results which fitness influencers talk about.
But you might be glad that you don’t have them.
Everyone’s body requires a certain level of fat percentage. For women, the general number is at least 13% of body fat while for men, it’s around 3% of body fat. So if you are creeping towards that number, you’re essentially compromising on those essential functions that your body needs.
It’s why it’s even worse for girls since they naturally will need that higher level of body fat to support their body’s natural processes like going through their period.
Since you’re undergoing a heavy diet change, you might end up feeling weak throughout the day, being obsessive with counting every little thing you’re putting into your body, and developing an unhealthy relationship with food.
If you really want to get that six-pack abs, it’s much better to compromise and aim for a relatively higher body fat at around 10–17% for guys and 21–28% so that you still have that level of leanness but not excessive body fat.
3. Your Favorite Influencer’s Workout Program Isn’t What You Expect
I don’t know about you but in the past, I’ve fallen for this time and time again.
It’s only after a few years later that I realized most influencers’ workout programs don’t work because they either:
They don’t follow their workout programs
They have limited knowledge
We think people who have a voice know the best. Some people may tell you that they don’t know everything and that’s completely fine. But others don’t tell you at all. They just throw a bunch of workout plans at you so that they can create intriguing content.
The mindset behind creating certain content is already wrong to begin with. Most people who consume fitness content want to learn how to build muscle, lose weight, and achieve the body of their dreams. But sometimes, these fitness creators might be entertaining more than educating when they do things like:
“perform flying push-ups on stacked-up dumbbells, climbing two ropes with a med ball between their feet, or doing a standing ab wheel rollout on a barbell”
How would that help the guy who wants just wants to do 5 push-ups or 1 pull-up?
The problem is they don’t really care about you. They are mostly concerned about getting more likes and followers than helping you achieve your goals.
But it could also be because effective training with great results comes after months and months if not years and years of consistent training. More of than not, it requires a 100% shift in someone’s lifestyle in order to achieve that physique you always wanted. And frankly speaking, that work is boring work.
And that’s probably not what you want to hear but it’s true.
4. Magic Pills
Whenever results don’t come or we simply don’t see any progress in our bodies, we naturally turn to magic pills.
I’m not talking about physical pills that we take or even injecting steroids into our bodies. I’m talking about those health hacks people believe in like thinking that a novel diet program or a “5 min body transformation workout program” would do the trick.
They may support this with videos and photos of themselves going through this “transformation” and showing you the eventual result of it. But have you thought about whether those transformations are legitimate?
The problem with “transformation” content is the end result usually shows the “perfect” scenario, meaning that factors like lighting, flexing, camera angle, props like spreading oil, etc can make a major difference in how someone looks.
Take a look at how this guy who’s in decent shape looked more shredded just by adjusting some lights:
Lasting fitness transformation takes a really really long time and effort.
That’s why there’s no point chasing quick results. Aesthetic goals should be a by-product of months and months of hard work, there’s no quick fix for it especially for recreational lifters.
Focusing on the basics to create a diet and workout program that:
Fits your lifestyle
One that you love doing
One that you can do for a really long time
That’s the best program that is for you.
Closing Thoughts
The media and fitness industry aren’t all sunshine and rainbows.
But as long as you’re clear on your goals, you’re more likely going to focus on people or content that will educate you, not entertain you. A good trainer won’t tell you what you want to hear but rather what you need to hear.
It’s probably not the advice you want but probably the advice you need.
So the next time you’re consuming fitness content, think about whether they are trying to entertain or educate you.
Want to know about experiments with Hybrid Training?
I’m Maguire, a hybrid athlete incorporating runs and functional training and I love experimenting with Fitness. I write about engineering and fitness. If you’re interested, join my newsletter to learn more about my experience with my fitness experiments!
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