Fitness Pet Peeve’s?

One of the more popular fitness enthusiasts recently posted the top 5 pet peeve’s that she absolutely could not stand. As I read through her top 5 I continuously saw verbiage like:

• You can’t
• You shouldn’t
• Don’t do this
• That’s bad/ Thats good
• That’s wrong/ That’s right

And she sought out to debunk these sayings by proclaiming that the opposite is what’s true about fitness. She’s in great shape and has over 2 million followers. And I’m not attempting to discredit her as she’s lasted for many years in the industry, so she’s got my nod of respect. But I had to chime in with a comment, again not to say that she said anything wrong. But the verbiage she was challenging came into question.

If you’ve read 1 or 2 of my past blogs you know I’m happy to explain the rationale behind workout routines to my clients. For example, I prefer certain movement patterns together so limiting factors don’t come into play. Now that doesn’t mean that the opposite of what I prefer is “wrong”. It’s just my reasoning behind why I do what I do for most of my clients. In fact, in my own workouts I often do the opposite of what I do for them. But it’s for my personal goals.

Onto said fitness pet peeve’s, let’s remember research is ongoing. Also, the above excerpts from the statements have lots of cookie cutter wording while us human beings are very different. I could show you 100 different workouts for the same person with the same goal. And none of them would be necessarily “wrong”. But maybe/ likely some are “better” than others. The fitness industry is unregulated. Most aspiring fitness professionals start their journey with a book and a multiple choice exam( which won’t teach much), and go onto train others the way they train themselves while arriving with these pet peeve’s based on personal experience. For the record, I think it’s a good thing that the fitness industry is unregulated as it allows for more creativity.

I can happily explain from an anatomy standpoint why there’s no added benefit to certain exercises. But I’d never tell anyone not to do so if they prefer that certain variation( unless that person is one of my clients). Hey, if you like it and you’re enjoying yourself go ahead.

There are baseline guidelines for whats considered to be optimal programming, proven by the most updated research which I use until further notice with tweaks for certain clients . But in my time as a trainer I’ve always had the same approach:

• Never give advise to a bro with more jacked arms than me. Even if he’s clearly doing something totally foolish (that’s just me).

When it comes to working out, what works for you matters most. Ask yourself:

• Are you getting results?
• Do you feel good?

If so, then keep on keeping on. Is there a better way, maybe. Maybe I can show ya! See comment below.