Tuesday 3 November 2015

Finding Information in the Fitness Industry

The fitness industry is a large and at many times, confusing place. Finding information on the industry is actually pretty easy, but finding well researched, well backed and reputable information can be a very tricky task. So many people are quick to buy into wonder supplements, diet schemes, and other fads. This is because they're simply being told what they want to hear, and what they wish would be true. The reality of the matter is that none of it is actually true. People will buy in to these 'wonder' schemes and supplements, give it their all for a few weeks, see no results and then give up. Alternatively, they'll try the aforementioned schemes and supplements, throw themselves into a huge caloric deficit, see results up to a point and then give up because they think that they're done. Once they do that, the weight piles back on and they're back to square one, or even worse.

The sad truth is that there's a lot of bad information in the industry, mostly created to make money for people. However, there are a lot of amazing sources of information out there, you just have to know where to look.

How do I find these sources?

I'll be honest - a lot of it is down to trial and error. You'll find some people who you believe to be reputable but somewhere along the line you'll realise that what they're saying doesn't work for you. However it just takes one really reputable source for you to get the ball rolling. Once you find them then they will point you to other great sources. Before you know it, you'll be surrounding yourself with people that are aligned with yourself, and that help you to reach your goals.

I went down the route of social media. I checked out trends and really looked in to the people that were being recommended - the majority of which were personal trainers, and had been reviewed by clients. I also looked at people that had been recommended by brands/companies that sponsored them. Now I'm definitely not saying that just because someone has been recommended and sponsored by a brand you should immediately listen to everything that they say without question. Some professionals will recommend that you eat a completely 'clean' diet (make of that what you will). Some will recommend that you control portions, some will recommend flexible dieting. If they have had proven success with their methods and rave reviews, then there would be no reason for you to question it. However reputation and knowledge are only half the battle when it comes to obtaining the right information for you. 

Once you've found a collection of sources that are tried, tested and trusted then its time to find the right source for you to focus on. This part isn't a question of who has the most qualifications or the biggest success rate. This is simply a question of who seems the best aligned with your views, who's style you most relate to. Who has the most personable and engaging approach in your opinion. At the end of the day, you could follow the advice of someone with multiple PHDs, hundreds of success stories and a killer physique. However, if their approach doesn't appeal to you, or you don't find them to be engaging or easy to relate to then it just won't motivate you and you probably won't see the success that their clients do. 

I'll use myself as an example to explain a little better. I'm not the kind of person that finds it easy to cut out my favourite foods, to eat huge amounts of chicken, broccoli, brown rice, mackerel etc, or to eat plain and frankly boring meals. I tried following the advice of a lot of fit pros and self proclaimed 'experts'. I threw myself into 'clean eating', restricted the foods that I loved, lost a little weight, became miserable and put it back on again. I went through various periods of eating whatever I wanted as long as the fit pros proclaimed it as 'healthy food'. This didn't work for me. I had no motivation and I wasn't making great progress. 

I decided to look elsewhere and when browsing Instagram, I came across Nick Cheadle. For anyone not familiar with him, there's a link to his page at the bottom. Nick is in phenomenal shape, has great reviews from clients and best of all - he's an advocate of flexible dieting. His approach to dieting involves an open approach - no need to restrict certain foods as long as they're eaten in the right quantities to satisfy your individual needs. This was the perfect approach for me and after some trial and error, I found it to be the optimum approach  - not only in terms of reaching my goals, but in terms of the best plan for my personality and preferences. 

Through Nick I've found some great sources regarding both information and motivation and I'll drop a few names at the end. They may not necessarily work for you - but you never know until you take a look at their pages and understand their approaches. Find the sources that are reputable and that work for you as an individual - that's the key to success. 

If you've got any questions about this piece, or you're interested in writing for Muscle & Macros, then contact me through the social media links below.
twitter, health, fitness, blog, writing, rugby instagram, health, fitness, muscle, nutrition, blog, writing 

Nick Cheadle - http://nickcheadlefitness.com/

Mike Samuels - www.healthylivingheavylifting.com






No comments:

Post a Comment