Unpopular opinions about fitness culture...

Mainstream fitness culture has led us to believe all sorts of bulls**t, whilst also creating harmful stereotypes and misleading information along the way... a part 2 to my "The 10 worst things about the fitness industry" blog, if you will...

1) Salt is not the enemy...

YOU NEED SALT. Repeat: salt is not the enemy. There's a lot of hoo-ha about eliminating salty foods from your diet, as well as the mainstream media and society labelling salt as 'bad'... which is completely untrue. Firstly, what 'they' are generally referring to is usually highly saturated fatty foods (which usually contains a lot of added salt, sugar and other additives)...

Sodium (salt) is a key element for our bodies to properly function- within a fitness context, it is particularly important in order to retain water (to keep us hydrated), to regulate us sweating (to control our body temperature) as well as contract muscles. On top of this, if you do not have enough (or too much) salt in your diet then your blood pressure can be affected.

So, all in all, the message should be 'manage your salt/sodium levels' rather than suggesting to completely abolish or demonise it.

2) Rest is underrated...

I've said it before and I'll say it again... You will not make any progress if this essential aspect of your lifestyle isn't utilised. If you aren't resting efficiently your training won't be efficient either.

This means knowing your body well enough and taking rest days adapted for you and your training programme. If you are beaten up training 5 or 6 times days a week then consider adding an extra rest day accordingly, or switch up training days, or even exercise selection. This may also mean perfecting rest whilst training too and taking appropriate rest times in-between sets (not too long/short). And most importantly sleep will be the most important type of rest. This is where muscle is repaired and growth occurs; our body, hormones and functions have the chance to literally reset.

Plus, if you are training correctly you should be able to appreciate rest days, as well as need them to recover- you grow in this stage of the process, providing training and diet is also coherent.

3) Over-complicating workouts just isn't it... Simple works. Fitness online can look boring and social media encourages new and unique content for more engagement- but you can't re-invent the wheel. For any discipline of lifting, whether it's bodybuilding, powerlifting or whatever, the same general guidelines apply: apply good form, properly contract muscles under control as much as possible (when applicable). Say you're focusing on an upper body session one day, is it really necessary to do a kickback whilst performing bicep curls?

Studies have even proven to suggest that drop and super sets aren't doing the most- or rather they aren't doing as much as you think they are so are suboptimal. Combining exercises and including super or drop sets can take the focus away from your exercises individually and may take away reps or weight away from the first exercise, from the purpose of intentionally preserving energy for the second exercise.

4) Nutrition just being misunderstood in general...

Nutrition- and fitness generally- is a whole spectrum. There's a load of different methods, diets and lifestyles/research that can be adopted. Diets in particular come and go out of trends but really they should all be considered different perspectives. Every body works differently, including processes like digestion, so when it comes to 'what is the best diet?' the answer is: it really depends on the goal and individual. Remember, we if we all ate the exact same thing we'd still all look completely different.

For instance, I wouldn't suggest a Paleo diet for a bodybuilder or powerlifter, as high carbohydrates are essential for intense weight resistance training.

It can take time to understand how your body works and how it reacts to certain foods, timings and quantities. And specifically- in regards to training- what fuels your body most efficiently (and ultimately what makes your body feel good) for movement and performance.

5) It is not one size fits all...

Carrying over from point #4, no individual is the same. 'Cookie cutter' programmes that are sold online or by your favourite influencer will not do the exact same for everyone, as everyone's genetics and bodily autonomy are different.

Chances are if an individual is doing minimal physical activity beforehand and not eating optimally for their goals then ANY slight increase in exertion (exercise) and eating a bit healthier (or controlling portion sizes) will then, of course, see some change.

So, as well as diet, we are not all built the same, this includes different sports or methods of fitness and our successes in them- if we all exercised completely the same we would definitely not have the same physical results.

It's easy to forget how important genetics actually are in terms of certain sub-genres of lifting (i.e. small waist and wider hips favoured in bodybuilding) and how you shouldn't stress too much when comparing to someone else with different compositions. Celebrate you!

6) You CAN and SHOULD enjoy your fitness !!

At the end of the day, you want to enjoy your fitness, whatever it is. Don't do something because you feel you have to or because it is 'popular' on social media at the time. Yeah sure, fitness isn't always easy but gruelling, soul-destroying sessions in the gym all the time aren't too fun much either. Ultimately; don't do something that makes you unhappy.

Finding your form of preferred exercise is the key to enjoying fitness and making it feasible for the bigger picture. Why spend time running if you don't like running, just for the sake of it? Besides standard cardio, there's also callisthenics, yoga, spinning and a whole range of sub-genres within weight lifting. Don't be scared to trial-and-error different things and see what works for you.

7) Real (and sustainable) results take time...

Strength and physiques that actually last are built over time and through honest work. It may be boring to hear but consistency is the key for success (whatever your goal is).

If someone is selling you the dream you can get 'ripped abs overnight' or 'drop 10kg in a week' then you should really question the validity of the product or service they are trying to offer you. Plus, the satisfaction and self-development is included in the process- if you were able to have the perfect body or be able to lift 'x' numbers then you just wouldn't appreciate what it look to get to your goal (disclaimer: needless to say, there's no such thing as a perfect body, as this is subjective). Additionally, then anyone could do it. Allow me for repeating myself but if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is...