There is nothing that irritates me more then a know-it-all. Wait, let me retract that last statement – There is nothing that irritates me more then a know-it-all who constantly offers unsolicited advice to others. Actually let me rephrase that one more time – There is nothing that irritates me more then a know-it-all who constantly offers unsolicited inaccurate and absolutely terrible advice to others.
We all know or know of someone who thinks he or she knows it all. No matter what the subject in question is this person usually has an answer for everything. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for listening to the advice from people who I trust and respect. But for me to listen to this advice the person first needs to gain my trust and then they need to earn my respect. I’m not just going to take the advice or a tip from a stranger I just met, that would be crazy. So why then do so many people listen to and follow bad advice given by complete strangers?
I’ve been involved within the fitness industry for over a decade and by no means would I ever consider myself to be an expert when it comes to exercise and nutrition. In fact, I’m constantly learning new information and have even been known to change my own views on training philosophies and dieting methods on occasion over the years. So I guess in a way I’m still a student and in some ways I will always continue to be one. I pride myself on my work and try my absolute best to remain a constant resource of health information to all of our clients no matter what their fitness goals are. If there is a question that I don’t know an answer to, I research it, I learn it and then I research it some more until I fully understand what I’m trying to learn. It’s important that I educate myself on what’s going on within my own industry at all time so that I can call myself a professional, and I do, so therefore I am.
Without a doubt the most important thing that I’ve learned over the years is that when it comes to diet and training, it can be extremely personal. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another person. Just because your favourite celebrity lost 20lbs on a particular diet plan or added 40lbs of muscle within 6 months following a specific training program does not mean that you’ll achieve the very same results if you were to follow the exact same plan. In my experience from working with both athletes and everyday people there is no one-size-fits-all program. This is just one of the reasons why at Forever Fit we do not and never will try to cater to the masses and design generic diet plans and training programs for our clients. We treat each person as an individual and find a formula that works for them. Once we find that formula, we stick with it until it stops working, and yes eventually even the best weight loss or muscle building formula stops working. Once a client hits a plateau with his or her training and has stopped seeing and feeling results, we fix or “tweak” the program so that our client continues to progress and move forward.
Remember, our bodies will adapt to anything we ask them to do over a repeated period of time. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen over the years that walk into the gym every single day and follow the exact same workout routine and use the exact same weights. Their workout routine has become so predictable that they are no longer challenging their bodies and therefore usually end up looking the exact same as they did when they first started training years ago. Sure, maybe they lost a few pounds of fat and gained a few pounds of muscle at first but eventually their bodies adapted to their workouts as they knew what to expect and therefore ceasing any further results from occurring.
Now I’m not going to try and offer any advice today. In fact I have no advice to give. Who am I to stop you if you want to follow Dwayne Johnson’s aka “The Rock’s” Muscle Building Diet Plan. And why should you listen to what I have to say about these extreme weight loss ads and fat burning supplements that we see advertised on TV? If you’re not a client of mine or haven’t read any of my training articles or viewed my online recipes then you don’t really know me. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and watch my workout videos or see the amount of fitness shows I’ve competed and placed in then how can you respect me? And if you’ve never met anyone who has worked with me and has achieved great results, then how can you trust me? Quite simply – You can’t.
Therefore rather then offer my own unsolicited advice I will only make a suggestion that whomever you decide to listen to or take advice from on any given subject whether it be fitness related, business oriented, financial or family driven that you respect and trust the person who you are listening to 100%. Also, make sure that you do your own research as well. Don’t just take someone’s word on something because it worked for them.
It’s easy to take training advice from the guy at the gym who’s got 22 inch arms, a chiseled chest and ripped abs or diet advice from the girl who just lost 3 sizes in 3 weeks. However it’s not as easy when you have to figure out for yourself if this is good advice and if it will in fact work for you based on your own lifestyle, genetics and level of fitness.
As I mentioned earlier training and diet are both extremely personal. I think it’s important to enlist in the assistance or seek out the advice from a fitness professional whenever someone is first starting off on an exercise program. However I think it’s even more important that as individuals we also learn to trust our own bodies and do what’s right for ourselves. As I always tell every single one of my clients – “Nobody does or ever will know your body better then you do.” Are you hungry or are you just bored? Are you really too sore to workout or do you just not feel like it? If you listen to your body you will never have reason to second guess or doubt yourself.
And when it comes to advice just remember….
“Advice is the only commodity on the market where the supply always exceeds the demand”.
Anonymous
Yours in Good Health,
Nick Cosgrove