Hey Fit Gang, Coach Stephen here!

The fitness industry is one of the most convoluted when it comes to the flow of information.

One week something is good for you and the next week it's the cause of your injury or the reason you're not losing weight.

This is driven by improvements and discoveries in scientific research, but it's mostly driven by what ideas are being sold to you by fitness professionals.

Unfortunately, the industry is not known for being the most honest. As long as someone looks the part, everything they say is taken for face value.

With that in mind, here are some things to look out for when you're reading or seeing concepts used in fitness.

1. That something is being portrayed as the "best" or only way to do something

In fitness more than anything, tailoring the prescription to the individual is key. What works for one may not work for another and it has less to do with the methods and more to do with the person as an individual.

There are so many factors that determine if someone will be successful in a fitness program and it's up to a qualified coach to create the best plan to do so.

So when someone comes out and says something is the "best" and "only" way to have success, you should be skeptical.

If we did find a surefire method that worked for every single individual, wouldn't the current research reflect that, and wouldn't everyone be doing it? What are the chances that one person happened to discover the best way to get the results you're looking for? Honestly, how would we even measure that?

2. If complexity is favoured over simplicity

As a coach, whenever you're trying to break down a concept to a client in order for them to understand it, you need to actually break it down. You need to start small, gain an understanding, and then slowly build up in complexity.

But when the methodologies get convoluted, when things become overly complex for no good reason, that's a good sign that you're dealing with misinformation.

You're being sold an idea that you can't possibly understand on your own, over something that's actually more simple than you think.

Marketing is taking over her as opposed to the best practices.

Ultimately the biggest thing to look out for is the misrepresentation of information. Keep an eye out for the language someone is using when they discuss a training or diet method.

Working on your fitness should be about improving your health and quality of life but more often than not, you're being marketed to when it comes to this industry.

As much as we may not want to believe it, the same things that have worked before still work today.

Move and train as much as you can.

Eat nutritious, minimally processed food.

Be as consistent as you possibly can above all else.

To your good health,

-Coach Stephen