Comment

Gym myths are my favorite. The best past is the extreme prevalence of survivorship bias, with most of the bad advice coming from people who have succeeded but are themselves mistaken about why.

i.e. Massive bro is adamant that everyone should be taking BCAAs, beginners are inclined to believe it because it looks like he knows what he’s talking about.

I think the fitness industry makes most of its money this way tbh

source

Sort:hotnew top

Sc00ter@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
My wife is one of these consumers. She shes all these influencers pushing working out products and she uses everything she can get her hands on. Then she wonders why when she trains for, and runs a full marathon, she doesnt lose any weight. Well you take thousands of calories of supplements… just run

source
- Lodespawn@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yeah you can’t run off a bad diet, you do need to make sure you are getting enough protein aligned with your goals, and some fats, but outside of that, you just need to eat less than you burn.
  
  Running might help increase the deficit a bit, or give you some extra food, but you’re probably going to struggle to cover thousands of additional calories.
  
  source
  - DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    And now they’re pointing at that guy who was taking in absurd amounts of calories from meat per day, because they don’t realize he had a nutritional deficiency that meant most of it wasn’t getting processed.
    
    You can do a similar thing on rice, as it happens, because rice doesn’t contain enough B1 and you develop beriberi.
    
    source
  - Funky_Beak@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Right. I walk like 5km a day and I lost 30kg. Secret eat less than you burn.
    
    source
  - trashxeos@lemmygrad.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    The short version of that: it’s nearly impossible to out exercise poor diet but much less difficult to out diet poor exercise. (obviously, you still need exercise, but you don’t need to train like an olympic swimmer to lose weight if you make better dietary choices)
    
    source
- blandfordforever@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Yeah but supplements are fun and sometimes delicious. Running is neither.
  
  source
  - undeffeined@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I like Lyle McDonalds advice on running: Don’t, unless you’re being chased.
    
    source
  - eighty@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    running is sometimes fun (the rush you get from beat your PB) and let’s you eat things that are delicious. I’m in a perpetual calorie debt because I run so much and I’m poor 😭
    
    source
  - Lodespawn@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I’m not sure supplements are ever fun … but they can help with getting enough protein if you’re lifting or an additional energy boost via creatine … protein powder can taste nice but you need to watch out for macros if it’s too delicious, I’ve never had a nice creatine.
    
    Or by fun do you mean preworkouts? I think there’s limits to preworkout value when what you really need for workout energy are easily digestible carbs over caffine or other cruft.
    
    source
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
the “sad” reality of fitness is that it just boils down to “do exercise, eat 2 hours before an intense workout, creatine helps give a little strength boost”.

There’s no magical thing you can do to make things easier/faster other than just going harder or, you know, steroids (which has obvious downsides). And everything else that people tend to worry about, like the precise amount of protein to eat, is just… like yeah it has an effect but if you just do shitloads of workouts and eat when you’re hungry it’s basically impossible to not get stronger.

source
- Delphia@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Fundamentally you’re right. If you get absolutely everything 100% scientifically perfect for you, your circumstances, your genetics, etc you will always see better results than the person eyeballing it. But its like 200% more effort for an extra 25% gains, the minutiae of this shit goes as deep as you care to look and thats what drowns a lot of new enthusiasts.
  
  source
  - Carnelian@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    I personally take it a step further and question whether the extra 25% is worth it at all.
    
    Even creatine has its downsides, in that it’s a powder you have to pay for and remember to choke down every day. And in the end, all you get is the same progress you would have gotten anyway, just a bit faster.
    
    For me, who cares if what took you 5 years could have been done in 4 if everything was “optimal”? Why are we so obsessed with “optimizing” everything, when in reality this mindset just results in 90% of people giving up?
    
    *I should add I have no critique of someone who wants for themselves every possible advantage, or educates others about it. But presenting these things as being synonymous with the gym is a huge public disservice. It would be like aggressively trying to funnel every single person who wants to buy a car into becoming an F1 driver
    
    source
    Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    unless you’re struggling to buy food i would say creatine is 100% worth it, it’s not that expensive really and you can just mix a teaspoon into your morning drink.
    
    And for that little effort and expense you get a free ~10% increase in strength so long as you keep consuming it, which lets you train more faster, resulting in permanent gains.
    
    like it’s not obligatory or anything, but it’s a great way to help yourself get into fitness, just makes it slightly easier. Really the big benefit of it can be said to simply be that it makes you more likely to keep going.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
- barsoap@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’d argue the “eat before the workout” advise isn’t right: While you shouldn’t work out directly after eating as your body will direct energy towards digestion, working out on a fasting metabolism is beneficial as fasting comes with high levels of growth hormones. Evolutionary speaking: You’re not hunting when you have food, you’re hunting when you’re hungry. How can you have breakfast before you caught it.
  
  You might not be able to hit peak performance at the tail end of even just an interval fast, but it is going to do all kinds of signalling to your body to put more energy into growing muscle.
  
  source
  - Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    you’re absolutely hunting when you have food, why would you wait to hunt until you’re hungry? do you only buy more food when you’ve emptied out the fridge?
    
    also not everyone hunts, foraging has historically been arguably a more significant part of how people fed themselves, and even then not everyone is going to be doing that, some people are just going to be staying at camp to take care of the kids and stuff.
    
    what you’re suggesting is something that sounds good in your head, what i’m suggesting is pretty widely accepted practice.
    
    source
    barsoap@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    When talking evolution it’s not just humans, and human behaviour. The fasting metabolism, hunger hormone system etc. is shared through pretty much all of the animal kingdom. We had it before we left the seas. Fish don’t stockpile food, they store it in adipose tissue with about exactly the same mechanism as we do, there might not be much food around, that means increased competition, that means you need to be active, not lethargic, when hungry, and the level of exertion experienced during that fasting time will be taken by the body as the signal how much to bulk up, that’s why growth hormones are highly active at that time.
    
    You can trust that I read up on the stuff or you can do it yourself or you can trust an army of gymbros to have done it.
    
    source
- zea_64@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Funny thing is I can say I’m on steroids when I go to the gym (hormone medication). Though for some reason, the steroids I’m on are never the ones gym bros talk about.
  
  source
  - captainlezbian@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    They just don’t understand how sick of chest gains you’re getting
    
    source
thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
They like BCAAs because they think it causes gains.

I like BCAAs because they taste good.

We are not the same.

source
- Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  I like BCAAs because they taste good.
  
  They might be right, but you’re objectively wrong
  
  source
  - thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Image
    
    Image
    
    All the more for me then!
    
    source
    Schmoo@slrpnk.net ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    My brother it isn’t BCAAs you like, it’s methyl anthranilate.
    
    source
    -> View More Comments
- gajahmada@awful.systems ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Is BCAA different from normal protein powder?
  Also, why does it taste better for you?
  
  source
  - Delphia@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    BCAA’s are essentially bullshit 99% of the time because if you’re getting adequate complete high quality proteins from food (including whey or quality plant protein shakes) they contain all the amino acids your body can use.
    
    Honestly, the flavor is all down to the brand. But water just gets boring as shit if you’re drinking a lot.
    
    source
  - thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Basically just seconding what Delphia said; if you’re getting adequate protein from food sources than BCAAs are a waste.
    
    I just tend to drink >2L of plain water a day as a baseline, so when it comes to the gym — I’d rather have something with flavour. It’s best to just think of it as gymbro-cordial, with added caffeine on occasion!
    
    source
    gajahmada@awful.systems ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Brilliant, thanks ! To both of you.
    
    source
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
It’s like the cosmetics industry. Keep shifting what products will give you the look you want, whether it be beautiful hair or massive pecs. Tell you all the lies about what the product might do for you, then tell you to accessorize the product with whatever fringe benefit you’re looking for, and constantly keep changing the “science” so you jump from product to product for the latest and greatest thing that will make you look good.

Don’f forget to add fucked up exercises, grips, and positions to your workout, too, that place you at a greater risk of injury. Broscience.

source
- meyotch@slrpnk.net ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) is a blight upon the USA supplement scene.
  
  It’s no surprise it was sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. That state is the proud inventor of just about every worthless vitamin and nutritional supplement out there.
  
  source