Everyone will have an opinion about your life and your journey.
While it’s great to get feedback, many people start to think everyone else is “right” and ultimately get off track.
The fastest way to success is picking one path and sticking to it for a while before you decide to possibly change what you’re doing.
This problem plagued me for years. I would chase the new study, research, blog post, or expert’s opinion and get off track. I’d start with a goal, like gaining size, and start lifting, but then I’d see some new research about optimal eating time after a workout and think all of my work was going to waste because of this new information.
I’d get off track, and actually stop what I was doing because it wasn’t “perfect” yet.
It was ludicrous and got more off track than if I had just stayed with what I was already doing. There is no such thing as perfect and any progress is better than NO progress. There will always be new research, but if Arnold Schwarzenegger could be in shape all those years ago without 80% of the research we have today, there is no excuse.
So, that leads me to all the things you should ignore on your fitness journey:
1. New research
While you’re starting out, stay far away from all new information until you have formed the habit. Don’t we all know that out of shape friend who is a walking encyclopedia of information? Yeah, except they don’t actually apply what they know, and if they are it clearly isn’t working. This flows into #2.
2. Only take advice from people who have what you want
I want this quote on my tombstone I love it so much. Everyone I meet has an opinion on fitness. I post a status about going to the gym and I get a boatload of comments about what I should be doing from people who clearly are struggling with their own health. This is why I don’t have a relationship blog or a “how to work in corporate America” blog: because I am horrible at both those things.
3. Any opinions about your journey
Everyone will have an opinion about your diet, body, or routine. They’ll say you’re gaining too much muscle/losing too much weight/not eating enough/eating too much/having too much sodium, blah blah blah.
Get your information from someone credible and follow their advice for a few months, then look at your results and see what you want to change. As you know, I love Jim Stoppani’s work, programs, and supplements. He allows quite a bit of caffeine in the daily diet, yet half the people I know have a panic attack about drinking more than a cup. Let me do me, and you do you.
4. Anyone who says you have to buy something to reach your goals
No, you don’t need:
- New shoes
- A food scale
- A new outfit
- A program
- Any fitness equipment
- Any kitchen materials
- Pretty much anything else outside your own determination
Sure, those things can help, but are they essential? No.
You already have everything you need to start living the life you want. It might not marketable, but it’s the truth.
Writers Lift Too 