We get asked every single day if this will work or that is the answer to all of their questions. People wanting to lose weight, build muscle and get stronger say that this person told me that and that person told me this but I’m not sure who to believe. Just the other night, I spent ten minutes answering some guy’s questions in a hot tub and most of that was damage control. I had to let him know that most of what he heard were nothing more than myths and misinformation.
Any teacher or instructor can tell you that it can be far more challenging and time-consuming to teach the right way to do something to someone who only knows how to do something the wrong way. To be clearer, it’s easier to make french fries from a potato instead of mashed potatoes. When I first started really taking my fitness (outside of sports and martial arts) seriously, I bought every magazine at the grocery store. If it had fitness, health, or muscle in the title, I was reading it front to back. My dream was to one day be on the cover of Men’s Health, but it isn’t anymore.
Over time, I realized that these magazines recycled a lot of information and sometimes even had misinformation or a lower-quality product. I can’t remember if it was Men’s Health, but it had some information about aquatics, whether it was swimming or free-diving, and it was far from the truth. I feel like they found some guy who practiced it recreationally in the office to write the piece and I lost faith and my dream along with it. Now, I receive free subscriptions of Men’s Health and Train Magazine only to give them to friends who are starting where I did a long time ago, but am I really helping them?
Those magazines are inspiring and motivational like so many of the social media celebrities, but is the product all bark and no bite? Competing products are advertised on every other page. Whether it’s attire, equipment, or supplements, there are tons of flashy adds but no breakdowns of what should be bought and why. I could easily buy my way into an ad in that magazine because few are willing to say no to money. I’ve even found advertisements for banned substances in those pages before.
I’m not telling you to avoid these magazines, but I’d be cautious. You might be getting the same thing over and over again, and even though they cost less than a dollar an issue in most cases, you’ll be wasting time flipping through pages of advertisements and photoshopped pictures. It could be inspiring or motivating, but it probably isn’t enabling you to do anything special. The workouts can be found on YouTube and you can save a few trees in the process. I’d love to see the standards of these magazines raised to a level where I want to be on the cover again. Instead, it’s more likely that I’ll start my own quarterly publication that brings you the best of both worlds. Think ACSM meets Men’s Health. As always, stay hungry and fit!
