My first year of delving into strength training and fitness in 2014 I was excited at how much there was to learn.
My second and third year I felt a bit overwhelmed at how much I perceived that I to know, understand, and be able to communicate in order to be a fitness professional. With social media and the ability for anyone to gain popularity and followers with catchy content, those who seemed to be providing valuable information were everywhere. I needed some better tools to cut through to the good stuff. Fitness industry is a secondary profession for me as I work full time in IT, but one I take seriously, getting certified as NASM-CPT/StrongFirst Elite/USAW 1, training people part-time, and attending many professional seminars. I plan to transition into it full time in a couple of years after I retire from my IT career in 2026 at age 58.
My fourth year I started questioning - Do I really have to "know" all that stuff? And I began noticing that there's a LOT of BS out there, and also that there are a lot of good sources combatting the BS and bringing us back to reality, simplicity, and evidence. (I would say "common sense", but honestly that's where we sometimes go wrong. Common sense is only as good as the filter, which is our own perception.) I started understanding that we really don't have to "know" all that stuff that's floating around out there, we can focus on the good quality info and develop our filters to learn to give minimal attention to the rest.
There are good sources of information, and then there are the ones that go a step beyond -- not only being good sources, but actively calling out bad information and providing evidence and reasoning. These past few years I've really come to appreciate these sources and listen to them regularly to keep me grounded. Some of my favorites:
There are also a few others that I love, and I think provide 90% great information, but IMO they sometimes stray a bit outside their lane and put out information that sounds great, but ends up being a little bit off course. Peter Attia, Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, Shawn Stevenson, Squat U, and others. I give them a pass on being 100% accurate because I think on the whole they provide a great service.
Who are your favorite sources for debunking the BS and giving you good evidence-based information?
My second and third year I felt a bit overwhelmed at how much I perceived that I to know, understand, and be able to communicate in order to be a fitness professional. With social media and the ability for anyone to gain popularity and followers with catchy content, those who seemed to be providing valuable information were everywhere. I needed some better tools to cut through to the good stuff. Fitness industry is a secondary profession for me as I work full time in IT, but one I take seriously, getting certified as NASM-CPT/StrongFirst Elite/USAW 1, training people part-time, and attending many professional seminars. I plan to transition into it full time in a couple of years after I retire from my IT career in 2026 at age 58.
My fourth year I started questioning - Do I really have to "know" all that stuff? And I began noticing that there's a LOT of BS out there, and also that there are a lot of good sources combatting the BS and bringing us back to reality, simplicity, and evidence. (I would say "common sense", but honestly that's where we sometimes go wrong. Common sense is only as good as the filter, which is our own perception.) I started understanding that we really don't have to "know" all that stuff that's floating around out there, we can focus on the good quality info and develop our filters to learn to give minimal attention to the rest.
There are good sources of information, and then there are the ones that go a step beyond -- not only being good sources, but actively calling out bad information and providing evidence and reasoning. These past few years I've really come to appreciate these sources and listen to them regularly to keep me grounded. Some of my favorites:
- Stronger by Science
- Dr. Layne Norton
- Barbell Medicine
- Dr. Mike Israetel
- Sohee Carpenter
- Menno Henselmans
- Alan Flanagan
There are also a few others that I love, and I think provide 90% great information, but IMO they sometimes stray a bit outside their lane and put out information that sounds great, but ends up being a little bit off course. Peter Attia, Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, Shawn Stevenson, Squat U, and others. I give them a pass on being 100% accurate because I think on the whole they provide a great service.
Who are your favorite sources for debunking the BS and giving you good evidence-based information?
