Training/Nutrition Nonsense

[Slaughterhouserock]

After the bizarre interview I just had I wanted to ramble a bit about some stuff. Sports seems fitting, but feel free to move this elsewhere if you don't consider weight training a sport.

Things to look for in a personal trainer:

Do they ask you questions, particularly about your medical history, your goals, your experience? If so, it's looking good. If not, run the fuck away.

Do they personalize the workout to accommodate for your goals, any injuries, any health issues? If yes, good. If they don't have some sort of program written out, tell them to fuck off.

Can they explain why a particular exercise might be beneficial in achieving your goals, alleviating pain, etc.? If not, they probably are making shit up.

Are they paying attention when you are performing an exercise, or are they checking out their phone? They should be making sure you are performing the exercise correctly and advising you on several little details.

Do they talk to you about supplements and how they can help you lose weight, gain muscle, etc.? Laugh at them for being idiots. All the supplement info you need is protein powders are ok if you need protein. Creatine is ok, if you feel like using it. EAAs are ok if you are lacking in aminos, or are dieting and need to supplement for protein loss. Everything else is garbage. Anyone saying BCAAs are needed for anything is either an idiot or trying to rip you off. Preworkouts? Only if you don't like coffee(like me). Fat burners? Fuck off. At least 90% of the supplement industry is a scam.

Do they tell you that spot reducing fat is possible(i.e. that doing crunches burns belly fat)? If so, they are lying. You can not spot reduce fat. Your body burns fat from everywhere, not a specific spot on your body based on exercises you perform. Hell, you can make yourself look fatter by working your abs, but not having a caloric deficit. Your abs will grow, pushing the fat further out. Fat loss can only be achieved by a caloric deficit. Anyone that says any different needs to read up on the laws of thermodynamics. It's straight up fucking science, no gimmicks.

Do they talk to you about macros? Fine. Do they say you need 40/30/30 split? Tell them to eat shit. Your macros are determined by your individual needs. Start by figuring out how much protein you need. This varies wildly based on your goals, but is generally anywhere between 1.6-2.2g protein/kg bodyweight/day. The high end is not for you, it's for bodybuilders. Figure out what that percentage of your daily caloric intake is(varies per person, obviously). Next up is fat. You typically want anywhere between 20-30% of your daily caloric intake to be from fat(mostly unsaturated, but you need saturated fats too). Dropping below 20% can effect your hormones, so don't do it. Whatever percentage is left goes into carbs. This is a simplified rundown and does not include everything you need to figure this shit out, it's complicated. For example, if you focus more on endurance activities, you should eat more fat and fewer carbs. Lots of variables go into this shit and there is no "one size fits all" macro split. I eat a stupid amount of carbs and am below 10% body fat even though I've been sitting on my ass in front of a computer all day for the past eleven months. Carbs aren't the problem, it's total fucking calories(see above). Again, this is for average people with no medical issues that may effect how their body processes food.

Does their certification matter? Not really. NASM certification is considered the best in the industry, but for all the wrong reasons. I've read their handbook and it throws all individualization out the window when it comes to training. They give you a cookie cutter program and tell you to implement it for every client. That's a load of horse shit. Every person has different needs, and every program should be made specifically with those needs in mind. How can you tell if someone is following the NASM guidelines? If they start you off with a bunch of balancing bullshit(pushups/pressing on a ball type of thing), they are giving you that bullshit. The only people that need that shit are people looking to work on core stability. If that's not your goal, ask them why the fuck are they making you do it. ISSA certification is often looked down on since it's all online(i.e. open book). Would you rather have someone that memorized a bunch of bullshit, or someone that knows where to find the answer to something? Imagine if you have high blood pressure and your trainer hasn't worked with someone with that issue before. Would you rather them rely on something they read who knows how many years ago? Or would you rather they spent the time to look that shit up and see what modifications need to be made? Looking shit up shouldn't be looked down on. So yeah, certs are whatever, and NASM people tend to be elitist assholes. I've read both the NASM and ISSA textbooks(700 and 800 pages respectively, not light reading). The only differences were the training methods(cookie cutter vs. individualization) and their opinion of certain diets(which didn't matter, because they were opinions and not a focal point for the certification). All other information was identical.

I need food, so I'm gonna stop here. Either way, lots of idiots and assholes out there.

[Slaughterhouserock]

Crossfit. Fuck that shit. Do you want to wreck your joints, make it so you are almost guaranteed to injure yourself, and absolutely destroy your body? No? Then don't do crossfit. That shit is like a fucking cult, where overtraining is rewarded, and any numbnuts can lead the class. Seriously. To teach crossfit you need to take a two day course and pay $1000. That's it. I wouldn't wipe my ass with that certification. These people know fuckall about what they're doing, let alone what they are teaching you. What are they good at? Suckering people into believing their bullshit. Literally just a fucking cult. Avoid at all costs.

[Reign in Blood]

The Greatest Pro Wrestler in all the land, Seth Rollins, is also known as the Crossfit Jesus aka Monday Night Messiah. If it works for him, and the Gods, why all these disparaging words?!

[Slaughterhouserock]

The Greatest Pro Wrestler in all the land, Seth Rollins, is also known as the Crossfit Jesus aka Monday Night Messiah. If it works for him, and the Gods, why all these disparaging words?!

I stopped watching wrestling when HHH started dating the boss's daughter(i.e. when everything went to shit), so I dunno who that is. Either way, he's an idiot if he thinks crossfit is good, though it could be a gimmick(and not a particularly good one, unless he plays a moron). Just knowing the "training" needed to become a crossfit coach should be enough to turn anyone away from that nonsense. I guarantee that if he supports it, he's being paid off via endorsement deals or some shit. There's a reason that crossfit is meme'd to death, it's just dumb.

[Jason]

I've always maintained that crossfit is retarded. Some exercises are just never meant to be timed.

[Slaughterhouserock]

There are tons of fitness "influencers" out there, and 99% are full of shit, promote harmful advice, and generally are just trying to make a buck through product sponsors. Below I will list some people that actually have good advice, know what the fuck they are talking about, and aren't pushing you to buy junk you don't need.

General Lifting

Shredded Sports Science - Reviews other fitness people, often making dad jokes in the process, but also does some very informative videos going over scientific research and explaining shit in easy to understand terms.

Stronger By Science - A podcast discussing the science behind lifting and breaking it down for idiots like me.

The Bioneer - Just a regular dude that is all about fitness and cross training. Good info from someone that does it because they love it.

Athlean-X - One of, if not the biggest, guy in youtube fitness. He's been caught using fake weights, his nutrition advice is kinda shit, but almost all his exercise advice is good. He has a focus on injury prevention, so he always errs on the side of caution, so not perfect advice.

Jeff Nippard - Science based lifting stuff. He tries breaking stuff down, but relies too heavily on the science being a "one size fits all" approach. Everyone is different, so it's good info, but won't be for everyone.

John Meadows - Recently died, but has some great videos for bodybuilding. Take some of his advice with a grain of salt, since as a bodybuilder, he was on steroids. Still good stuff, just probably want to tone down the volume.

Calisthenics

FitnessFAQs - Good shit and is willing to admit that lifting is beneficial to calisthenics(the community usually is an all or nothing crew).

Tom Merrick - Very similar to the above, but you can go back to see his progress as he wasn't always a beast.

Calisthenic Movement - More for advanced calisthenics, but they usually offer advice for beginners as well. Also, Eggs is a goofy dude.

PEDs

More Plates More Dates - Dumbass name, but a very intelligent dude that likes to talk about steroids. Anything you ever wanted to know about PED's, as well as other shit that's probably not worth watching. Still a solid source of good info for roids.