I feel that this post goes in line with Stu’s recent post in the bodybuilding forum regarding belief in things just because they are in print.
I believe that because many people involved in fitness are very young or are not involved in or are not friends with anyone in “the industry”, they can only go by what they see in print, and many times because because what people see in print they believe must be true and without knowing anyone heavily involved, they have no reference to any other source of information “from the horse’s mouth”, so to speak.
There are many GREAT trainers and nutritionists out there, like some that write for this site and on the forums. However, what I’ve noticed over the years is that some people behave as if they can’t trust themselves and as if they need the permission of a guru to go forward with their training, or to back up a counterpoint in a conversation, they might say something like, “Yeah, but ______ (insert guru’s name) said/does…”
There was a time when I was much younger in which I believed the following about gurus:
- That because a guru promotes himself very well and has a huge following, everything he says must be true or useful in all situations.
- All gurus are infallible human beings. That is, they don’t lie, steal or do any other unsavory things.
- Lifers might be delusional, but gurus aren’t.
Down the road, I became a more discerning person, not just with my own routines or diet–although some help doesn’t hurt here and there, and I’d love to pick some people on here’s brains til they want to slap me–but with my personal ideology in every facet of life.
Come to think of it, when I was very young, I used to believe a lot of silly shit.
I thought because a pro bodybuilder posed in Flex magazine posed in front of a flashy car or a mansion, he must be a millionaire from bodybuilding, and actually own those things.
I thought because some guru said he had a client who could do one finger pullups on a diving board over an empty pool or that from using one little dietary trick, he could have a female client lose several bodyfat percentages in a ridiculous time frame, that he must be telling the truth!
When did you start becoming a bit more discerning and self reliant with training and nutrition?
Should everyone use a coach or nutritionist? Who should use one?
Anyone else have the same feelings as I?