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24.01.2022 Be wary when hearing about the latest and greatest diet or workout program. If it sounds contrary to everything you've heard in the past, it's probably wrong. Real science rarely comes and displaces everything we know overnight, it's usually a slow process where we iterate on what we know and get rid of things that were proven wrong.

23.01.2022 Myth: You can target your fat loss. The truth: Fat loss can't be targeted. While it would be nice to target a specific area you want to lose fat from, the truth is that both where you gain and lose your fat is largely determined by your genetic predisposition and your gender. ... Males are more likely to gain fat in an 'android' figure (apple-like) while females are more likely to gain fat in a 'gynoid' figure (pear-like). This distribution can have health consequences as well, with an android fat distribution having a higher risk of high blood pressure and other metabolic disorders (due to increased fat around organs). When you are in a caloric deficit and begin to lose fat, it doesn't come from areas you train but tends to be lost in the inverse of where you gained it. For example, if you gained fat in your arms first, that's likely going to be the last place you lose fat. The good news is that while you cant target specific areas, through consistent exercise and nutrition, you will lose fat from your entire body. While you can't target specific areas for fat loss, gaining muscle in those areas through weight training can help reduce the appearance of fat. Doing a hard ab workout won't target the fat on your stomach, nor will training your arms to target your arm fat. Studies have been done where they get a participant to only exercise one side of their body and compared it to a participant who trained both. Both of them lost equal amounts of fat and from similar areas. Take home points: 1 Fat loss can't be targeted, where you lose it is largely genetically determined. 2 Products that claim to spot target your fat loss are scams - fat loss doesn't work like that 3 A consistent caloric deficit is the most effective way to lose fat 4 An android fat distribution can have health consequences - Make sure to check in with your GP if you are at risk

21.01.2022 https://www.skepticalfitness1.com//covid-19-medical-misinf Medical misinformation is dangerous, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been an unfortunate breeding ground for it. See what the research has to say, not the armchair experts.

19.01.2022 While it's easy to simplify weight loss just to 'calories in vs calories out' there are a lot of factors that affect how easily and quickly you can gain or lose weight.

19.01.2022 High-intensity exercise is NOT better at burning fat... kind of. This is one of those things where there is a technical answer and a more practical answer. What studies have shown is that Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS) exercise is better than HIIT for burning fat (lipolysis) as our body preferentially uses fat as an energy source during low-intensity exercise. ... However High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) causes your body to preferentially burn stored carbs (glycolysis), not fats, as a fuel source BUT HIIT can burn a lot more calories in a shorter period of time. Does this mean that going for a long walk is more effective than going for a few sprints for burning fat? Technically yes, you're burning more fat with LISS than HIIT, but it's not as simple as that. Studies that have compared people doing LISS vs HIIT have found that there was NO DIFFERENCE between the amounts of fat loss between the two groups. At the end of the day it comes down to the number of calories burnt by exercise, and if you end up burning the same from HIIT or LISS, it doesn't really matter what you do; just comes down to what you enjoy and can maintain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Practical take away: If you're short on time and enjoy a hard workout HIIT is probably better for you and you will get the same fat-burning benefits. If you like longer, low-intensity exercise and have the time to do so, LISS is probably better for you

17.01.2022 Learn how to spot misinformation in a world increasingly full of it. https://www.skepticalfitness1.com//scientific-skepticism-h

16.01.2022 Myth: Superfoods will improve your health Truth: Superfood is nothing more than a marketing term and says little about how healthy a food is. Acai Berries, beans, kale and carrots - All of these foods have been called superfoods, with claims that eating these foods will have effects ranging from boosting your immune system to decreasing your blood sugar levels. ... The issue? Labelling a food a 'superfood' is a meaningless term as there is no scientifically based or regulated definition for superfood; anyone can claim a food is super; often regardless of what the actual evidence is saying about it [1]. The reality is that some foods are more nutritious than others, but just because a food is high in certain micronutrients or minerals by no means makes it more inherently healthy [1]. Consuming mega doses of vitamins and minerals through specific foods has been consistently shown to have no beneficial effects (apart from in legitimate malnutrition cases) and are more likely to cause harm than good [2]. While it is less exciting, the advice from dieticians has remained consistent - That while there is no 'perfect diet', having a mostly plant-based diet with a wide variety of fruits, veggies, whole grains and healthful animal products is ideal [3]. What are the issues with "superfoods"? The claims are usually anecdotal, or information extrapolated far beyond the scientific evidence Planning your diet around "superfoods" can make meal prepping more time consuming, complicated and may lead to focusing on individual ingredients rather than overall dietary choices Most purported superfoods are part of a fad - Foods become popular (such as acai berries) before losing interest again It creates a 'health halo' around certain foods -May overeat certain vitamins or minerals Take-home points Keep in mind that while the term superfood itself is meaningless, there are still plenty of foods that are nutrient-dense and are likely a good idea to include in your diet. Having a varied diet is essential to get the benefits of eating an array of minerals and essential vitamins, but can also prevent over or underconsumption of certain nutrients. Sources [1] https://theness.com//new-caveatus-emptora-superfood-medic/ [2] https://www.thelancet.com/ar/S0140-6736(19)30041-8/fulltext [3] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritio/healthy-eating-plate/

16.01.2022 www.skepticalfitness1.com/blog/working-out-at-home Just because you don't have access to a gym doesn't mean you can't have a great workout at home.

14.01.2022 Fitness sanity: Find what works for you, not what the fads are saying. Like crossfit? Go do crossfit. Prefer group yoga? Go do yoga. Health and fitness are complicated as is, at the end of the day, as long as you're doing something in a healthy and sustainable way, it doesn't matter what other people think. ... It's your life, your health, your body. Do what you enjoy.

13.01.2022 Myth: Supplements work Truth: Most supplements DON'T work and the ones that do tend to have a small effect size - A supplement is something that is there to fill a deficit of a nutrient that you are struggling to get enough of (e.g vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids). ...Continue reading

11.01.2022 Myth: If you don't train with weights you will lose muscle mass. Truth: You can gain muscle even without weights Just because you can't go to the gym doesn't mean you have to lose your hard earned gains. Not only is it possible to maintain muscle mass, but you can even gain muscle with limited equipment at home - You just need to be smart about your training....Continue reading

10.01.2022 Confirmation bias - The tendency to look for things that confirm our previous beliefs rather than going for disconfirming evidence. Whether it's only looking up studies that support diet x or reasons that exercise y is the best, confirmation bias can be an easy trap to fall for. Non fitness example is being able to "always spot when someone is lying". You likely only notice when someone is clearly lying, which feeds into the belief that you can spot a liar.... You don't notice when someone is successfully lying and you didn't realise, because by definition you didn't notice it. Confirmation bias is only noticing when things confirm your belief, and not all the times it doesn't. You can't stop confirmation bias, but you can be aware of it.

09.01.2022 "Choose exercises that you enjoy. Enjoyment encourages adherence; the more you like an activity, the greater chance you’ll keep doing it over time. That said, keep an open mind. Try out different activities; you may find that you enjoy an exercise more as time goes on. Brad Schoenfeld

08.01.2022 Few things can be emphasised as much as the importance of drinking water. With only 20-30% of our daily water intake coming from the foods we eat, making sure we're getting that ~2-3L daily (even more, if you live in a hot environment) is vital. Adequate hydration status affects everything from power-output in the gym, maintaining healthy blood pressure to helping prevent kidney stones . ... Make one of your 2020 resolutions a simple one: drink enough water.

07.01.2022 Myth: You should follow the same workout as someone if you want to look like them Fact: Doing the same workout as someone does not mean you will look like them The truth is that doing the same workout as doesn't guarantee you'll look like them.... While it may make intuitive sense to copy someone who has a physique that you want to achieve this doesn't mean copying them will get you there. Our intuition is often wrong and following the program of an advanced trainer is unlikely to get the same results. The most common issues with copying celebrities training are often: 1 You don't know their entire training history or diet - It's very unlikely they used this same workout throughout their entire training history 2 You don't know if they achieved their physique naturally or with help from 'vitamin s' - It doesn't mean they didn't train hard to get there, but steroids give an edge that makes comparing yourself to someone on them fruitless 3 Their training may actually suck and they just happened to still be using enough of the right principles to reach their goal. - "You can throw crap at a wall and some of it will stick." The best workout plans are individualised to the person, everyone has a different training history, strength levels and experience. A good program shouldn't be a copy and paste of someone else's workout because you're not someone else, you're you and your program should be customised to suit your individual differences. While this applies to individual workouts, there isn't necessarily anything wrong with using training templates. For example, a 3-day full-body workout routine for a beginner will likely be a good start, provided it is using exercises, volume and intensity that won't overwhelm you. Training within your limits and over time attempting to push those limits is the key to reaching long term goals, not copying others. Take home points: - A workout for a novice lifter is vastly different to an advanced lifter - Unless you know they've followed the same workout, for the same amount of time, have similar genetics and have a similar diet comparing yourself to them is like comparing apples with oranges, - Everyone progresses at different rates. and even differences such as muscle insertion points can result in vastly different physiques even when muscle mass and fat mass is the same.

06.01.2022 https://www.skepticalfitness1.com//rotator-cuff-health-and Injured shoulder or wanting to prevent future injuries? Learn how to help keep your shoulders injury-free, long term

06.01.2022 You can have the best workout program in the world, but at the end of the day, even a poor program will work if you are consistent for long enough. Consistency is the most difficult but most important part of reaching your goals.

05.01.2022 In stressful times like these, it can be easy to forget to take care of yourself. Maintaining your health through healthy habits is more important than ever now.

04.01.2022 Myth: Cardio exercise will make you lose muscle Truth: Aerobic exercise is unlikely to have a negative effect on you gaining muscle mass (and the health benefits far outweigh any downsides) ------... The specificity principle: Different exercise demands create a different physiological result, how you exercise should be specific to your goals. ------ You will often hear people dreading cardio exercises because it'll destroy their hard-earned muscle mass, but is there any truth to it? Yes, but the research is conflicting. Aerobic exercise (AE) can and does cause hypertrophy (muscle growth), however at a far lesser degree than that of resistance training (RT). We know that muscles will synthesise proteins (and grow larger and stronger) when repeated encountering a new stimulus - This is the basis of progressive overload after all. The issue with aerobic exercise and hypertrophy is that it rarely challenges the muscle in a strength-related manner by its very nature, longer duration with lighter loads are not conducive with muscle growth. ----- Research has shown that the order of your training matters; if you are doing resistance training and aerobic exercise within the same workout, do AE after RT as doing AE before RT can have a detrimental effect on your power output (resulting in a sub-optimal training session). Another issue is that certain physiological adaptations can run in opposition to each other, an effect known as interference, where one style of training can inhibit another form of training. Training for a marathon requires different adaptation to doing a 200m sprint for example, and the more dissimilar the activity, the lesser the crossover. Crossover, how well one activity translates to another, can lead to greater improvements in certain cases (power training to improve sprints), but in the case of cardio and resistance training tend to compete. While training specifically for one goal requires using training that is solely going to improve that area of development, for the average person trying to gain muscle in the gym, it is both healthier, and more sustainable to still have aerobic exercise as a part of your routine. Unless you are a professional bodybuilder where every small benefit can make a significant difference, cardio exercise should not be avoided, even if it does have a negligible effect on your muscle growth rate. Take-home points Aerobic exercise is worth doing for its health benefits alone Aerobic exercise has a negligible effect on muscle hypertrophy If you are doing aerobic exercise and resistance training, do the aerobic exercise after your resistance training

04.01.2022 All good things take time, effort, and in this case, sufficient protein intake

04.01.2022 We've hit 1000 likes! Thanks to everyone who has joined in the past few months! As a celebration, the next post will be your choice, comment below or PM with a health topic/fitness question to go into the draw!

01.01.2022 Myth: More is always better when improving your fitness level Fact: Progress is not linear, and tends to follow a step-like format ------ We often like to think of self-improvement as a linear process, a straight line from where you are now to your goal, but that's not how progress works. ... While those new to exercise can progress at near-constant rates, each week, and even sometimes each session, increasing the amount of volume they're doing. However, over time adaptions become harder to get, progress will begin to slow down, and this constant rate of progression is no longer sustainable. Periodisation, the name for the process for breaking up your training into discrete parts, has been shown time and time again to be the most successful method of consistently improving and the most preventative for injury. A key part of periodisation is its step-like format, each week builds on the next, increasing the difficulty of your training bit by bit before having a deload. These planned breaks (known as deloads) are an essential part of our training as they to give our bodies time to rest, recover, and over-compensate (improve beyond the level we were at before). Not only can de-loads provide a time to recover physically, they can also be a useful psychological tool to avoid burnout (which can occur from training too hard, for too long). ------ Progressive overload remains the fundamental principle behind periodisation, overtime you subject yourself to an increased stimulus, whether it is increased weight, higher reps or different exercises. The methods by which you can create an overload stimulus are vast, which is why there can be thousands of different exercise programs aimed towards achieving a goal, but all of the ones that work have the same principles behind them. Take-home points 1 Progress is never a completely linear process 2 Improvement take time, but consistency and planning can maximise your ability to adapt 3 Deloads are an essential part of making long term improvements and reducing the risk of overtraining and burnout