We all do it these days - we have a problem, we often turn to the internet. Most of the time, someone else has had the same problem. Not only that, but they've written about it, and written about the solution to it. Most of the time, that's great. Loads of problems have basic solutions that are maybe just a step beyond common sense.
But what happens on the more complicated stuff? How about that rumbling you hear under the car bonnet? A quick Google brings up hundreds of solutions, with each person being certain that their answer is the answer.
Fitness, training and nutrition advice online is no different. There are a wealth of amazing sources of information out there, from people who really know what they're talking about. They've been there, done it, often countless times. But, unfortunately, you also have a lot of armchair experts. They've read every book, seen every study, argued every point - but never actually set food in a gym. Never trained anyone. Never been responsible for making someone stick to a nutrition plan. Often, they've barely ever trained themselves.
Here's a few warning signs to look out for if you're buying advice on the internet:
1. Websites, or forum posts, full of typos and spelling mistakes. Seriously, it's not that hard to spellcheck. If someone is that casual with the presentation of information they want you to follow, it's likely they don't know enough or care enough to get the information right either.
2. Advice offered with no bio/photos of the person offering it. This is an industry dominated by vanity and aesthetics. If the person offering advice isn't willing to show themselves, or at least detail their achievements, it's likely they don't practice what they preach (and yes, RWF bios and photos are on the main website).
3. People who are far too insistent that their way is the ONLY way. It's rubbish - almost every fitness, strength, fat loss or sports goal has more than one method that can be used to get success. If someone is adamant that their way is the only way, they're probably either (a) ignorant of the variety of training and nutrition methods available or (b) trying to sell you something. Or maybe both :)
4. I touched on it earlier. The internet has allowed everyone to become an unaccountable expert. I can recall a number of situations where the self-appointed 'guru' on a forum has turned out to be a 17yr old with no training experience, or an overweight guy who has rarely trained in their life. If the information seems to be written too rigidly, or in text-book speak, it's probably because it's copied and pasted from somewhere else.
5. People who claim that a certain method 'worked for them, so it'll work for you'. Not necessarily true. Granted, we aren't all as unique as we'd like to think we are, but to imagine that the routine that Big Dave in the gym uses is somehow the exact same routine that you, with no experience of training, should do is absurd. Realise that what YOU need to do, may not be what experienced people currently do. People giving advice often forget where they started, and are too quick to get new trainees to move away from the basics. If you're being encouraged to do something complicated, back away. Training, especially at first, is not complicated.
There are probably a million and one other things to look out for. These five are the ones that routinely come up over and over again, and do a lot of damage to new trainers.
Advice is great, but it's up to you to weed out the helpful bits and discard the rest. Remember the 'Wear Sunscreen' song from a few years back?
"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth"
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