Fitness columnist Emmet Rushe outlines how viral pseudo-scientific fitness articles can damage your progress

This past week, an article in Her.ie titled, ‘The sneaky reason you can’t shift your belly fat’, claimed that caffeine, cortisol and your hormones were the reasons that you couldn’t shift your belly fat.

This is just another in a long line of sensationalist headlines that frequently flood the internet on a daily basis, with the aim of getting clicks.

  • An old article from last year, is currently doing the rounds on Facebook, that claims that drinking red wine is the same as 1 hour at the gym.
  • Sugar is being demonized as the new thing you should cut from your diet of you want to lose weight.
  • Cardio, like running and jogging makes you fat.
  • HIIT is the only cardio you should do.
  • If you want a great ass, you have to do a load of leg lifts, bodyweight glute bridges, and any other exercise where your ass is in the camera, at least that’s what they claim works on Instagram.

What is the one thing that these claims have in common?

They are all wrong.

Why is it then that these type of things are the ones that keep making the rounds on social media and from differing news outlets?

It’s simple.

Online this is called ‘Clickbait’, the title will get you to click on the article and the site promoting the artice gets a load of clicks and are able to keep their sponsors and advertisers happy.

Why would they give information out that is inaccurate and sometimes completely false?

They do not care what they put out, as long as they are getting clicks to their respective websites or blogs.

It is easier to sell sensationalist headlines than it is to sell what actually works long term, and this is why it gets so confusing for the majority of you to try and figure out what actually works for you when it comes to nutrition and exercise.

What do you need to do in order to lose weight?
Which foods do you need to cut out from your diet?

I can guarantee that the majority of you reading this are thinking that this means either carbs or sugar.

What if I was to tell you that you don’t need to cut out any foods in order to lose weight, you just need to reduce the consumption of the ones that have the most calories in them.

This is true, but it doesn’t make for a dazzling headline that will make you to click on the article.

The one thing that we struggle with in this industry is trying to get our message across and be heard over the thousands of sensationalist headlines that flood the internet on a daily basis.

The trouble with this, is that many trainers, believe these claims also and then when they start to spread the same message, it gives merit to the claims being made.

Weight loss is not difficult.
Training doesn’t need to be exhausting all of the time.
The sensible approach that you should be doing however, isn’t sexy and doesn’t stand out as a headline.

  • You do not need to remove anything from your diet in order to lose weight.
    You just need to be in a calorie deficit.
  • You do not need to only do HIIT as your form of cardio.
  • Running does not make you fat.
  • Sugar is not evil.
  • Carbs don’t make you fat.
  • Coffee won’t stop you from losing bodyfat
  • If you want a better ass, you don’t need to do a load of warm up exercises, you need to do, Squats, Deadlifts and Glute bridges and have a sensible program on how to put these together.

If there is one thing that you should know when it comes to your health and fitness, it is that the approach that you should be following, is the one that you can sustain for the period of time you plan to do it for.
If you cannot do this, then the approach you have chosen is wrong.

Everything works, until it doesn’t!

If you want to get results that will last, don’t fall for sensationalism.

#TrainSmart

If you would like to follow a proven, results driven program, that you can do from home with very little equipment, click the link below and take a look at my Drop a Dress size challenge program.
the next one starts next Monday the 27th and it is the best way to get real results from home.
http://www.rushefitness.ie/drop-a-dress-size