Paralysis by analysis
I’ve noticed an unfortunate trend over probably the last decade among both fitness enthusiasts and those just looking to get started on their fitness journey alike: Paralysis By Analysis. There is so much information out there, so many gurus, so many methods and systems of training, etc., it’s left many people:
▪️utterly confused
▪️severely over thinking things
▪️theorizing more about training and nutrition than actually implementing anything
▪️Program and goal hopping (this week I’m a power lifter, the next I’m all about corrective exercise, the next I’m in a fat loss phase and Mr. Metabolic)
Case in point, I had a guy email me several times over the last few months asking a myriad of questions about training. It was obvious this guy had a very sincere interest in training. He could quote all the top people in the industry, could talk around me when it came to conjugated periodization, knew all the jargon, etc. In many ways he probably knew more about this stuff than I do lol. He eventually asked if he could visit my gym, talk shop, watch me train a few people, etc. I obliged him.
So this guy comes in, he’s got his notepad, and just a super nice guy. It’s also fairly obvious he hadn’t done much actual training.
He hung around for several hours as I was training clients. Afterwards we started talking shop. He was absolutely fascinated with some of the sled stuff I was doing with my clients (we love sleds at the gym). I could tell it was gonna be his “new thing”.
And he starts in with the following questions:
“How much weight should I use for sled work?”
“How many sets?”
“How long should I rest?”
“Could I do this before or after squats?
“What percentage of my body weight should I use? So and so said never to use more the X percentage.”
“What if I’m on grass instead of asphalt?”
“Is this going to interfere with my recovery?”
I was patient and tried to answer his questions, usually being cut off with another question in the process of answering. And we went on and on like this. About pushing a sled. After one more question I interrupted him and said something along the following lines (edited language as I’m German-Irish):
“Look man, why don’t, once a week, you put some weight on a sled and push it. Pick a landmark-your mailbox or something-and push it down there. Then turn around and push it back. Rest a minute and do it again. Repeat this process a few times. If it’s too light, add more weight. If your legs cramp up, projectile vomit, and see a white buffalo, maybe take it down a notch. Then next week, either add more weight than the week before, do more sets, or cut the rest periods. Log it in a notebook and just try to improve in some way each week. You’ll get stronger and in better condition.”
And it really is that simple. People get so caught up in the methods, over analyzing every bit of minutia, and never actually do anything. As Coach Erik says…”majoring in the minors.” Go do something and quantify it. Improve upon it. Don’t talk about it. Focus on the principles: consistency, progression, and hard work. DOING something…not theorizing about it.
And it’s the same thing with nutrition. Instead of debating paleo vs. IIFYM vs. IF vs…OMG IDGAF…how about implementing something and actuallly complying to it. Weird concept I know. Stick to something and see how it works.
“Methods are many, principles are few. Methods always change, principles never do.”
-Unknown