To some degree, we all suffer from shiny object syndrome. It’s important to realize that and avoid changing too many things too often.

If you’re eating well, sleeping enough, training hard, and making good progress, keep at it. Don’t fall for gimmicks and false promises.

Master the fundamentals, apply them consistently for a long time and you’ll make more progress than 90% of the people who step inside the gym.

Lots of folks, especially beginners fall for this trap. They believe that to grow optimally, they need to perform tons of different movements for each muscle group.

As a beginner to intermediate, you can grow your entire body with three or fewer exercises per muscle group.

You don’t need to hit your back with eight row variations. You need to get better at core moves like the deadlift, pull-up, and barbell row. You don’t need five types of curls for your biceps. You’ll do pretty well with a barbell curl and some weighted chin-ups.

Small changes to training variables over time - exercise selection, intensity, number of sets, rest periods, etc. - is a good thing. But completely overhauling your training every week or two to ‘confuse’ your muscles won’t do anything more than waste your time.

Progressively getting better - lifting more weight, doing more repetitions with the same load, resting less between sets, using better form, doing more sets with a given load - is essential. Some degree of progress over time is needed. If you’re not improving, you’re not training - you’re exercising.

Fat-burners are a dime a dozen. Everyone makes outrageous promises and very few deliver any benefit to the consumer.

Sleep is so critical for our gym progress, well-being, energy, productivity, and health, yet most people happily give it up. The best thing you can start doing to accelerate your gym progress, work productivity, and health is to sleep eight hours every night.

If you want to read about 18 more overrated fitness beliefs (and better alternatives), click here.

Until next week,

Philip

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