The Biggest Lie Of The Fitness Industry
I have been in the fitness industry for almost two decades. When I started my career, I was your typical personal trainer relying on “bro science” and fitness magazines for my information. I was not very good at what I did back then.
I’ve learned and evolved a lot, and I see the fitness industry differently now. I am going to let you in on what I think is the biggest lie of the fitness industry.
It’s the idea that if you work out a certain way, you can make your body look a certain way.
I see it on social media all the time. A fitness influencer wearing very little clothes and claiming that if you just follow their program, you’ll look like them.
I have so many problems with this. My biggest issue is that it can discourage people from sticking to their exercise program.
If you start working out expecting to get a fitness influencer’s body and it doesn’t happen, you’re likely to give up. Then you’ll miss out on all the incredible physical and mental health benefits, like a longer and healthier life, lower risk of chronic disease, more energy, less pain, better sleep, improved mood and better mental health, and much more.
I don’t want that for you.
Here’s why you shouldn’t expect your body to look like someone else’s even if you follow the same program.
Your Body Shape Depends On More Than Just Exercise
Yes, exercise affects your body composition, but it’s not the most important thing.
There are a lot of things that contribute to how your body looks. Your eating habits, sleep and stress management, genetics, and individual physiology all make a big difference.
Your diet in particular is incredibly important, and many fitness influencers downplay how restrictive their eating habits have to be to achieve their results. They often also have the luxury of spare time and assistance to prep their healthy meals.
When it comes to genetics and physiology, there are a whole lot of factors at play.
For example, there’s a protein called myostatin that decreases muscle growth. If you have higher levels of myostatin, you’ll probably have a harder time putting on muscle. If you have lower levels, you’ll probably put on muscle more easily. There are animals that are bred specifically for lower levels of myostatin. They end up looking like this:
Do you have the same myostatin levels as that influencer you’re following? Do you have the same predisposition to avoid muscle soreness, or the same muscle fiber type or enzyme concentrations as that person? Probably not.
There’s a lot of research on this. Many studies have looked at the effects of resistance training across individuals and found that there are big variations in results, even when they’re all doing the exact same program in a lab under supervision.
Look at this chart of the responses to 20-24 weeks of supervised resistance training in 287 men and women. You can see that there’s a huge range of changes in muscle size. The average study participant grew their quadriceps by 4.8%, but some people increased by 20-30% and others actually lost muscle size. These people did the same program but got vastly different results.
Some People Are Just Born Lucky
In my experience in the fitness industry, a lot of personal trainers and coaches are former athletes or people who happen to be good at fitness.
They have a body type that responds well, and they got lucky enough to match their biological predisposition to the right sport or the right fitness program at the right time. They also have good movement skills, which means they can perform more advanced exercises with better form than many other people can.
Being good at fitness can snowball into better results. Someone who’s naturally athletic and starts working out will probably have some early wins and successes. They’ll get stronger and fitter quicker than most, and they’ll be motivated to keep going.
I’ll admit that I’m one of these people. I just happen to have a brain that responds really well to the happy chemicals that exercise releases, and I found that I was pretty good at running and lifting weights from an early age. My body also just wants to stay relatively lean, and I’ve been like that my whole life.
I understand how lucky I am, and I would never claim that if someone else just worked out and ate like me, that they would get the same results. They don’t have the same genetics, the same appetite regulation system, or the same brain chemistry as I do.
Next time you see someone on social media claiming their program will give you the body they have, don’t believe it.
Follow that program if you want, or any program, because there’s incredible benefit to doing any kind of exercise. But don’t get discouraged if you look in the mirror a few weeks later and don’t see a totally transformed body.
If You Need Help
If you're looking for a personal trainer who understands both the science of exercise and the psychology of motivation, and who goes beyond surface-level aesthetics to help you build real strength, fitness, and sustainable habits, I'd love to connect. Reach out to schedule a free initial consultation!
