“Clean Eating”, Plyometrics, & “Waist Trainers” – The Misuse, Abuse, & Stupidity in Fitness

In Instagram, there are:

#CleanEating – 24,744,409 posts under this hashtag

#Plyometrics – 204,514 posts under this hashtag

#WaistTraining – 807,048 posts under this hashtag

Every time you turn on your computer, open up Facebook or Instagram or anything social-media related, someone in #FitFam has some nonsense posted in regards to these topics.

I totally get the appeal of it all.

Who doesn’t want to “train dirty, eat clean” while wearing a waist trainer and doing a superfluous amount of burpees and jump squats?

The fact that I could go in to things like joint angles and force vectors and yadda-yadda, I won’t. It’s not “sexy”. What I will do is just be open and honest with the hopes you’ll listen because people love to sell lies and if it sells to your emotions, you’ll likely buy it.

Clean-Eating – The Misuse

Look, I get it. #Foodporn photos look great with a lot of green. They look great with fruit. They look even better with pie.

The whole “clean eating” disaster never should have been one. The fact is, “clean eating” was meant to be, in my opinion, a way to classify eating more nutrient-dense foods (which includes all macronutrients [protein/fat/carbs]) while having your “fun” food in their as well. We usually call this the ’80/20 rule”.

Instead, it created orthorexic people fearful of anything from 1 ingredient (ie: sugar) to artificial sweeteners to whole food groups (ie: carbs or fat). It makes people believe there are “good” and “bad” foods and that you can “reward” yourself with for being “good” all week/month/year. This has grown in to a poopshow (trying to watch my language) because now anyone with a remotely decent body or who is a television standout can say, “I don’t eat any sugar” or “eat paleo” and the masses follow.

I posted a photo on my Facebook speaking exactly about how people like this prey on those who are less-informed to not informed at all. This picture was utterly destroyed

The problem with all of this, is it’s not only unsustainable, it’s a complete lie, and a way for said people to sell you on their goods.

Great marketers? Yes. Truthful? No.

Here’s what you can factually do for fat loss: First, you need to understand that there is no such thing as “clean eating” however you need to eat for your goal. You can “eat clean” and still gain fat. Why? Because when all said and done, calories drive fat loss/fat gain. 

If you find yourself very overweight, multiply your bodyweight by 8-10. This is the range, in calories, you need to eat. Eat “goal weight” in protein. Play around with your carbs and fat but stay within that range of x8-10. If you are a bit leaner and have fat to lose, multiply your bodyweight x10-12. Eat ~1g/lb in protein. Play around with fat and carbs to find what works best for you, your training, and your goals.

I wrote about how to set it up using MyFitnessPal

Learning how to be flexible in your approach, getting rid of dietary restrictions that aren’t medically necessary, and being rational in your approach will make it much more sustainable, enjoyable, and lasting.

Plyometrics – The Abuse

Plyometrics, the way the average gym-goer knows them as, includes things like jumping lunges, jump squats, jump lunges, and anything else that requires a quick touch-n-go from the floor.

The purpose of a plyometric is to produce maximum force and build power.

It’s primarily used as a CNS (central-nervous system) activator.

Plyometrics certainly have their place in a strength-training program…usually before your strength portion.

They aren’t meant to be done until you make your shins bleed as it is not a badge of honor. Burpees suck and you know it. Also, contrary to popular belief, they do not “build the booty”.

Want to know what builds a booty?

Strength training the posterior chain by way of hip thrusts, 45-degree back extensions with a rounded back for glute-emphasis, single-leg hip thrusts, and deadlifts. Build the muscle…keep the muscle.

 

 

Doing plyometrics (ie: 4 sets of goblet squats in to 4 sets of jumping lunges) when your muscles are already fatigued is a quick way to twist/sprain/jam something and again, just not wise.

Waist Trainers – The Stupidity

The “V-Taper” everyone wants. It’s like the holy-grail of aesthetics next to a nice pair of abs.

It is thought that the only way to achieve this is to wear a neoprene sleeve around your stomach, do tons of cardio, and squeeze the waist in.

The problem: you still have all the fat you had prior to wearing it, it’s squeezing your rib cage to the point of potentially breaking them, limits your lunges, and puts your organs in harms way. 

I understand the societal idea that you need to have a skinny waist. Heck, I am not saying you cannot try to achieve said goal but there is a way to do it.

Build your shoulders and your lats. Now, what I mean by this is you won’t look like me or a bodybuilder but all of this, aesthetics is an illusion.

I posted about my client Erica who is competing in bikini at Nationals in Miami this year. You can read more about her in the photo but while you’re still here, I want to emphasize that she had a “blocky” waist. Well guess what? Not anymore. Why? Because we trained accordingly and took the time to get there. There was no corset/”waist shaper” involved. It’s barbaric, unhealthy, and just ridiculous to use.

Be Smart – Be Wise

You want the body you want and there are many ways to get it. The thing is this: instant gratification may work for the present time (ie: 1 month…1 year) but isn’t the goal of fat loss and training meant to be a life-long endeavor? Isn’t it meant to keep you healthier and not put you in harms way emotionally/physically?

The answer, I would say, is a resounding “yes”.

Understand that you can absolutely achieve the body you want and achieve it with the utmost sanity.

Don’t follow extreme measures because from fearing food to having a training regimen is all over and not goal-oriented to physically causing damage, you will not last and you will grow more impatient, more frustrated, worse than you started, and you will still not look like anyone you have been aspiring to be on social media selling these lies.

#LevelUp #MajorGainzFitness #TrainWithLG