Building a Better Body (Part 7): Common Knowledge

The last two articles in this series explored the role of science in our effort to build a better body; but even if we accept that science is capable of providing a reasonably sound description of reality (which it is, in many cases), the notion that modern fitness practices are entirely guided by valid science is preposterous. If you want to prove this to yourself, just read a handful of fitness articles and notice the abundance of contradictory information – often between the covers of the same magazine, or between various articles on the same website.

The human body has not undergone significant changes for thousands of years, and once you figure out how to get in shape, there’s nothing more to say about it. However, magazines and websites must publish on a consistent basis - whether there’s anything new to report or not. It’s how they maintain their presence in the market and generate maximum advertising revenue. This forces the publisher’s hand - they have to generate enough information to stay in the game no matter what, and the result is an abysmally low standard of truth.

That being said, it would be reckless to propose that there’s nothing to be gained from some of the common ideas in the fitness culture. Many valid discoveries have been made along the way, and these have proven to be of immense value. However, this acknowledgement doesn’t change the fact that much of what has come to be accepted as indisputable truth is little more than an elaborate system of erroneous rumors.

Following the Trail

Take a moment to reflect upon the following scenario: The findings of a scientific study are released, concerning some of the finer points of exercise or nutritional science. It gets picked up by doctors, educators, and journalists, who impart these conclusions to others through their writings and personal interactions. Little by little, this information trickles down to the gym floor, and as people repeat what they’ve heard to anyone who will listen, the idea gains momentum. Soon everyone is telling the same story, and it solidifies into a common fitness “fact” via majority acceptance.

No one person along this chain of information distribution has taken the time to find out any particulars about the study in order to verify its validity. Honestly, who has the time or motivation required to diligently follow-up on this information when numerous studies of this sort come out every week?

We can’t rely on doctors to do the work. In their effort to maximize their revenue and/or their service to humanity, they have allowed themselves to become notoriously overburdened (do hour-long waiting times sound familiar?). Likewise, educators are tasked with disseminating information, not validating it. They place trust in the information provided, and move forward with the job of teaching. Journalists, as a general rule, just take the story and run. As we’ve said, it’s “publish or perish” in the field of journalism, and if they stop to diligently research the claims of their sources, the next guy beats them to the punch.

Once an idea becomes “common knowledge,” anyone refuting the findings gets dismissed with a wave of the hand. This is particularly true if the idea gets expressed publically by someone with impressive credentials or the slightest bit of celebrity status in the fitness world. And so, we have the birthing of a fitness myth; destined to be passed down from generation to generation, even in the face of personal evidence to the contrary.

This kind of gym lore doesn’t even have to be rooted in scientific experimentation. It can be a mutation of an idea taken out-of-context, inappropriately transferred from an unrelated field, or even something entirely made up from a misinterpretation of personal experience (as in the common misconception that muscle soreness equates to growth stimulation). Once someone makes a reasonable case for it, it gets passed around and eventually accepted by the general fitness culture.

Paving Your Own Way

Don’t be afraid to question commonly-held beliefs – in regard to fitness, or anything else. The claim that ”Nine out of ten people agree!” means nothing if they’re all wrong (and they often are). Common knowledge can be a good starting point in the absence of personal experience, but put it to the test and pay careful attention to how your own body is responding.

In the specific, there is no single program, exercise or food that is indispensable to training success – despite what the general fitness culture may assert. If training five – or even three – days per week is leaving you fatigued, despite adequate rest and sound nutrition, you may need to add some extra days off or shorten your workouts. If a particular exercise is leaving you with joint pain, find another movement targeting those same muscles that has a slightly different range of motion. If eating certain foods is causing digestive problems, seek alternatives with similar nutritional qualities that work in better harmony with your body.

In all things, remember that individual experience – when evaluated with sound reasoning – is the most reliable form of knowledge available.

Next time we’ll explore learning habits, and how we assimilate information to inform our actions.

Thanks for checking in!
Brian Blackwell

If you missed the previous articles in this series, you can find them here:

• Building a Better Body (Part 1): Introduction

• Building a Better Body (Part 2): The “Why”

• Building a Better Body (Part 3): The Selfish Art

• Building a Better Body (Part 4): Your Point of Power

• Building a Better Body (Part 5): The Role of Science

• Building a Better Body (Part 6): Weird Science