Bulls**t In Fitness

So your holiday is 6 weeks away, you've had a sloppy winter and an event packed summer, you get out the shower, look in the mirror and realise you look like a sock full of custard. It's time for drastic action. 

First port of call = The internet! Whack in "How to lose fat fast" OR "How to build muscle fast" and BANG up come the results. 

Unfortunately 99% of these 'shortcuts' are BULLSHIT! And because I'm so generous I'm going to explain why these 'shortcuts' are BS and explain how to actually get into the condition you want!

Myth 1 - Fat Burners - Yes, they do have some benefits such as giving a caffeine boost and therefore mildly suppressing appetite. However, a good strong cup of coffee will also do this and it will save you £££'s. However, the effect of fat burners or coffee will be pretty much non existent if you aren't training 4+ times a week and in a calorie deficit.

Myth 2 - Training With Your Hood Up - It doesn't get you in the zone, it doesn't make you train harder, you just look like a dick.

Myth 3 - Fat Makes You Fat - Eating fat does not make you fat. If you are burning more calories than you're consuming you will lose fat. Obviously, having a fair split of carbs, fats and proteins in your diet is going to be more optimal than consuming all your calories from just one energy source.

Myth 4 - Coconut Oil Encourages Weight Loss - NO IT DOESNT. Being in a calorie deficit encourages weight loss. Coconut oil is calorie dense and tastes rank, particularly in coffee!

Myth 5 - Eating After 6pm Makes You Fat - Eating at 5:59pm is fine but eating at 6:01pm means all the calories are going to be stored as fat... If you believe that you are stupid. Why do some people lose weight if they ban themselves from eating after 6pm? Because when they do eat after 6pm they eat crap such as ice cream and chocolate.

Myth 6 - Low Carb To Lose Weight - Cutting out carbs doesn't make you lose weight, it creates an energy deficit, which you can do by just cutting overall calories... Carbs are life!

Myth 7 - Eating 5 Times A Day Boosts Your Metabolism - Yes it does... By about 25 calories a day. Is it really worth preping 5 meals a day for an additional 25 calories. Unless you're a competitive bodybuilder I don't think so. Eat 3 times a day, have good size portions and enjoy your food.

Myth 8 - Fasted Cardio For Fat Loss - It doesn't make any difference when you do cardio.

Myth 9 - Only Doing Cardio In The Fat Burning Zone - Work as hard as you can, burn lots of calories and the fat will come off. It doesn't need to be within 60-70% of your MHR.

Myth 10 - 8-12 Rep Range Only To Build Muscle - Yes you will seen muscular volume increase but in order to optimise the muscle hypertrophy vary your training with rep ranges from 3-30 in order to increase strength as well as muscular volume and hypertrophy.

Myth 11 - Compound Lifts Only To Build Muscle - As great as compound lifts are they do leave some smaller muscles slightly neglected such as the shoulder press leaving the rear delts somewhat neglected. Therefore, I recommend starting each session with your big compound moves before moving onto a couple of isolation exercises.

Myth 12 - HIIT Over LISS - It doesn't make any difference if you go for a jog or go and do sprints. All that matters is how many calories are burnt. HIIT sessions are generally shorter but many prefer LISS as its easier on the joints. Take home message = Do what you enjoy!

Myth 13 - Lift Big To Get Big? - Yes, up to a point but if you can't maintain good form and keep tension on the desired muscle during an exercise the chances are you've gone too heavy and your gains are going to be handicapped as muscles grow as a result of progressive overload and time under tension. In reality nobody cares about how much you bench.

How To Actually Get In The Shape You Want:

1. Get your energy balance right! If you're trying to lose weight/fat you need to eat less calories than you burn each day. If you are trying to increase muscle mass you need to eat more calories than you are burning everyday.

2. Consistency is better than intensity. It is better to hit the gym and your calorie targets 80% of the time all year round, rather than hitting the gym and your calorie targets 100% of the time for 6 weeks of the year. Summer bodies are made in the winter.

3. Hold yourself accountable! You getting fat? It's YOUR fault! Nobody forced you to eat that extra piece of cake. Nobody forced you to order that pizza. Nobody forced you to go and have 10 pints of beer. They were all your decisions... If you're going to get in the shape you want you're going to need to make better decisions regarding food and drink.

4. Track what you eat and what you train! What gets measured gets managed! Use MyFitnessPal to track your food, a Gym Diary to track your lifts, and MapMyRun to track your cardio.

5. Find a reason to do it! If you don't have a good enough reason, the chances are you aren't going to stick to it.

6. Eat proper, real food! Supplements are called supplements for a reason as they are there to supplement your diet, not to be the backbone of it. Every meal should contain a source of carbohydrate, some naturally occurring fat and a good source of protein. Do not start dodging a particular energy source.

7. Enjoy what you're doing! I train in the mornings because it sets me up for the day and because I enjoy getting up early, clearing my mind and feeling like I'm achieving something before most people have woken up.