In the Grand Scheme Of Fitness With Justin and Ethan

The Truth Behind Those Perfect Bodies: Genetics vs. Training

• Justin Schollard • Season 2 • Episode 58

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We discuss how 50% of the population gets their news from social media and explore the pitfalls of following fitness influencers who may promote methods without evidence-based reasoning behind them. Influencers often showcase their highlight reels without acknowledging the significant genetic component behind their physiques.

• Genetic factors play a major role in how people look regardless of training methods
• Social media creates unrealistic expectations about what training can achieve for different body types
• Evidence-based fitness content is emerging to counter misinformation
• Fear-based marketing tactics are commonly used to sell unnecessary products
• Redesign your social media feed with 80% educational content and 20% entertainment
• Understanding fitness principles is simple, but practical application requires experience
• The fundamentals of fitness are consistent and evidence-based, though less exciting than trending "hacks"
• Critical thinking helps you distinguish between quality information and marketing tactics

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Speaker 1:

50% of the population gets their news from social media, which so many people follow. Fitness influencers that look amazing have aspirational bodies, but then maybe they're preaching ways, tactics, methodology to achieve said body in ways that may or may not actually have any substantial or evidence-based reasoning behind it. Welcome to In the Grand Scheme of Fitness, episode 58. We're almost there we're making real progress.

Speaker 2:

We are.

Speaker 1:

My name is Justin Scallard and I am Ethan Wolfe and we are your co-hosts. I guess I was going to say co-hosts, but we're your co-hosts.

Speaker 2:

We are the co-hosts.

Speaker 1:

We are co-hosting, and today, guys, we're going to be talking about you know, just not to basically social media and how I think most of us get our news.

Speaker 1:

I think they were saying something like 50% of the population gets their news from social media, which isn't necessarily a good thing or a bad thing.

Speaker 1:

It really just kind of depends on the source. But in our industry in particular, so many people follow fitness influencers that look amazing, have, you know, aspirational bodies, but then maybe they're preaching ways, tactics, methodology to achieve said body in ways that may or may not actually have any substantial or, you know, evidence-based reasoning behind it. It's just, they have good genetics, they would have looked great no matter what they did, and so we just got to be careful about that stuff. So we're going to kind of dig into that today and just sort of like talk about our own experiences with it and just sort of like how you guys can make sure that you don't fall into the trap of watching someone's highlight reel, because, let's be honest, instagram, tiktok, it's people's, especially in the fitness space. It's people's highlight reels, of course, when they are like finishing a cut and all of a sudden they take a bunch of different pictures of themselves, and I post them over the next three months.

Speaker 1:

You know it's like that is a sliver of reality, but, you know, to be taken with a little grain of salt as well.

Speaker 1:

So, anyway, so one thing that I will say that we kind of talked about when we were getting ready for the show is that when we look at people who we aspire to be like physically, you know, and we look at how strong they are, how fast they are, how lean they are, like whatever, we have to understand that.

Speaker 1:

Let me give you guys an example like Michael Phelps is a good swimmer because he's six foot four and has a seven foot wingspan, you know. And so there's just a genetic component that we can't avoid and we can't escape. And if we're looking at people aspirationally, we just have to make sure that we're doing it in a way where it's like we understand that, a we're watching highlight reels and B, there's a genetic component that we just may or may not ever have. And so, as long as we can extrapolate that down and, you know, take what works and leave what doesn't apply to our life, probably not the worst thing, but just a lot of people are, I think, drinking the Kool-Aid a little too much on what is or isn't based off of something. That is just a genetic lottery.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean, I think it's like another way to look, a certain way. And so they look at a swimmer's body or, excuse me, they look like a bodybuilder and they're like, oh, they're too big and bulky, you know. Or they look like a long distance runner, marathon runner along there. It's like, oh, they're kind of too lean and withered, or you know, they look like or not, you know, wither, but they just don't. That's not the look I want either. And they might look at a swimmer's body and be like, oh, they kind of have those like long muscles, they. They look a certain way, so they look toned. Yeah, they have that.

Speaker 2:

They just got that's that's kind of that middle ground I'm looking for. And so then they'll go and they'll be like, well, if they're a swimmer, I'll start swimming, because obviously, right, the swimmer swimming is, that's the modality, that's what's going to get me there. Yeah, then they swim for a year and that might be in better shape, that might have even lost body fat. But realistically, they're probably not going to look like that swimmer ideology in terms of aesthetics that they thought they were going to. And that's because of that exact point that the, the swimmers are genetically dispositioned. You know, it's like a linebacker is a linebacker not probably because of the way he trains, but because he was born a linebacker because he's you know 5, 11 and 230 pounds and can back, squat 450 and like jump 50 inches in the air.

Speaker 2:

You know like, yeah, you can train and everyone can improve through training you can use the modalities, but I think it's having a realistic expectation of what the outcome is and so it's like if you want to train strongman, because you like the sensation of lifting a sandbag or an odd object or doing farmer carriers and you feel stronger and it's going to be good for you.

Speaker 2:

I mean, I think any training of any type is good, whether it's swimming or anything. But realistically, if you're not built like a strongman, you're probably not going to have strongman numbers and do strongman feats. You might train like a strongman, you might get the benefits from it. That's not a bad thing, but I wouldn't necessarily expect the outcome of being in the caliber of a strong man, and so I think it's like, whether it's performance based or aesthetic based, as having like all the modalities are good. Any movement's good. I'll encourage any avenue. I think it's just more of like what the realistic expectations are and why are you doing it and are you doing it because you enjoy it or because you're expecting a certain outcome?

Speaker 2:

and then is that, if you're doing it for outcome based, is that outcome like based in reality?

Speaker 1:

yeah, yeah, is there and then that's like an aesthetic thing too. It's like they are that way less of their training and the training has a lot to do with it but more of like at some point in their life a coach been like, hey, you have the body of a swimmer, like you could probably go far, yeah, and then and then they oriented their life around achieving high levels in that sport. But I think also probably more common, a little bit more subtle, is when it's not just about like fitness, but then it kind of turns into like a health conversation of like oh well, this person online says that carbohydrates are bad and they're in really good shape. They don't eat carbs. So then it must be that like carbs are bad. Right, or I should. Maybe I should consider giving up carbs.

Speaker 1:

Or one that I've been seeing is like this girl in a whole spandex outfit lifting weights, talking about not all creatine is the same and if you're not taking the right creatine, then you're not going to get results. And then of course, her body's amazing, yeah, and so she's selling like a hundred dollar creatine gummy. That's supposed to be something about differently, when the reality is that creatine is a commodity and anyone can get monohydrate for like a dollar on amazon and it works.

Speaker 1:

so the exact same, and I think that when we see people like that, people talking about different beauty products, and they just so happen to be beautiful- so maybe that's the secret. It's just this lotion or whatever the creatine gummies, because she's got a big butt and she takes these. Maybe if I take them, I'll have a thin waist and a big butt too, right, and it's like I don't know if the creatine came first in this equation Probably not. I think that there probably a lot of stuff that happened.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I was going to say I'm sure that endorsement deal came along for her Turning heads before creatine ever came into the picture you know, and so it's just like be wary of it.

Speaker 1:

It's like man cause it comes in different like this, the same package and different wrapping, all the time with like, oh, this chiropractor is now selling these detoxes and it's like, it's like validation enough, oh, he's a chiropractor, so it must be okay. But if you think about it like well, what does that have to do with?

Speaker 2:

like a juice cleanse, though, you know, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, 100 when I especially think when there's products involved, it's extra tricky just because you have endorsements and paid. You know advertising through individuals and then anytime there's profits involved in that capacity, it's like you always got to look out for the snake oil or just. It's just one of those things where how much is that girl getting paid by that company For?

Speaker 1:

sure it's not her brand.

Speaker 2:

To sell those creatine gummies just because she's hot. And they probably looked through, of course, and however many thousands of influencers that were hot and were like, oh, look at you, okay, we'll choose you. And then just because you know everybody, everybody has that built into them. Yeah, I mean everyone's got a price right. Well, that's all I mean. What I mean by that is, like anybody, you see somebody beautiful or in shape or something that we aspire to, and it automatically influences us.

Speaker 2:

It's so true, we just we are magnetized, or whether they're smart or they're hot or they're super lean, it's like we automatically are like, oh, that has valid validity now. So especially for products, it's like, oh man, you really got to watch. And again, it's like you know, if somebody's selling like some doctor you know, one of my clients was a doctor that had this like kind of some type of basically fasted cleanse thing you know, fundamentally it was just like 500 calorie a day, fasting period, you know, and they sent you the food.

Speaker 2:

They sent you some soup and they sent you some this and like again, there are benefits to decrease calories, like she was a doctor, selling it to her patients.

Speaker 1:

No, no, no, she was somebody who did the cleanse. Oh, who did the cleanse?

Speaker 2:

And she was like, the doctor was their friend and the doctor seemed like a legitimately educated individual, and it's just again.

Speaker 2:

it's one of those things like there's this gray area, like we all know that restricted calories are good for you no matter what. So, whether or not, in my opinion, you're doing a five-day fast, that's going to have a benefit, or you're doing long-term calorie restriction, like it just shows that like the less we eat, the more healthy we are, and so it comes in many forms and it's going to be benefit from doing 500 calories a day for five days. Yeah, I think that, just like in a general sense, there is going to be more good than the less we eat.

Speaker 1:

To an extent, obviously, like you can't. Yeah, you know you've got 500 guys, but that's why it's a short thing.

Speaker 2:

But I'm saying like if somebody did that, I don't think they're going to be worse off, like I don't think they're going to come on the other side of that Less healthy. I think there's going to be somewhat benefits, but is it a good modality for losing weight? No, you know what I mean, and I think that most people would look at that as a form of weight loss. I know that's a bad thing, but maybe you're doing it for you know insulin sensitivity, maybe you're doing it for the benefits of fasting and hormone regulation, but most of the I would say 99% of people are probably doing that for weight loss and it's probably a really poor option for weight loss. And so it's just.

Speaker 2:

There's just so much potential for gray and I think that people are uneducated and they assume one thing about this and they assume one thing about the other. And there's so much information out there and one of the things I want to say is I don't think all influencers are bad. No, not at all. I think there's especially in the fitness industry. I think right now I'm seeing like there is kind of this reduction in the sauce of what is scientifically sound and what is effective.

Speaker 1:

Totally agree.

Speaker 2:

There is kind of like a camp of individuals that are moving towards offering More evidence-based, more evidence-based.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's. Evidence-based is definitely emerging more mainstream now, with all the PhDs and you know just real scientists out there who are going like no, no, no, no, no, yeah, yeah. And then there'd be there's, I think, what. What it was is like if you saw this like huge cohort, like in the early aughts and and like the 2010s area, where it was kind of like the wild west of social media and it's like, oh, I can just say things. People just like follow.

Speaker 2:

Oh, then you got all these blowhards up there I just eat like a pint of raspberries a day, and that's all you need to do Like raspberry ketones if you want to lose weight. That's all right and I was like, well, okay, maybe.

Speaker 1:

And then I think what was happening is like, you know, real scientists probably just didn't. They might've been a little bit of a later adopter of social media, because they're not. They were probably getting their PhDs. All these other chumps were just on there. They were like, well, I'm just going to say things and see what happens, right, right. And then now you're seeing this next wave, this next gen, where all these really smart and another thing is like you just continue following the right people and then the algorithms continue to send you the right people. Right, you keep following zealots that are preaching whatever, uh, their dogma. And the instagram goes oh, he likes the crazy ones.

Speaker 1:

Keep sending him more of these people to follow and then, all of a sudden, your whole feed is just all these crazies and you get siloed off into your own echo chamber and you think that, like, that's just what everyone sees?

Speaker 2:

well, yeah, there's, there's. I got 30 people telling me to eat raw.

Speaker 1:

You know they raw cow brain, you know yeah like like and so and so now, now you're seeing this huge movement of like you know just the right people coming up, evidence-based which, by the way, if you're just that's really what you want to look for is like is this real, is this clinical or is this anecdotal, right? Yeah, 100 like. Is this guy just making shit up because whatever? Or is it like researched and and published and there's actually studies around it?

Speaker 1:

Because, let me tell you something, fitness and health and weight loss and nutrition is the most researched topic in the world. Yeah, so, trust me, if there is a question out there, there is a pub meds study. You can you can go and read and educate yourself and find the right people who can, you know, distill that information down into their content. But yeah, I totally agree that like we're just kind of this next generation of influencers where it's like serious people that are data driven and evidence-based and like they're putting out the right information which is which is awesome, but what I also will say is that that tends to be also kind of boring, I mean you know, yeah, we, we do our best.

Speaker 2:

I would say yeah on our our little show here to do our best to to stick to what we know to be evidence-based and we know it's boring, but we do it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, but I think there's a degree of like. The message is repeated, and often the same, because there's no really way out of it or around it there's. There is no magic bullet, there is no gem of information that's going to do the thing. It's pretty much the this is the path, and so it kind of I don't use the word redundant, but it's pretty simple, not simple, but it's straightforward and I think what happens is like the, the shiny extremism catches people's eye, yep.

Speaker 2:

And so to hear somebody be like oh you know, five, ten, twenty percent calorie deficit, or do ten thousand steps, or do resistance training and track your calories and just do that over and over and over again, like okay, cool, like I get the message, but then you got somebody in the corner over here.

Speaker 2:

That's just like yeah. What you don't realize is that if you do, if you, you know, drink hot lemon water first thing in the morning and then you don't eat until 10 am and then you avoid any carbohydrate. You know all these kind of extremes and you know liver king peptides. Yeah, you know, like you just eat your raw bone marrow and your, your heart and your liver every day, and that's just going to take care of everything fix it yeah.

Speaker 2:

So I think there is the sensationalism, and so people get kind of pulled in that. And then, like you're just saying, there is that echo chamber of the algorithm where they just funnel you in and I think it's like, yeah, shiny, odd, extreme, fun, weird, zany things are appealing to our mind and I think it's easy for that to catch somebody's eye and them to fall down the rabbit hole versus just like count your calories, you know. And so I think that's one of the the pitfalls of social media and it's like you know we will, mere exposure effect is, you know, the phenomenon of accepting something you're exposed to more and more yeah, yeah it's.

Speaker 1:

It's literally documented. It's like the law of psychology or something like that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's just like you know. So if, like the first time, somebody says like I don't know, freaking, anything like going to bed early is bad yeah, broccoli's bad. You're like no no, broccoli's great, but you hear broccoli's bad enough and you might start to consider it and then all of a sudden you might say, is broccoli bad for you?

Speaker 2:

and then all of a sudden you find an article that talks about how this one person said that when they ate broccoli they broke out in hives. And then next thing you know you're just like all vegetables are bad for you, fiber is bad, and the anti-nutrients and the leptins, and you know you just go down the rabbit hole of like. And there's just so many people out there that I mean it's crazy, these influencers that you know, like I. Like I said, I watched this one doctor. It's got dr ids who does everything science-based, peer-reviewed, and he basically just debunks influencers that are especially in God.

Speaker 1:

Bless his heart, yeah, especially in the nutrition industry.

Speaker 2:

And it's just like wow, you got these people just like using fear so much.

Speaker 2:

And so this is another big one is like fear based kind of funneling of your belief system Right they like it's such a big trend right now to see people going around like the supermarkets and like pulling it out like a thing off the shelf and just being like, all right, let's take a look at these silent catastrophe. Like, yeah, let's look at these oats. Okay, well, what you'll notice here is that there's, you know, sulfur added and you're like did you know that sulfur is? You know, do? You know, and it's just like it's such a weird world, because fear definitely is a very effective motivator.

Speaker 2:

And what you'll always notice is that somewhere down the line they're selling something Somewhere down the line they're sponsored or something and they're really, in my opinion, just like using fear and nonsense and all these tactics to funnel you into that echo chamber and to their belief system, to get you to buy something and spend some money into that echo chamber and to their belief system to get you to buy something and spend some money.

Speaker 1:

You know it just taps into, like our primal brain of, just like we. I mean think about you know, back before we had, you know, modern technology where we could share information and the click of a button where it was just stories that got told and go these villages and these ignorant people had no idea and you'd sell them all this licks are here exactly the old thing yeah, like, oh, timmy here couldn't walk, and then he took one sip of this and then they wheel somebody out in a wheelchair, give him a sip and he jumps up and he starts tap dancing, you know, and

Speaker 1:

now and now the. The new version of that is you know, when people don't understand something, then they're just susceptible to this and you start saying big words and you string them together in a way that's semi-coherent and people tend to believe you and they get afraid and then you know next thing, you know they're pulling their wallet out and it's crazy, but it's true. And so, anyways, like I think that, like this, the solution to this is really like categorizing entertainment versus education as this guy I'm not gonna listen to a damn, I'm not gonna take anything he says as truth.

Speaker 1:

I just think he's funny, like the liver king. Yeah, I'll enjoy some liver king videos well, if you just want to like watch a video of him like simultaneously eating like a bull testicle while he's like shooting with his with with his gun on his ranch in Texas, bless your heart, go for it, but don't buy a supplements Like come on Like he's full of shit, he's on steroids, he's you know, it's like, it's like none of that is because he eats raw bowls.

Speaker 1:

He just takes steroids and so that's why he looks that way. Like you got people who are like phds on instagram and youtube who are saying some real shit, some spouting out some fucking knowledge, and it's like you know what this guy's good he can go into like the education camp, and I think that we're not. Phones and social media probably aren't going away anytime soon, and so I just would encourage everyone to like consider their news feed design. So consider news feed design. Follow people who inspire. You sure have have the, the characters that just entertain you, but like the, it should be at 80, 20, it should be 20 just entertainment, but then, like, 80 of your news feed should be people that truly educate you and challenge your thoughts around what's you know.

Speaker 1:

Like and show real evidence on the latest studies around the things you're wondering about, or have really solid information. Like, because if you do that, then it's like next thing you know you're on social media and it's like you have a feed full of like mentors. In a way, it's like great relationship coach. He's talking about how to rethink. You know, conversations with your significant other oh, that's really helpful tip. The next person is like a, you know, a phd in nutrition who's talking about like hey, don't believe this crap, it's not true. Like, don't over complicate it, you know, just keep it simple. Oh, that's a good point too. And now it's like your experience with social media isn't so like sensational.

Speaker 1:

It's like it's just like, oh, actually finish that 10 minute scroll sesh like kind of learning of something you know, and so redesigning that news feed I think is is super important at the further we go down this rabbit hole of social media.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because you know it's. It was actually the I was just listening to like a financial podcast that I mentioned all the way over, yeah and um, basically what the the host was saying to the guy, who the guy just, you know basically.

Speaker 2:

But the host was saying that there's a lot of information because the guy has a try. He was like a trucker and he drives all day and so he's like, yeah, but you know, I've really educated myself on finances, I've really improved my financial awareness and prowess over the last however many years, and really he had no idea still what he was talking about. And the guy was just like, oh, but I have like the information. And the host was like there's a lot of information out there, but some of it's good and some of it's bad. Right, so you might be listening to a podcast on finances, but and you might be obtaining information or knowledge, so to speak, but like that knowledge might not be correct or effective knowledge.

Speaker 2:

And I think in the end, you know, social media as a whole is going to encompass all things that politics and relationships, and but what I would say about health and fitness is that there's a science behind it. So, like relationships, you know, obviously there's educated people that are therapists, there's there's modalities, but you know the human design. There's different personalities, there's different compatibilities, there's a lot, but the human design. There's different personalities, there's different compatibilities. There's a lot more, I think, of dynamics that could go into that, but things that could help. But for me, I think, with health and fitness it's pretty straightforward. There's not really a lot of wiggle room.

Speaker 2:

And so politics yeah, you might have different belief systems. The policies you might have a different opinion on the policy. Yeah, you might have different belief systems. The the policies you might have a different opinion on the policy. Like there's a lot more room for stuff, but I think for the most part general health and fitness, general health.

Speaker 1:

We're not talking like like a cohort of like cancer survivors or like diabetics or post-menopause. We're talking like just general well-being and fitness.

Speaker 2:

And so it's pretty, it's pretty straightforward, it's pretty science-backed there's not really a lot of wiggle room, and so I think having some critical thinking and and having getting yourself on a good path of education will start to lead you down a road where you can start to like hear through the noise pretty, totally, you know. I mean, if you were just like listening to a podcast that had two health and fitness professionals on it that you know know what, might know what they're talking about a little bit.

Speaker 2:

Happen to have a 10-day detox we're launching, so if you're interested, but really I think that's the thing with health and fitness specifically is that there there isn't a lot of wiggle room based on the science there isn't, and you know, and like, here's the thing, you can look at that two ways of like well then, why would I need to listen to you guys?

Speaker 1:

well, the thing is, is that, like, even like, mastery is essentially understanding the nuances of something better and better as you as you go. And so it's like yes, there, yes, there are proteins, carbs and fats, there are calorie ceilings, there's kind of like base. You know, daily activity we should all do, we should all exercise, we should all do some sort of resistance training. Those are all the sort of generals that you'll. Here's my life. And now how do I take these like pretty straightforward pillars of health, right, and then apply that into my unique situation? And that's where the listener now needs to, you know, get to that point where it's like okay, I understand all this stuff, but like there's a difference between conceptual understanding and tacit understanding. Conceptual understanding is I read a book on finances and I understand, I get the concept I get it yeah I was probably the guy on the radio, but

Speaker 1:

tacit is. I applied these principles in this book for a year and I I demonstrably improve my financial situation through this system. That's tacit experience, like oh, that's tacit understanding, and tacit experience like I did it, and so you'll hear us repeat the same shit over and over again. Guys, like often, we don't need to be taught new things. We need to be reminded of the principles of life and the foundational principles of life, and so it's like now, what are you going to do with that information? You're going to apply it or you just are? You just you know, is it?

Speaker 2:

is this just infotainment that you hear and you're like oh, that's a good point, but you don't actually do anything. Yeah, it's like the practical application of something right, it's like you can have inherent knowledge about it, but it's like, if you understand, like, oh, okay, yes, I need to be in a caloric deficit in order to lose body fat. That's a pretty straightforward statement. Makes makes a pretty simple idea, makes sense. You could tell that, uh, I'd say probably most people, and they'd immediately be like I understand, that, makes perfect sense totally, so now they have that knowledge, but but but then to live that right?

Speaker 2:

how do you apply that to your particular lifestyle, your eating habits, your dietary restrictions, your preferences? Is is a whole other gamut, right? So it's like yeah, okay, cool, just just eat less calories, got it, okay? So what's that look like for you? Yeah, well, how are you gonna do that? What's what's the actual?

Speaker 1:

lived experience, yeah, so and then it's also like okay, understand that I need to eat, you know, 500 calories less than what my body burns. All that sounds good. Maybe even you take the step and maybe even try it, but now you find yourself fucking hungry, and this was. I didn't expect this. Wait a second. I feel hungry and cranky and now I don't have the tools like the self-development and the mindset training and the tools to understand what's going on and to see myself in the situation, instead of just like being in it and reacting to my emotions, but able to punch back a layer or two and just witness this and be like it's okay, I'm hungry but I'm not starving. It stands to reason. I ate a little bit less.

Speaker 2:

My body's going to be like hey, buddy, we want that ice cream bowl. Well, it's just increased ghrelin, levels. Yeah, right, right.

Speaker 1:

Well it is yeah and so, and so you know, that's like, that's. Those are the layers of nuance that if we allow ourselves to go down these very basic principles but we allow ourselves to kind of go deeper into them, then we understand these deeper levels of nuance that that come with a simple calorie deficit, right, or you know whatever. And so that's the game, very straightforward, foundational pillars. The breadth isn't so crazy, but the depth, I would argue, is very, very long.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I feel you know, and you have to experience yourself, through vacations and summers and falls and winters, and holidays and birthdays, and challenge these, these impulses and cravings, and that's where we create mastery on very simple principle of just eating less food.

Speaker 2:

There it is. So don't listen to influencers.

Speaker 1:

Listen to us, but give us a follow if you like this kind of information, smash that like button and follow button. Leave a comment below if this resonates with you.

Speaker 2:

And if it doesn't resonate with you, also leave a comment and tell us why.

Speaker 1:

Don't forget to share with your friends. All right guys, that was.