Fitness Buzzwords: Credible or Clickable?

I got an email yesterday from My Fitness Pal that reminded me what I’m up against in my quest to cut through the #fitnessfakenews and get the good stuff out to you. And it’s alll about: gym and fitness buzzwords.

The article was about incorporating HIIT training into a workout plan, and, credit where credit is due, it was a nice intro program for someone who might otherwise be intimidated by the idea. On that front, well done MFP.

Unfortunately, they also chose to add a bunch of pseudo-scientific explanation and fancy fitness and workout words, essentially trading credibility for some gym buzzword “clickability.”

Have a quick read of this snippet:

“HIIT training is great because you’re shocking the body. The more surprises you give it, instead of just steady-state walking, the more you confuse your muscles, which keeps your body from reaching a plateau.”

Or, how about this:

Have you heard of "sleepy bum syndrome?” Nope, neither have I. This was another lovely buzzword term I came across through a Facebook ad. This ad, and the company that ran it, is just misleading even more women into thinking that being strong is somehow detrimental to our health. And is selling a program that can not deliver on its promises because it isn't backed by actual science.

Fitness buzzwords are a real bummer.

The body is incredibly complex, and in an effort to make it understandable, professionals toss out terms and fancy buzzwords to help explain bodily functions and processes. However, this often makes it even MORE complex because they aren’t very good representations of what is really happening.

And, since the general public won’t fact-check, these explanations are generally believed. “Muscle confusion must be that missing link in my plan, the piece of the puzzle that will finally deliver the body I’ve been trying to create!” Not exactly.

When it comes to seeing things on the internet, I recommend you put on your "bullsh*t detector" and keep a strong sense of skepticism about you. If something sounds too simple or too good to be true... it probably is.

HIIT, short for High Intensity Interval Training IS great. But it’s a buzzword!

HIIT training is great, even if it falls victim to being a fitness buzzword!

Don’t get me wrong: fitness buzzwords aren't always inaccurate. HIIT is an awesome method because it allows you to train multiple energy systems at once. However, it has nothing to do with “shocking the body” to keep yourself from hitting a plateau.

HIIT allows you to increase the intensity of your workout and burn more calories in recovery, thus making it more effective in less time. It’s awesome for allowing you to work harder while you are working out, because you don’t have to sustain your efforts for as long.

When you’re training your higher intensity energy systems (rather than just steady state cardio) you become more metabolically flexible, which means your body is better at burning both fat and carbs for fuel when it needs to.

Add this to the list of great example of why *adaptability* is great for your waistline. (Side note: cardiovascular health is still important! Cardio and HIIT are not enemies. They’re pals, and they help each other both be better).

I’d like to lay to rest the idea that surprise and novelty are the hallmarks of an effective exercise program. This kind of thinking misleads people into jumping around between all kinds of different, random protocols rather than simplifying and focusing on the basics, which is what the vast majority of us actually need.

Whether you hit a plateau or not isn’t based on how confused your muscles are, and how much “new stuff” they’re seeing in your workouts. It’s actually quite the contrary.

You have to use progressive overload, which means you gradually challenge your body with more load, more reps, or more advanced movements over time—but you actually have to see enough of the same exercises to see results.

If you are constantly trying to “surprise” your body with a new workout you’re pretty much guaranteed to hit a plateau and see very little results for your efforts. The endless scroll of "New Move Monday" is misleading, and I'm 100% guilty of it too because it’s what social media platforms lend themselves too.

But we, as an industry, are limited in this format because really the reps and moves aren't always one size fits all.

Just Say No to Fitness Buzzwords

So, this is why I am vehemently against these fitness buzzwords. In an effort to make things simpler, it makes it more confusing and spreads #fitnessfakenews.

Let’s keep it simple! For example: dogs are cute!

My promise to YOU is that I won’t dumb it down. I’ll keep it as simple as possible, because I’m all about the minimum effective dose, but you deserve to know what’s happening in your body.

You deserve to understand how to make the changes you seek. And I know that you can handle it.

I believe you have the capacity to understand what’s happening… after all, if I can figure it out, so can you! This isn’t rocket science.

So I won’t be using any clickable (but inaccurate) fitness words to convince you that I know what I’m talking about.

Some Fitness Buzzwords in 2020:

As the fitness industry changes, and it does, we hopefully are moving more in the direction or real, genuine fitness support and education, rather than buzzwords and clickbait. But of course, there are still some fitness buzzwords of 2020 to be aware of:

HIIT (still!)
Strength training
Clean eating
Periodic fasting
Keto diet

Remember, fitness buzzwords aren’t all bad. They’re just something to be aware of so that when you’re creating a fitness and nutrition plan, you’re doing something that actually works for you, instead of something created to be trendy.

Have a question? ! I’d love to hear from you by email at Ashley@AshleyBrownFitnessNutrition.com OR on Instagram at @ashleybrownfitnessnutrition.