[0:00] Ten years
[0:01] of making fitness content on YouTube.
[0:04] No doubt
[0:05] I picked up many lessons
[0:06] along the way
[0:07] that shaped my views
[0:08] of the fitness world,
[0:09] which in turn shaped
[0:10] how I create content for you guys.
[0:12] So I want to share
[0:13] three of the biggest lessons
[0:15] I've learned the past
[0:16] ten years as a fitness creator.
[0:18] Lessons that I think
[0:19] can help you approach fitness
[0:21] a bit more mindfully as well.
[0:23] When I first decided to make videos,
[0:24] my goal was and still is,
[0:26] to provide
[0:27] as objective fitness information
[0:29] as I possibly can.
[0:30] And this essentially led to the birth of,
[0:33] I guess, kind of the biggest meme
[0:34] of picture fitness.
[0:35] And that's me repeatedly
[0:37] answering questions with.
[0:38] It depends,
[0:39] but the need to answer questions with it
[0:42] depends is undoubtedly
[0:44] one of the most important lessons
[0:45] I've learned over the years.
[0:47] Now, I know some of you.
[0:48] And yeah,
[0:49] even other fitness creators
[0:50] would say that
[0:51] giving straight answers
[0:53] is better and saying it
[0:54] depends is just a cop out.
[0:56] Well, to me
[0:57] it actually feels more like a cop out
[0:59] to just give straight answers
[1:01] all the time.
[1:02] The whole point of it
[1:03] depends is to allow me to present
[1:04] as many perspectives
[1:06] for a question as possible.
[1:08] If I just provide one straight answer,
[1:09] then I'm not doing my due diligence
[1:11] because that answer isn't guaranteed
[1:13] to work for everyone.
[1:14] For example,
[1:15] if you ask me
[1:16] how many reps of bicep curls to do.
[1:18] My answer will be it depends.
[1:20] It depends on your goals.
[1:22] For strength,
[1:22] go for 2 to 5
[1:23] reps with heavy weights for muscle,
[1:25] focus on volume and effort
[1:26] and use the rep range to help
[1:27] you do the most.
[1:28] This to me is how to approach
[1:30] fitness,
[1:31] especially as a fitness influencer
[1:33] with a large audience.
[1:35] Otherwise,
[1:35] if you were to just shoot it straight,
[1:37] then the only reasonable advice
[1:39] and you fitness creator
[1:40] can offer is to eat right.
[1:42] Stay active and sleep well.
[1:44] But even this seemingly simple
[1:46] recommendation can have people
[1:47] wondering what exactly
[1:49] does eating right mean?
[1:50] Well it depends.
[1:52] Now, just as much as I try
[1:54] to keep my content objective,
[1:55] I also try to keep things simple.
[1:57] Especially since fitness science
[1:59] can get pretty complicated.
[2:00] But another lesson I learned
[2:02] is that sometimes
[2:03] simplifying things
[2:04] actually makes things harder.
[2:06] This happens when simplicity leaves out
[2:09] way too much context
[2:10] that can lead to confusion,
[2:12] misinterpretations, and even frustration.
[2:14] Perhaps the clearest example of
[2:16] this is the classic
[2:18] simple weight loss
[2:19] advice to eat less and move more.
[2:22] And yeah, if we're talking
[2:23] simple science,
[2:24] using more energy than you
[2:25] consume leads to weight loss.
[2:27] But here's the catch
[2:28] if it was that simple, then
[2:30] me and every other fitness creator
[2:32] would have been out of a job
[2:33] a long time ago.
[2:34] The thing is,
[2:34] we can't just ignore all the real factors
[2:37] that can easily influence
[2:39] our ability to both eat
[2:40] less and lose more.
[2:41] Real factors like hormones,
[2:43] genetics environment
[2:44] stress everything.
[2:45] Now, of course,
[2:46] some people like to dismiss
[2:47] all this
[2:48] and simply say
[2:49] that people gotta stop being so lazy.
[2:52] Well, okay, let's just say that's true.
[2:55] How often do we stop being lazy?
[2:58] To sincerely answer that,
[3:00] we'll just end up
[3:01] right back at those factors
[3:03] we so quickly dismissed.
[3:04] So as I continue to simplify my content,
[3:07] I'm also listening to you guys
[3:09] to make sure
[3:09] the information is as complete
[3:11] and clear as possible.
[3:13] Speaking of information, it's
[3:14] no secret that my content is quite
[3:17] heavy on science,
[3:18] despite potential conflicts
[3:20] and sometimes messy data.
[3:22] I do believe that science,
[3:23] with its randomizing,
[3:24] controlling and blinding,
[3:26] is the most objective
[3:27] information out there.
[3:29] But if we're going to use science,
[3:30] we need to understand
[3:32] what it actually tells us.
[3:34] So the third biggest lesson
[3:35] I learned is
[3:36] that science is a great place to start,
[3:38] but not always the best place to end.
[3:41] You see, science mostly works
[3:43] by reporting results based on averages.
[3:46] For example,
[3:46] let's say you study
[3:47] claims a new supplement
[3:48] is great for strength
[3:50] because on average,
[3:51] eight subjects increase their one
[3:53] rep max by 15%.
[3:55] Sounds great on the surface,
[3:56] but let's take a closer
[3:57] look at the subjects.
[3:58] Two of them had way
[4:00] above average increases,
[4:02] two were right on the average,
[4:03] and four saw essentially no gains.
[4:06] Now apply this to the real world.
[4:08] Half the people buying
[4:09] this new supplements
[4:10] just wasted their money.
[4:11] We can basically apply this concept
[4:13] to everything else in science.
[4:15] The fact is,
[4:16] individual variability
[4:18] always exists and averages
[4:20] don't tell the full story.
[4:22] Sometimes you'll fall
[4:23] right on the average,
[4:24] but sometimes you'll fall far from it.
[4:26] So instead of completely
[4:27] sticking to science,
[4:29] I think a better way is to treat it
[4:31] more like a map
[4:32] that can give us some direction.
[4:34] But looking at the map is one thing.
[4:36] Actually moving to
[4:37] our destination is another,
[4:39] and when we do, we're going to run
[4:40] into unexpected obstacles
[4:42] like genetics,
[4:43] rough weather,
[4:44] like stress and detours like injuries.
[4:46] And maybe we'll find an even better,
[4:49] quicker path that's not on the map.
[4:51] So as great as science can be,
[4:52] and it will always guide
[4:54] much of my content.
[4:55] The final answer for
[4:56] you will be your own experience.
[5:00] And that's the three
[5:01] major lessons
[5:02] I learned over the last ten years.
[5:04] If you've been here
[5:05] since the beginning,
[5:06] I genuinely appreciate
[5:08] you supporting me all these years.
[5:09] And even if you've only been here
[5:11] for a little while,
[5:12] I appreciate you
[5:13] for giving a triangular cartoon
[5:15] character a chance to help you
[5:17] with your goals.
[5:18] Other than that,
[5:19] if you enjoyed this video, then please
[5:20] give it a dependable thumbs up
[5:22] and share it with your lesson
[5:23] loving friends.
[5:24] Subscribe for more
[5:25] and let me know what you think
[5:26] in the comments!
[5:27] As always,
[5:28] thank you for watching and don't
[5:29] forget to get your protein.