People Share the Best Fitness Advice They've Ever Received

Say whatever you want about people who love to train—just never call them secretive.

Whenever you walk into a gym or log onto just about any fitness-focused website, you open yourself up to hundreds of self-styled experts, nearly all of whom are more than happy to share their best, most pertinent advice with you. This welcoming, generous nature is the bedrock of many gyms and fitness communities, from the real world brick and mortar buildings in your community to the biggest forums on the internet.

A recent Reddit thread prompted the members of the r/Fitness community to share the best advice they’d ever found on the forum, giving the users a chance to highlight the principles they’ve seen to be the most useful once they’ve been put into practice in the real world. Hundreds of users weighed in to add their knowledge to the mix.

The Training Tips

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Some answers were focused on broad, general action. The best-received tip (via number of upvotes) was to avoid perfectionism, instead focusing on hard work and effort in your workouts. Other highly rated counsel emphasized action, telling the community that doing something, no matter what, is always better than staying home on the couch. Several posters reminded the group that it’s important to remember that results don’t take days, but months or even years, and to achieve your goals, consistency is key.

Other users got into specifics. The original poster who started the thread was inspired by advice to do straight leg deadlifts for hamstrings, while another appreciated their introduction to Bulgarian split squats. of course, there was a strong deadlift faction. Face pulls also had a fan, and the conversation turned into a thoughtful reflection on shoulder stability.

The most actionable, tangible advice? Wash your hands after training, every time.

Listening to folks around you and online is great if you’re struggling with your own fitness routine and you stumble upon a true expert, but remember: Not all training tips are created equal. When you’re trying to decide whether or not to follow through on your latest hot tip, don’t just believe everything you hear.

When considering what advice you should follow and which you should ignore, consider the source. Is it someone reputable, like a certified fitness pro or a media source that has built up a strong voice of authority (like, say, Men’s Health)? You’re probably good to go if that’s the case.

Be more cautious about what you’re hearing from random gym buddies or anonymous web forums. That’s not to say that they’re totally untrustworthy—and remember, different methods work for different people, and most of the lessons in the subreddit were solid, big picture advice–but there’s a big difference between real science and bro science. And, as always: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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