We humans always do things to move forward. Our technology gets better every passing year. Our daily essentials are better than what they were a few years ago, even our cars and bikes have gotten better, proving that we aim for betterment. 

In fitness, sadly, we tend to take two steps forward and three steps back.

New data and hundreds of scientific studies emerge everyday disproving the old beliefs held by the bodybuilders of the past and present. Still, people do not want to use their brains and simply buy into the hype.

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Spoiler alert: It is not those magic supplements or magic workouts making the bodybuilders huge and jacked.

Here are some fitness trends that should have stopped in 2018 (at least, stop them in 2019):

Your muscles are smart. If you do the same workout, they won't respond. Switch your exercises every four weeks. Your muscles won't understand how to respond. They will grow then.

This theory is as good as saying, study Chemistry for a Math test. Your brain will be confused and you top the class.

Plain stupid.

Muscles grow primarily through mechanical overload.  To grow muscle, you have to become strong.

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If you switch your exercises every 3-4 weeks, you are picking a new movement. You need time to adapt to the movement. After some time you will gain strength.

When that time comes, you will do the same stupidity and switch exercises.

We all want results quickly.

Just a couple of years before 2010, when Internet education was not much, this prominent scam was running rampantly.

Someone from Nigeria was dying and of all the people they knew, wanted to give you the money they had in savings. Some even millions of dollars.

The catch was that you needed to send them some $10,000 so they could pay the taxes and transfer fees.

Funnily enough, many people willingly jumped into the scam. Why? Simply because they were promised to become rich very quickly.

The same thing goes with these so-called magical supplements. They promise you overnight results.

Burn fat overnight. Get jacked overnight.

People shout back, 'Take my money.'

Time and again, data has shown that these supplements do nothing at best. There is data suggesting BCAAs could actually lead to muscle loss. Still, people would want to buy it.

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If you really want to invest in supplements, read this piece. 

Carbs raise insulin. Insulin makes you fat. Carbs are evil. Carbs are everything that's wrong with humanity. Carbs cause cancer, etc.

All this stupidity is spewed by certain 'experts' who believe they know everything about nutrition based on articles published by a journalist who has a company thriving on lying to people.

Suddenly, these people become gurus and have a herd of sheep worshipping them.

What really matters for weight loss? A sustained calorie deficit.

The laws of thermodynamics dictate changes in body stores and weight.

Eat carbs or do keto, does not make any difference. Pick a diet that helps you adhere to a calorie deficit. There is no one-size-fits-all.

So, if you think you need to stop eating carbs to lose weight and you actually enjoy eating carbs, do not go down the ketogenic rabbit hole.

I hope this article speaks to you and calls you out on the bullshit you have been listening. Spreading bullshit is just one part of the problem. Accepting and following the bullshit blindly is a bigger problem.

Author bio:

Pratik Thakkar is the co-founder and director of GetSetGo Fitness, an online fitness company and the founder of Mars Nutrition, a nutrition supplement company. Both his companies are geared towards providing you with the right information and products without any false or fake claims. You can reach out to him at pratik@getsetgo.fitness and follow him on Instagram.