fat people giving athletic or lean people advice on bodybuilding

[ManwittaPlan]

is this common for many of you? i encountered it a short while ago. granted i'm not shredded but can see my abs and have more muscular shape than the bloke i'm bringing up.

guy isn't obese, just talks with no body to back it up.

wondering if i should give him dieting advice but i don't want the fella being depressed.

[faithbrah]

yes and no... some people i know who are not in shape have tried to give me bad advice regarding nutrition. these people haven't said it out loud, but based on the advice they've tried to give me, i feel like this is what they think:

- you (= me) should do keto, you don't need to count calories on keto and you'll still see results (doesn't matter if i'm bulking or cutting, it seems like keto is the answer)
- calorie counting doesn't work because of so many variables (well no chit there are variables, but if you're counting correctly, it averages out and you'll see results)
- eating extra fat on keto burns even more fat (eating an extra 500 calories of oil isn't going to make you lose weight faster, vice versa)

it's a bit frustrating because i already know what i'm doing, yet it feels like these people think i'm misinformed. or maybe they don't, but they literally don't believe in CICO and probably think i'm lucky that my body works "normally"

[bLinkMoore]

It depends. Do you know what his background is? Physique doesn't always reflect knowledge. I follow a couple guys on Instagram who are impressive coaches with a lot of knowledge on bodybuilding, powerlifting, nutrition, etc, but I have a better physique and lifts than they do.

Meanwhile, there are also "Fitness gurus" with incredible physiques that I can't even dream of achieving who post the most mind-numbingly terrible advice and clearly have very little understanding of even basic nutrition / exercise phys / biomechanics.

Keep in mind it's also not that practical (or enjoyable, for a lot of people) to stay lean all the time. Someone can have all the knowledge in the world about nutrition and training, but if they just don't care about having visible abs, there's zero reason for them to get them.

[ManwittaPlan]

I hear you guys and no, this person hasn’t coached anyone and is negative towards everyone he encounters.

If they are results oriented then yes, I would take their word but the person I’m talking about is your typical big mouth with no actual credentials for producing significant results for himself or others.

Harmless individual, just gets annoying.

[snailsrus]

It really does depend

My power lifting coach who was a big guy, but is a uspa judge and holds records I’m going to listen to, granted Blindly taking advice is silly and you should always do your research


My husband who isn’t in great shape, I just find annoying when he tells me meat will make me healthier, any cooked food in the fridge is bad after 2 days, I shouldn’t use Splenda, drink only ph water, etc. when his diet is fast food and twisted hard teas. Plus he thinks jogging the .1 miles around the driveway and some curls is a good work out

My biggest pet peeve though is when men who are older and clearly don’t lift seriously either tell me how to lift or tell me I shouldn’t be at the squat rack or on a machine. I actually have had a guy scream at me in his late 70’s for changing a song on my phone in between sets on the adductor machine after finishing 1 set and being on the machine for a total of 1.45 seconds in an empty gym, because I shouldn’t be texting on machines and taking up space

[ManwittaPlan]

It really does depend

My power lifting coach who was a big guy, but is a uspa judge and holds records I’m going to listen to, granted Blindly taking advice is silly and you should always do your research


My husband who isn’t in great shape, I just find annoying when he tells me meat will make me healthier, any cooked food in the fridge is bad after 2 days, I shouldn’t use Splenda, drink only ph water, etc. when his diet is fast food and twisted hard teas. Plus he thinks jogging the .1 miles around the driveway and some curls is a good work out

My biggest pet peeve though is when men who are older and clearly don’t lift seriously either tell me how to lift or tell me I shouldn’t be at the squat rack or on a machine. I actually have had a guy scream at me in his late 70’s for changing a song on my phone in between sets on the adductor machine after finishing 1 set and being on the machine for a total of 1.45 seconds in an empty gym, because I shouldn’t be texting on machines and taking up space

Yes that guy is performance oriented, the type of person you value their input.

[xsquid99]

I kind of take situations like this with a grain of salt.

The fattest guy in the room may not be the worst source of information.

The fittest guy in the room may not be the best source of information.

[SuffolkPunch]

Judge the advice not the person.

You will also see jacked buys giving bad advice. It's completely possible that they are just lucky with their genetics (or using drugs) and some of the tips and tricks they swear by make no difference to results.

[ManwittaPlan]

I know you guys must have at one point or another run into this type of character, I can’t be the only one.

Noted on the sound advice gents, good way of interpreting.

[broganoff]

I don't think anyone should be giving unsolicited advice, in pretty much any context. The only situation where I think it's warranted is if someone is doing something that is dangerous to themselves or others, or the nature of the relationship lends itself to that (boss/employee, parent/child, coach/player, etc). Usually people who do that are seeking validation for their own knowledge and choices, or lack thereof, and would be better off worrying about themselves a bit more.

As for the general question, someone could have excellent knowledge but struggle with the execution aspect. I will take Mark Rippetoe's advice all day regarding deadlift and squat form, but other aspects of health? Probably not.

[snailsrus]

I don't think anyone should be giving unsolicited advice, in pretty much any context. The only situation where I think it's warranted is if someone is doing something that is dangerous to themselves or others, or the nature of the relationship lends itself to that (boss/employee, parent/child, coach/player, etc). Usually people who do that are seeking validation for their own knowledge and choices, or lack thereof, and would be better off worrying about themselves a bit more.

As for the general question, someone could have excellent knowledge but struggle with the execution aspect. I will take Mark Rippetoe's advice all day regarding deadlift and squat form, but other aspects of health? Probably not.

very good first point. The only time I have given advice is when someone is about to snap their chit, even then I feel weird doing it, at the least I will keep an eye on them just in case they need a spot if they fail Or need an ammonia snap cause they passed out. I carry them in my gym bag

[Bohdizzle]

You don't need to be fit to read a study. If someone quotes a study, you can be as fat as you want, if its fact, then you can say it. If you want to anecdotally provide advice then you better have something to back it up.

[faithbrah]

I don't think anyone should be giving unsolicited advice, in pretty much any context. The only situation where I think it's warranted is if someone is doing something that is dangerous to themselves or others, or the nature of the relationship lends itself to that (boss/employee, parent/child, coach/player, etc). Usually people who do that are seeking validation for their own knowledge and choices, or lack thereof, and would be better off worrying about themselves a bit more.

ehh, you can legitimately give your gym newbie friend a few tips to get them on the right track nutrition and bodybuilding-wise. it just feels bad when you see a friend doing the most questionable stuff and sabotaging their own results without realizing it

You don't need to be fit to read a study. If someone quotes a study, you can be as fat as you want, if its fact, then you can say it. If you want to anecdotally provide advice then you better have something to back it up.

as long as the studies are real, yes. there are also people out there who cherry-pick studies that go against CICO, then completely believe some broscience keto study because it sounds more believable to them. and yes, i know a person like this. they've managed to lose weight with their diet method, but it's literally because they're burning more calories than they're taking in

[wave_length]

On every aspect of life you excel, you will get way more guys with no accomplishments giving you advice instead of asking for it.

[hardyboysare]

All I can add to what others have said is I will always take weight lifting advice from Lyle McDonald and he certainly doesn't look like he lifts at all.

Whereas I will never take a word of advice from that Brad Castleberry person if he was the last person on earth.

The advice can be solid or sh** no matter their physique structure

[snailsrus]

ehh, you can legitimately give your gym newbie friend a few tips to get them on the right track nutrition and bodybuilding-wise. it just feels bad when you see a friend doing the most questionable stuff and sabotaging their own results without realizing it

as long as the studies are real, yes. there are also people out there who cherry-pick studies that go against CICO, then completely believe some broscience keto study because it sounds more believable to them. and yes, i know a person like this. they've managed to lose weight with their diet method, but it's literally because they're burning more calories than they're taking in

so wait I can lose weight without being raw vegan keto, no food after 7pm, no fruit cause fructose metabolizes to fat only, and doing intermediate fasting. You’re telling me I just have to eat less? No way, it can’t be that simple. I mean eating fats must make you fat right?


Smh smh I swear people can be sold snake oil by someone’s insta just having enough followers and abs

[broganoff]

ehh, you can legitimately give your gym newbie friend a few tips to get them on the right track nutrition and bodybuilding-wise. it just feels bad when you see a friend doing the most questionable stuff and sabotaging their own results without realizing it

Agreed. I remember getting some helpful tips from veteran lifters when I first started lifting as a teenager at Bally Vic Tanny's (anyone remember that place? lol). If I see someone struggling and/or doing something blatantly wrong with a simple fix I will sometimes chime in.

The broader point is that someone giving advice, especially unsolicited, should be doing so from a position of greater authority and experience.

[Bohdizzle]

ehh, you can legitimately give your gym newbie friend a few tips to get them on the right track nutrition and bodybuilding-wise. it just feels bad when you see a friend doing the most questionable stuff and sabotaging their own results without realizing it

as long as the studies are real, yes. there are also people out there who cherry-pick studies that go against CICO, then completely believe some broscience keto study because it sounds more believable to them. and yes, i know a person like this. they've managed to lose weight with their diet method, but it's literally because they're burning more calories than they're taking in

Well yeah... as long as the person citing the study doesn't just read the abstract and potentially just cherry picks facts then its fine

[Horizon92]

Whatever advice someone gives doesn't become true or untrue based on their physique. I.e, if a paraplegic gives you advice on weightlifting it could be entirely legit even though their body is completely atrophied. At the same time, a huge shredded guy could be giving complete bunk advice. What matters is what is being said, not who is saying it.

[faithbrah]

Whatever advice someone gives doesn't become true or untrue based on their physique. I.e, if a paraplegic gives you advice on weightlifting it could be entirely legit even though their body is completely atrophied. At the same time, a huge shredded guy could be giving complete bunk advice. What matters is what is being said, not who is saying it.

if the advice is good, sure. the problem is when an overweight person gives bad advice and thinks they know better. a fit person giving bad advice still got results using their own advice even if it was complete bs

[Luclin999]

The "advice" that 95%+ of people will give is something that they heard on MSNBC, some random website or from "Dr. Oz".

At this point, I don't even try to correct most of them anymore I just shake my head and turn the conversation in another direction.

[snufy]

My body is terrible at weight loss, so I would never give advice, I have never been successful really ever in 12 years of lifting. I've never missed more then a week (for vacation) in that time period. However I've played elite sports, had a lifting total close to 1500lbs @ 235BW. So I wouldn't hesitate to give advice in general for performance or athletics.

HOWEVER, I am very good at giving feedback, and when I say something is XYZ and this works, but this doesn't, and a trainer or anyone tells me my experience is "wrong' or "not correct" simply because they haven't had the same experience is the THE BIGGEST mistake in the fitness world. The superficial level of guys that worked out for a couple years and are naturally lean as hell or on help really makes things way worse IMO. Good trainers/nutritionists are few and far between. Match up with someone who has similar challenges.

I got a workout program from a great trainer (who has articles here) I told him really good information to go off, and the program he gave me was SPOT ON, exactly what I wanted, exactly the effort level and even some fun surprises. This is because he listened and has had similar issues. His experience is somewhat similar.

So ya... otherwise I don't offer unsolicited advice..... it's dangerous these days. (unless someone is going to hurt themselves etc..)

[DoMoreWeighLess]

My father is like this.

He hasn't weighed under 300lbs since i was 4 years old. I'm currently on a weight loss journey, and it got to the point I had to just walk away whenever he started mentioning things I should and shouldn't be doing. Of course he's a big fan of crash diets and believes we don't need carbs to survive.

The worst is when he questions something I eat...yes I can indulge sometimes....It's only a problem if I start gaining again, sir.

[AlexSays]

Totally get this, often very unfit people who are trying to better themselves (good on them) trying to give me very misinformed advice. Wholeheartedly agree that it is down to the 'you've just been lucky that you didn't end up fat and unfit'.

They don't seem to get that the only reason I'm not fat and am in far better shape than them is that I know what I'm doing better than they do.