3 Fitness Truths I’ve Learned The Hard Way

7 years ago, me and a friend were sitting at the pool. Suddenly he drops this line:

“Look, Florian, Roman [other friend] has a sixpack. I have a four-pack. And you, you just have to be satisfied with your stomach. It’s genetics. Ok?”

I was training for one year, and haven’t seen the results I wished. Now, one of my best friends tells me that all my efforts are nonsense.

I’m not a sentimental guy. But at that moment, I felt like crying. Once that urge passed, I felt angry:

‘I’m going to prove you wrong..’, I thought. ‘I’m going to figure this sh*t out.’

2–3 years later we went to the pool again. This time, I was in peak shape and couldn’t wait to take off my shirt to display my sixpack.

Deep down, I expected an apology. Maybe a slight celebration. Some sort of genuine happiness for me, at least.

Instead, I got hints of envy: “Your belly looks better than usual.”

Getting in shape confronted me with the dark side of human nature. The dark side where your gain is often perceived as somebody else’s loss.

The first truth I realized was, that:

1. Everybody wants to see you do good, but not better than them.

“Your results there before Florian... They were not good. In fact, you got the results of a sick person.”

The entire class has left. The teacher took me aside, alone, and mentioned how shocking my cardio results were:

“You have to work on this Florian. Just because you look healthy on the outside doesn’t mean you’re healthy on the inside.”

From the outside, I was in fantastic shape. Big arms, V-form, and even a sixpack that makes friends envious...

But underneath? Not so.

My heart could barely keep up with my muscle mass, and due to that, I couldn’t even run 3 minutes at a stretch on a treadmill. Bad f*cking sign.

On that fateful day I’ve learned the 2nd truth:

2. Looking fit doesn’t mean being fit

Most bodybuilders I know have medical cabinets similar to an obese person. Low back pains, joint issues, and internal health problems are the beginning of the end. Many unfortunately drop dead in their 40s.?

Your fitness routine should and must be balanced. Unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, having big muscles alone is not enough. Also, forget IIFYM (if it fits your macros). Your nutrition must have a healthy balance of micronutrients and fiber that guarantee your internal health.

Most people will not tell you this, because most people in the fitness industry are not thinking long-term.

This leads me to the 3rd truth:

3. A lot of people are on steroids

I was riding with another fitness trainer on the train. We’re on our way home. Suddenly, he mentions steroids:

“So I got this package from a friend this week... looking forward to start hopping on ephedrine asap.”

‘Hold on a second. Did I just hear ephedrine?’ I thought. This is an illegal drug... So I’ve followed up:

“Ephedrine? You sure you want to stop being natural?”

Nonchalantly he replied:

“I don’t care if I’m natty or not man.”

What a bummer.

One of the reasons I’ve started working in the fitness industry was due to naiveté. I truly believed, with all my heart, that no one took steroids.

8 years in, and I assume everyone big is on steroids. Unless absolutely proven otherwise.

Out of all the hard truths I learned, I think this one s*cks the most.

• Not only for consumers, which get blatantly lied to and therefore have completely off-base expectations...
• But also for the honest trainers who simply can’t compete with their synthetically enhanced counterparts...

This is a zero-sum game, unfortunately. And the hard truth is that if your competitor is twice as big as you, guess who will be thought as more competent?

Now, these aren’t the words of a bitter or envious man. I’m in the top 1% of earners in the fitness industry. I’m also a lifetime natural. Yet I can assure you, that:

If I hopped on steroids, I’d double my income. Easily.

Better advertising numbers. Improved social media reach. Almost everything would be positively impacted.

The only reason me, and a handful of other coaches I know don’t do it, is because we’re concerned with our reputation. We think long-term.

A thing that most people in the fitness industry can’t seem to fathom to do.