Tip: Finish What You Start!

Fact: Successful, experienced lifters finish programs and learn from the results.

There's an old saying that goes something like this: "You never lose. You either win or you learn." The same can be said about training programs and diets. Don't think of a plan as being unsuccessful, just think of it as a learning experience. That's what successful lifters do.

Here's the rub. At some point, you're going to actually have to finish a training program or diet to understand what it does for you. Even if it ends up being a counterproductive process, you'll learn from it and grow, at least eventually. This experience is an invaluable commodity in training and nutrition. It's what shows you what works best for YOU.

You can cite study after study on the internet, but if you've never implemented a training technique, program, or eating plan long enough to know how it effects you then you can't speak from experience about how well it works or doesn't work. Period.

Why "Broscience" Often Works

Some double-blind hazmat suit vortex study done in a controlled environment where people can't make a phone call for six weeks while only eating broccoli and apples is not real life. Real life has a human element to it, and that means different methods are going to work for different people at different times. This is why a "broscience" method that goes completely against science often ends up working very well, despite what some study says.

Your own "n=1" results matter. But you'll never see results unless you see the process through. Finish the training program. Finish the damn diet. Shut up and learn something.

I once spent a summer doing a program that had me training three times a day. It was based on Bulgarian Olympic training methods, and yeah, I had no business doing it. But I stuck it out. By the end, I was beat to shit, had made zero progress, and had even regressed in some areas. But what I did gain was experience.

The Lesson

No one has gotten any better at lifting weights by arguing on the internet. Sure, do your research, but don't forget to get under the bar and experience things. Experiment with diets. Follow through, learn, and apply that knowledge to your future programs and nutrition plans. In the long run, you'll be bigger, leaner, and stronger than the guys that just throw studies at each other online.