It doesn’t really matter.
well, no that came out wrong.
It’s not that the four words really don’t matter, it’s that ‘It Really Doesn’t Matter’ Are the four words.
…now that we have that cleared up.
Here’s the deal…
In the health and fitness world EVERYTHING is important.
Your core strength is important.
The ratio of fructose to sucrose in your diet is important.
whether your vegetables are from Chile or are homegrown is important.
Your deadlift is important.
Your metabolic rate is important.
Foam Rolling is important.
It’s all important because it’s important to the person writing to you, and they want it to be important to you too….
but it might not be.
In fact, it might not really matter at all.
Alright it’s time for another random ‘Pilon Analogy’
Imagine it’s the day before you start a your new job.
You’re trying to plan your commute into work and you want to be on time (after all, you need to set a good impression)
You decide to look on googlemaps and find the best route from your house to the new corporate office.
Route A is Main Street. Taking Main Street will take you 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Rout B is Front Street. Taking Front Street will take you 20 minutes.
Easy. You think to yourself…obviously tomorrow morning you are going to take Front Street to work.
But, just as you are about to close your lap top, a little box pop’s up on your screen.
“Warning, there are 4% more pot holes on Front street then there are on Main Street”
Then another
“Warning there are 8% more street lights on Front Street then there are on Main Street”
Then another
“Warning Front Street has 11% higher commuter volumes on Wednesdays and Fridays then Main Street”
Wow, you think to yourself, maybe Front Street was the wrong choice.
…so you do a quick Google search to check out Main Street…
It turns out that Main Street has some really nice bike lanes.
You click another link and find out that Rihanna, Metallica and Justin Beeber have all commented on how clean Main Street is
..Sounds like an awesome street, and you start thinking about how you’re going to get up 2 hours early every day and dedicate yourself to driving on this cool new street.
Then… You snap back to reality.
Wait…what I WANTED was the fastest way to get to work.
Front Street takes 20 minutes…including the extra lights, and pot holes and slightly higher commuter volumes.
That’s what I want.
The rest…It doesn’t really matter.
(End of Long Pilon Analogy)
If you didn’t make it through that analogy I don’t blame you.
Here’s a much shorter example.
I get an email every morning from a radio show.
It updates on everything going on in Toronto..the closest major city to where I live.
Here’s the issue.
I live over an hour from Toronto…almost 2 hour from anywhere good in Toronto.
And I HATE going into Toronto. Never do it..well as rarely as possible.
So everything in that email is borderline useless to me.
Non of it really matters to me.
So I unsubscribed.
Now think about your health and fitness goals.
What matters and what doesn’t?
Because, lets face it 90% of stuff you read about, stress about or even try out…It doesn’t really matter.
Want to lose weight?
Eat less until you start losing weight.
It doesn’t really matter what your metabolism is…1,500, 2,500, 50,000… they’re just numbers, they don’t matter.
Are you losing weight? That’s what matters.
Want to gain muscle? Are you concerned about how many calories you should be eating?
Measure your waist and your shoulders, chest, legs and maybe your upper arm.
If your shoulder measurements are going up and your waist isn’t then your eating the right amount of food.
If your arms and legs are getting larger and your waist isn’t…then your eating the right amount of food.
What’s the EXACT calorie cost of building an ounce of muscle? Who cares, it doesn’t really matter.
Focus on what matters to you, and then get rid of the rest.
(Or at least put in on the side burner for a while.)
And don’t let other people try to push what’s important to them into becoming what’s important to you.
They may want the world’s best core strength..you may not.
The term “It’s all relative” is true. But to make it even truer (if that’s a word) it should be…
“It’s all relative to you”
The rest doesn’t really matter
BP
Tags: Dieting, Fat loss, gain muscle, Health
Great post and great analogy. But it did leave me wondering one thing. Do you think foam rolling is important?
For me personally foam rolling is absolutely essential. YOU will never know until you try it!
by listening to an idiot 9 years ago i started doing squats and deadlifts, i was lifting very heavy, i broke my back, i have been in pain ever since.
My forms where terrible but the guy told me not to let up and that body will adapt. My ligaments and tendons gave a way on my lower back, after 2 years of going around and getting adjustments my upper back posture was off course as well.
With some serious prolotherapy treatments and after 9 years of searching for help, i have started training again, i have a better body, and better shape then when i was liftint all theses heavy weights, just by doing push ups and P90X.
No matter how much people want you to deadlift and squat and will tell you your a pussy if you don’t they can always check the dangers of theses exercises vs benefits.
I eat less now lose weight dont count calories and fast 24h twice a week, take no more supplements and that’s it.
More money in my pocket.
Also core exercises are the term used in many back pain prevention and so many other training systems, they are over rated, so much. Core muscles will engage on any activity you do even walking so i would be very surprised if people have such weak core muscles.
Along with chiros, massage therapist and so much more i have seen who have no clue about stretched ligaments and back pain.
I never said it wasn’t essential for you.
Also couldn’t help but notice your website has several articles you wrote on the benefits of foam rolling.
B
nothing to add, well said !!!
at the end of the day eating ” real food” its all that really maters to me. everything else is bollocks. whats best for your health? big sugar cake + pasta or wild salmon + dark chocolate? cream, milk, cheese, meat, eggs or bread, noodles, cookies, ice cream, fruit? 80% carbs or 80% fat? gluten, sugar, fructose, caffeine or protein? knowledge does Mather. if you know the answer then you don’t even need to fast. btw technically i fast for 20 / 22 hours each day- and eat just one meal per day at 6pm – but it so natural that it dsnt even feel like a fast, the sick hunger is not there anymore, finally im in control and it feels ( and looks) great.
I just counted, and I’m subscribed to 17 fitness blogs. Out of those 17, I only trust 3 – yours, John Barban’s, and Nia Shanks – because you 3 are the only ones that are actually not afraid of “those 4 little words!” I can remember when the big HIIT craze started, feeling so sad because I loved my steady state cardio-dance class! HaHa! Now I just say phooey on all that and do what I want! I am learning to trust myself and my body more and more, and listening to the experts less and less. And I feel and look better than I ever have in my life!!!
I take my teen-aged daughter and her friend to an aerobic conditioning class 3 mornings a week. Last week, they came home saying the instructor had told them to start eating breakfast before they came to class, because they would have no energy if they didn’t. Now, mind you, they had been going to this class for 5 months! And neither of them has ever been a breakfast eater. I asked them if they were hungry before or after class and they said “no” – but they were determined to try the breakfast thing. So fine! The next class, I secretly laughed the whole way home as they hugged their stomachs and talked about how sick they felt! So much for “the most important meal of the day!”
Great post Brad. Once again straight to the point. More people need to read your posts, top notch. thanks, j
so simple and so well put….
Yannick, have you heard of Bullet-Proof Back? Do a Google search and check it out. It may help you…haven’t tried it myself, though.
As Tom Petty said, “Most things we worry about never happen anyway.”
Brad, I saw your vegas pool picture and I must ask. What is your current bodyfat percentage? Thats the body I want and am curious if you have around 10% bodyfat or not. It gives me hope that one can have above 10% bodyfat and still look good. Thanks!
Thanks Al,
I’d bet 10-12%
B
Brad Pilon Blog – Here Are The 4 Words that Most Experts are Deathly Afraid to Tell You…
Weight Loss – It doesn’t really matter. Well, no that came out wrong. It’s not that the four words really don’t matter, it’s that ‘It Really Doesn’t Matter’ Are the four words … now that we have that cleared up. Here’s the deal:…
That is awesome. If that is what roughly 11% BF looks like then that is something that is definitely attainable to me. Thanks!
Here Are The 4 Words that Most Experts are Deathly Afraid to Tell You…
It doesn’t really matter. Well, no that came out wrong. It’s not that the four words really don’t matter, it’s that ‘It Really Doesn’t Matter’ Are the four words … now that we have that cleared up. Here’s the deal:…
The 4 Words that Most Experts are Deathly Afraid to Tell you ……
Weight Loss – It’s not that the four words really don’t matter, it’s that ‘It Really Doesn’t Matter’ Are the four words … now that we have that cleared up. Here’s the deal:…
I can relate. I blog on violent crime and self defense, so I read a lot of martial arts blogs. You wouldn’t believe the granular analyses from martial artists on what styles work and what don’t, on what moves work and what don’t. It’s crazy. Punch the criminal in the nose, kick him in the groin and poke his eyes. Done deal. I exaggerate a bit, but if anyone spends any amount of time researching self defense on the Internet, all he/she gets in return is a mind-numbing thunderstorm of competing opinions. None of it really matters. The most important thing is to train the basics. Period. Then you’ll do OK.
my dad is a massage therapist and he can really relieve minor pains and injuries ~.,