The Great Broscience vs Science Based Lifter Schism

Let's Return Back to "Common Sensen Based Lifting"

We humans have this incredible ability to break things down into two extremes, choose one of them, and decide that is the hill we will die on.

I mean, I get it. Naturally, we just want to simplify everything and turn it into absolutes.

The issue is when you are dealing with something like the body—that is so complex and dynamic—the idea of thinking binary with an “either-or” outlook with only two options is as stupid as it sounds when you read this to yourself.

This is why we can’t have nice things or world peace…

It all started when, somewhere along the line, we let the nerds take over and decide “We must train this way because the science supports it.”—I joke, but this is the current trend the pendulum has swung to.

What used to be a subject that was stereotyped by jocks and meatheads has seemingly done a complete 180 and is now being led by guys with pocket protectors by whom many look like they’ve barely been to the gym in their life. Whatever happened to the hardcore, almost grungy archetype that lifters once had?

Jokes aside, there has been a shift in many ways good, but in many ways also detrimental to the true foundation and fundamentals of lifting.

I have no idea why it is so hard to find “what has traditionally worked”, “what is supported by data”, & “what is supported by results” and take pieces from each method that make sense logically (yes, actually using our brains… to think critically & come up with our own answers), then take those pieces, put them together and see how it works for us.

While I love that the Neanderthal image of those who lift has been dismantled, there are still lessons and principles that they did well to take away from. This new trend of religiously only following fitness guidance if it has been published in a scientific journal greatly misses many marks and often forgoes critical thinking & common sense in favor of trying to look smart and define answers in absolutes that simply cannot be approached that way.

As with most things, the best approach typically lies between both extremes. Instead of doing the all-so-common approach of choosing one side or the other let’s actually use some of that critical thinking & common sense where we can combine the old with the new in an effort to make better progress and our lives easier.

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Defining “Science-Based” Lifters vs “Broscience”/“Old School” Lifters

In the fitness/bodybuilding world today, there have become essentially two distinct groups/groupthink when it comes to philosophies and methodologies of how to train and why.

These two groups are commonly referred to as the “science-based” lifters and the “broscience” or could even call them “old school” lifters. Each with its own distinct process of how to interpret what the “best way to train” is.

Funny enough, if I did not know any better, I would look at this and be like, “Of course, the science-based lifters are who you want to listen to, they are following the actual science and data.” And that is actually where one of the first issues begins to rear its face…

…because while studies and data are great, it is very, very hard—close to impossible—to account for all of the nuances and the considerations that occur when looking at the big picture of a unique individual with their own unique lifestyle & genetics, over the course of years, even decades.

The other group, the broscientists, or old school guys if you will, operate from more of a place of “well, this has worked for countless bodybuilders and lifters, including many of the greatest of all time, so from everything we have seen from different methods different guys have used and their similarities, we can deduce what works the best because success leaves clues.”

While this can sound archaic and even close-minded, it’s ironically the more open-minded approach in most ways, and when you consider that even though we have individual differences, there is only one type of human body… it hasn’t changed and won’t be changing anytime soon.

We’ve had millions of lifters collectively try just about anything under the sun to grow as much muscle as possible & as quickly as possible + this quest to find what works best is incentivized by the fact that the guys and coaches who do this the best make millions and millions of dollars + the fame and status that come with it.

I already know that logically a lot of you reading this are thinking exactly what any seemingly intelligent person would think… “Yeah, so why don’t we try the different methods that we know well, see which ones have the best data, or even just combine the data from the studies with what the guys in the trenches have figured out and go from there?”

Which does happen and should happen. That’s what every single GREAT coach does.

The issue is that they wouldn’t be GREAT coaches if they were common.

Because again, for whatever reason, the majority of cases… I suspect it’s a marketing/branding aspect so that people can present as more “qualified” & as if “they know better than everyone else” so that they can build their brand and image as this “authoritative expert.”

On the flip side, you have guys that are either just more close-minded, don’t really care, or often have a type of ego wrapped into “broscience” and they want to do things the “old way” because “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The funny thing is this can actually go very, very well, and they can be following really good current and solid science. The guys that are doing it as the “old gods instructed” might be following the right “scripture.”

This can also be the opposite. You have guys pushing very suboptimal, to say the least, training methodologies because of a certain study circulating out there that, for whatever reason, was just not done well… tell them that “this is the best way” when it’s just not.

Or you have guys just trying to be hardcore and do a bunch of stuff without really thinking through how well your body can handle the fatigue and recovery. Things like a strain on the spine and increased risk of injury, or just flat-out doing too much for the sake of them thinking “more equals more” when any remotely long-time reader of Strong As An Ox knows, more does not always or even often equal more.

Now, I know anyone who knows me, knows that I fall more into the “Broscience” camp, or at least appear so, so this might come off as biased or painting one side better than the other. That, I can promise you, is not the case. I am almost equal parts a lover of studies & literature as I am a lover of the no-nonsense approach of doing this based on “Whether it works or it doesn’t” and/or “we’ve tried and this is what happened.”

For that reason, this is why seeing people choose sides and label themselves as one or the other and denying the credibility of the other really bothers me.

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You Can’t Have One Without the Other

In a sense, both methods depend on each other to cover blind spots and get answers one might provide to the other.

Just because a method or protocol was not published or observed in a peer-reviewed study doesn’t mean that we should throw it out when maybe just the conditions and context of the study and its design just aren’t able to be recreated in a controlled setting…

Or just because something has worked for generations of bodybuilders doesn’t mean we can’t get insights from studies on little nuances and changes to help get more juice from the squeeze…

The reason I even bring this discussion up & write this article is to highlight the divide being created… what scares me is every time I see dogma, people will latch onto it, and close their minds to other approaches, which can have a negative effect in two ways:

1. It will spread like wildfire to where you get these schisms and dogmatic groupthink that then influences others to also think that way which can set back our collective knowledge and education, and then we have to restart the process of bringing everyone back to this place of nuance.

2. It really sucks when you get taught a specific way, and then at some point give another—maybe even almost opposite—type of way a try, and you end up getting crazy (positive) results.

You will sit there and think to yourself “Well damn, why did everyone say XYZ way was the way to go/the best way? Because now I’m getting the best results of my life… but could have started five years ago & been light years ahead of where I am now”—I say this because this is literally what happened to me.

In my case, it was being taught that “high volume is the way” and “you can’t grow on anything less” when in reality it was the complete opposite.

This post, unlike others, is not just for individuals who want to improve their fitness and/or grow, this one is actually for coaches, too. I’m telling you right now from experience, by using all the tools and data at your disposal, and being open to trying & experimenting with different ways will make you an immensely better coach and make you orders of magnitude more valuable to the clients you serve.

Just because you read in some marketing book that “it’s best to create your own unique angle and carve out your own niche”, don’t do it at the expense of being close-minded and limiting yourself, thus potentially hurting the results of your clients.

Let’s keep fitness about fitness and seek good, solid information and truths, not just some scheme to make some money.

Trust me, if you build a respectable reputation and provide people with enough quality, legitimate information/content, you’ll make a fuckton more money than the little gimmicks and scams, we all know exactly what I’m talking about… “6-Pack in 60 days for Men who work 60 hours a week in their 60s.”

I Propose a Middle Ground…

It is better to be open-minded and understand all of the different types of methodologies along with their pros and cons—even if you find yourself leaning toward one specific direction—than to simply lean in only one direction because “that’s all you know.”

That’s how you create blind spots and gaps in your knowledge.

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Putting It All Together

Instead of dying on hills, we should be using nuance and keeping an open mind when it comes to training philosophies and methods.

It’s a little thing I like to call Common Sense-based lifting.

Exercise science is always expanding, and we are constantly discovering new ways that can enhance what already works, so leave a little room for some experimentation in your training. Don’t get married to “this way is the only way”.

Take the useful and applicable techniques from each side and combine them into what works best for you.

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1-on-1 Coaching

Starting now and into next week, I am going to be onboarding another 10-15 clients as I have more time available to add to my coaching roster.

Many of you have already put in applications over the last few months, which I will be emailing if you are still interested. However, I am moving my onboarding system to a new email list platform. So even if you have put in an application and I haven’t gotten back to you, it will be easier if you just fill out a new one as I do this.

For those who do not know and might be interested, I offer 1-on-1 coaching and have my own beautiful coaching app that has everything from a digital logbook, a diet/macro tracker with a database of a million different foods & even a barcode scanner, full exercise video library, in-app messaging/texting, and a bunch of other really cool features that quite frankly pretty much no one else offers.

I am only planning to have open enrollment right now for the next week or two and towards the new year, and once those slots are filled I won’t be taking on any clients in mass as I have a set number limit so I can give everyone more than enough of my time to over-deliver my services. So, if you think you’re interested, you definitely want to act sooner rather than later because once filled, I usually don’t have spots open back up often as most stick with me for over a year+.

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Looking Forward

Coming soon… I will be releasing a Home Gym Program and a Home Gym Equipment PDF.

This Home Gym Program will follow a similar philosophy as all of my programs and will entail: Push & Quads, Pull & Hamstrings, and Upper & Lower (it can be a 3-day or 4-day split with the option of either combining or separating the Upper/Lower portion of the program).

In the PDF, I will list and price out different pieces of gym equipment you can purchase to make the most of your at-home workouts.

After this, there will finally be the “Upper/Lower” Program and “Ultimate First Day in the Gym” Program we’ve been working nonstop on for the last couple of months.

We decided to make three variations of the Upper/Lower Program depending on how many days a week you want to go to the gym, your experience/muscular development level, and your preference. This of course will be downloadable like the Density Program and the remastered Push Pull Legs Program, as well as available on the MyLiftLog App (will be available a couple of weeks early on the app).

Once that drops, before the next program (My Optimized/Modified Bro-Split), I have a little side quest to bring you… my own line of high-quality lifting gear (belts, straps, sleeves, cuffs, bands, etc.) and looking to partner with a gym equipment company/manufacturer to make my own machines and kit to fill the void in the market of high-quality equipment that isn’t used-car prices.

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#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: If you are interested in working directly with me with 1 on 1 coaching, you can apply here, spots are on a first-come basis & limited to a set amount

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)