Archives for 2009

I recently wrote an article called Check Their Credentials in which I discussed the importance of checking out the credentials of those you follow in the fitness industry.  So how do you determine who to follow?

Google

One of your first steps should be to conduct a Google search on the person and/or their program.  Find out if there are any complaints from other people.  Review any articles you can get your hands on that the person has written.  Compare what they say in those articles with what their sales page infers is their philosophy.  You will find out alot of invaluable information from a Google search. 

Titles

Is the person a title holder in bodybuilding?  If so, what titles have they won?  Are the titles simply local competitions or do they come from national competitions?  The person with national titles is going to be somebody who has done the hard work they are about to ask you to do.  That’s a very important issue.  Why would you want to follow the advice of a person who has never done it?  If bodybuilding is your goal, follow someone with bodybuilding titles.  If you want to know about the right exercises to use for this or that body part, follow someone who has been lifting for a long time.  Each person is going to have an area that they specialize in.  It is your job to decide if they qualify according to your goals.

Buy the Material

If you have looked through your Google search and found no problems and then you’ve determined that the person has the knowledge to help you meet your goals, your next step is to buy the material they are offering.  Remember, you are not at risk because you are only going to buy from someone who has a money back guarantee.  Never buy if there is no money back guarantee!

Review the Material

After you buy the material immediately sit down and read through the entire program.  You are trying to understand everything that is being taught.  Evaluate the program to see how it will address your needs.

Make a Decision

If you decide that the material meets your need, keep it.  Decide where it is going to fit into your plans and then execute on that plan. However, if you decide that the material is not what it claimed to be or if you decide it isn’t for you, you have more work to do.

Return Bad Products

If you have determined (for any reason) that the product isn’t for you, take advantage of the money back guarantee.  Get a refund and fast!  Do not be shy about this.  The author has offered a money back guarantee so they should not be upset at you for taking advantage of it.  Remember, you only access the money back guarantee if the product legitimately does not meet your needs.  Don’t use it as a way to get products for free.

Execute Your Plan

At this point you may just have a great program in your hands.  You’ve taken the time to get to know the “expert” and their program.  Now it is time to fit the program into your plan.  Figure out where it will go and when you will start it.  Now execute!  Do what it takes to complete the plan with intensity and consistency.  You will reap the rewards later.

Related Posts:

• FTC to Monitor Blogs for Claims and Payments
• Going Against the Truth
• Look It Over Carefully
• Check Their Credentials

The Promises

Everyone has had this experience.  You check your email and there is one in particular that catches your eye.  The subject line promises to teach you everything you need to know about High Intensity Training.  You read the email and follow a link to a website that has a ton of sales pitch information.  It makes alot of different promises about what you will be able to do if you just purchase this program from them.  Some of the promises you might see:

Hard gainer tips utlizing secret Russian techniques

Grow your arms by 2 inches

Add 23 lbs. of muscle in only 11 weeks!

The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.  In addition, as you read the web page, you find that they will give you the following bonus gifts just for spending your hard earned money on their product:

Protein Shake Recipes for Hard Gainers

84 day meal plan

List of approved foods to eat while using their plan

Complete Exercise Guide (contains exercise descriptions and pictures)

Checking It Out

At this point you should be asking yourself “Do I need all of this?”  You should also be checking out the claims they are making on their site.  I just Googled “high intensity training” and came up with 4,480,000 hits.

You will note that I have circled some incredible free resources on High Intensity Training that came up at the top of the search results.  With this information available to you for free, do you really think you will need to spend $70 on the latest program that teaches you about High Intensity Training?  How is reading this latest eBook going to help you any more than reading one of these free web resources?

Rehashed Information is Information Overload

If you click on the very first link in the search results window on Google (after searching “high intensity training”) you find that this system of training was popularized in the 1970’s by Arthur Jones.  The article goes on to discuss some great bodybuilders who have used this training system.  At the end of the article it lists several more references for High Intensity Training including a forum dedicated to the topic.  All of these resources are free.

Remember, the point here is that the program you may have received is all about rehashing information freely available to you on the internet.  If this eBook advertisement simply stated that it was an attempt to organize existing information into a format that would be useful to the reader that is one thing, but it is making claims that it has some secret information that will only be available to you if you buy the eBook.  It is at this point that your critical thinking skills need to kick in.

Who needs to pay $70 for something that is available on the internet for free?  Remember, rehashed information is information overload.  You don’t need it and you certainly won’t want to pay your hard earned money for it.

Fitness Exposé Teaches You to Save Your Money

Use the techniques you will learn from Fitness Exposé to avoid spending money you don’t need to spend.  Read through our articles and consult with our experts.  By doing so you eliminate any need to spend so much money on a fitness product that is available elsewhere for free.

Related Posts:

• Look It Over Carefully
• How to Use Intensity in Weight Training
• How to Maximize Your Workouts
• Book Review: The New High Intensity Training
• New Workout or Old Idea?