By Michael Krueger
You’re hanging at the gym, and you notice Big Guy in the shirt with the sleeves ripped off talking with New Guy, who has that “deer in the headlights” look as he listens intently as Big Guy tells stories of his sets, reps, PRs, supplements, injuries, competitions, training philosophy, and so on and so forth. You’ve heard him hold court before. He does this whenever he can get an audience, and every time you’ve heard him the sets get longer, the reps higher, and the PRs bigger. This is the sort of guy who puts the “BS” in BroScience.
What is BroScience?
In business, networking is a highly regarded way of exchanging information, building a reputation, and learning from your peers. When you network in the gym, exchanging anecdotal workout advice, it is called BroScience. As with any free, unregulated exchange of information, it is important to separate the good from the garbage in what you hear before you apply it to your personal situation.
The Internet has taken BroScience viral, and with that anonymity the BS portion of it has expanded exponentially. At least in the old days you could see the guy giving out the advice. If he had big muscles and lifted a lot of weight, you could figure that what he was talking about and advocating at least worked for him.
Now, the guy giving advice might be a skinny little twerp who is trying to sell dubious supplements to unsuspecting consumers. This is where you need to use your head; otherwise, you might be wasting your time at best and damaging your health at worst.
BroScience at its best is solid science that has been tested in the real world by real lifters and has been personally accepted or rejected based on their own experience. BroScience is like a research lab of many individuals, each one having different abilities, genetics, and goals, all exchanging their unique individual results. Most lifters who have had any amount of success are always willing to talk lifting and to help and encourage new lifters or anyone who desires help.
BroScience at its worst it is just egos, myths, and legends gone wild. These guys are maybe giving out a little good advice, but mostly it’s a lot that is bad and ugly. They go on and on to anyone within earshot with unsolicited comments and instructions that are generally dispensed with a lot of attitude and a huge dose of condescension. Trash talk and posturing rarely accomplish anything good in the gym or anywhere else, for that matter, and the bad BroScience boys who talk down to others to make themselves feel big are the worst offenders.
“Real” Science
Some people simply won’t trust the information that comes out of universities, and that attitude feeds the BroScience dogma “What do those pencil necks in lab coats know about lifting iron?” I wouldn’t “throw out the baby with the bathwater” because there is a lot of excellent research being done all over the world. I would agree, though, that there has been some pretty crazy stuff that has come out of research labs that was taken as gospel and later turned out to be completely wrong. I guess I would say that real science is research-based information that has stood the test of time.
Research is done under strict eligibility guidelines and on specific populations, so conclusions may or may not actually apply to you. Often the research subjects are college students or athletes or the elderly or untrained. Other times they are professional athletes who are at the peaks of their careers. I don’t know about you, but I don’t quite fit into any of those categories.
The last section of a research paper is usually the “conclusions or applications” paragraph, and the last line of that paragraph is often “further study is needed.” So while academic research is very important for understanding how the body works under specific conditions, it sometimes falls short when it comes to application in the real world with real people.
It’s not what the researchers intended, but this “further research” is often conducted by average lifters in dark and dingy gyms, and the results these people get are what contribute to the understanding of the practical application of strength and conditioning, and this is the value of “good” BroScience.
Warning Signs
You will see and hear all kinds of crazy stuff in the gym, from the plain goofy to the downright dangerous. Sometimes it is obvious, like when someone says you should avoid drinking water while you work out because it makes you sluggish, or someone tells you that you should be curling in the squat rack bending back and forth and throwing the weight around. Other times you might hear something that seems to make some sense. You may see a guy who is ripped or incredibly strong, quietly working on a particular exercise or routine, and you think, “Well, if it worked for him it might work for me.”
The questionable practitioner of BroScience will usually be dispensing unsolicited advice and criticism. He generally does a lot more talking than lifting and will tell long, detailed stories of his accomplishments that of course happened years ago and were cut short by a catastrophic injury of some sort. He will rarely talk with anyone who has a solid program, demonstrates strength and competency, or looks fit and strong. He preys on the beginner, the uninformed, the desperate, the impatient, and the easily impressed.
At their least destructive, such people are just annoying time wasters. At their worst, they sow doubt and confusion and are the peddlers of useless or dangerous supplements and illegal drugs. These guys are to be avoided at all costs.
Not All Bad
The upside of BroScience is that it can be the source of useful knowledge gleaned by dedicated trainees over years of experimentation and experience under the iron.
For BroScience worth listening to, look around for men and women who are obviously fit and strong, working on progressive programs doing basic multi-joint compound lifts. These people aren’t flashy, don’t dress like models, are quiet and respectful, usually have workout logs with them, and clean up after they finish their workout.
If you see any of these people working out, be courteous and don’t interrupt them. Wait until they are done with their routine and approach them; compliment them on their strength or physique or whatever caught your eye. Introduce yourself and ask them if you could ask them a question or two. Odds are, they will be more than happy to help you out.
Still, you must filter the information that they give you and see if it applies to you and your goals.
Other good sources of both real science and BroScience are the trainers at the gym. Once again, be respectful, and don’t bother them while they are working with a paying client. That is a sure way to get off on the wrong foot.
Watch them work with their clients and listen to what they say. Does their advice make sense? Do they gently correct form and explain what they are doing and why they are doing it? Do other people approach them when they are not otherwise occupied and ask questions, and do they answer them? Most trainers love to talk about fitness and are willing to help out by answering your questions. Just don’t expect them to design a program for you for free; that is above and beyond the “helpful” stage.
The Real World
Odds are you know fellow firefighters who have years of experience lifting and training. They are a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be tapped. They have found ways to train that have helped them to become better firefighters and probably kept them healthy and injury free throughout their career. Listen to them and learn.
The knowledge that you may acquire from those who have gone before is invaluable since it has been tested in the trenches. Just remember that you must always critically examine this advice and understand how it applies to you.
Lastly, when you are in the gym, apply that which you have learned, work hard, and remember that it isn’t a social club; you don’t build muscle with your mouth.
Michael Krueger is an NSCA-certified personal trainer. He got his start in fitness training while serving in the United States Coast Guard. He works with firefighters and others in and around Madison, Wisconsin. He is available to fire departments, civic organizations, and athletic teams for training, consulting, and speaking engagements. He has published numerous articles on fitness, health, and the mind-body connection and was a featured speaker at the IAFC’s FRI 2009 Health Day in Dallas, Texas. E-mail him at MKPTLLC@gmail.com.
