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The World Cup is in full swing. Whether you\u2019re following along or not, there\u2019s a famous football quote that\u2019s just as relevant to anyone trying to get in shape.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball is a simple game made complicated by people who should know better,\u201d legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said. I\u2019ve found the same is true of fitness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in this industry for 25 years and nothing has really changed all that much,\u201d Tim Blakeley, trainer to the likes of Paul Mescal<\/a>, Glen Powell and Joseph Quinn, told me last week.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a boring answer because everyone\u2019s always looking for that shiny new thing, but it\u2019s the basics that will get you more results than any fancy new exercise<\/a> or supplement.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up for the Well Enough newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n The issue is that the basics aren\u2019t sexy \u2013 and sex sells. That\u2019s why novel methods are prevalent on social media. <\/p>\n But Blakeley says the Greek god you see demonstrating a new exercise on Instagram most likely built their physique with traditional strength training methods. Visually interesting exercises are then filmed at the end of a workout as an attention-grabbing ploy.<\/p>\n This leaves the rest of us struggling to see the wood for the trees, and we wind up letting the basics fall by the wayside. <\/p>\n As an antidote, this week\u2019s newsletter<\/a> is going to teach you how to see through faux-fitness smoke and mirrors. Then I\u2019ll share Blakeley\u2019s fitness basics that actually work, as well as a few diet tips that deliver tangible health<\/a> benefits, courtesy of neuroscientist and The Age Code author Dr David Cox.<\/p>\n To be able to identify shonky health claims at 100 paces, it\u2019s important to become familiar with the four horsemen of online fitness misinformation.<\/p>\n If someone is telling you something in fitness is revolutionary, it\u2019s probably rubbish. If someone is asking you to part with cash in return for something they, and only they, have access to, it\u2019s also probably rubbish. <\/p>\n If something sounds scientific but the creator doesn\u2019t substantiate it or cite their sources, it\u2019s probably rubbish. And if fitness advice is designed to provoke fear? You guessed it, it\u2019s probably rubbish.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a growing trend on social media for something that\u2019s described as \u2018fear porn\u2019 \u2013 people are being lured in by things that sound scary,\u201d says long-time trainer and Everything Fat Loss author Ben Carpenter.<\/p>\n \u201cA real health and fitness professional would say, \u2018We know that added sugar should probably make up less than 10 per cent of your diet. If you consume too much it\u2019s linked to things like obesity, weight gain, type 2 diabetes and teeth cavities.\u2019 That\u2019s very different from someone saying, \u2018You can never eat sugar because sugar is killing you.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Trainer Tim Blakeley\u2019s approach is the antithesis of this. He helped actor Paul Mescal pack on 8kg of muscle in less than three months ahead of filming Gladiator II. And if non-Hollywood sorts like you or me wanted to replicate this success, he advises doing \u201cexactly the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n If you can work all major muscle groups each week<\/a>, eat whole foods where possible, do a bit of cardio, sleep fairly well and meet a daily protein quota<\/a>, you are \u201cnailing the 95 per cent,\u201d as Blakeley puts it. If you do this consistently, your body and health will transform.<\/p>\n Neuroscientist Dr David Cox came to a similar conclusion when researching modern diets for his book The Age Code: simple tweaks can work wonders.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly in people over the age of 50 who really double down on eating a good diet, we see they have a far better chance of reaching 70 without any diseases compared to someone whose diet is getting worse over time,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n Whole foods are worth prioritising, Dr Cox continues. Whole grains such as oats, brown rice and quinoa have been shown to support gut health and guard against chronic disease and premature death. <\/p>\n Eating oily fish a few times each week \u201cis sufficient to slow ageing on a DNA level,\u201d and including leafy greens in meals is an excellent trick for improving kidney health. Meanwhile, berries with a red, blue or purple hue are rich in flavonoids and offer a wealth of health benefits, including lowering your risk of high blood pressure.<\/p>\n So, on to our weekly conclusion. You probably see the same messages cropping up in this newsletter. This is because, to the best of my knowledge, that\u2019s how health and fitness works: it doesn\u2019t change from week to week, it stays pretty sturdy, and the simple stuff continues to work wonders. <\/p>\n A simple fitness plan built around tried and trusted methods is good. A simple plan you can follow consistently is excellent. And an exercise routine and diet that\u2019s simple, consistent and enjoyable: that\u2019s the gold standard.<\/p>\n Get the Well Enough newsletter<\/p>\n