1. Paralysis by Analysis is a Real Disease
Overthinking is heavily linked to materialism. We overcomplicate the trivial because we have nothing better to do. We have been demoted to consumers and employees. Our lives are so sterile and controlled that the only thing left for us to do without repercussions is hobby obsession.
The modifications that result from the over-engineering can seem cool and genius even, but they are unnecessary in the vast majority of scenarios that we find ourselves into.
The situation reminds me of bicycles. Where I live, mountain bikes are the most popular choice. Every bike store is full of them. Everyone rides them. If your stallion does not have a suspension of some sort, the other bikers make sure that you can feel their stares.
The manufacturers realized a long time ago that complexity sells better. This is why you see even baby bikes with full suspension.
There are two problems with that:
a. A cheap suspension does not work effectively. You are actually better off without it – less maintenance and overall annoyance.
b. The needs of most users do not require a suspension. It’s wiser to spend the extra money on a good set of tyres and rims rather than to buy cheap springs that do nothing other than add weight.
In short, cheap suspension bikes are trash while the expensive ones are for the pros. Most people are not in that category.
Same with AthleanX’s chronic overthinking. The people watching his videos are like the suspension maniacs who think that their bike is an ecological Batmobile. We love the extra complications, but they are a luxury rather than a necessity.
There are many ways to “tune” your push-ups, but does that tweaking actually offer any measurable advantage to performing the exercise the way you have always done it? In most cases, the answer is no. The same applies to the cable voodoo.
Sure, bro. Maybe flies from a special angle work more of your inner pec fibers, but the extra focus does not matter. It’s one of the variables that have no real output in the world.
2. Tricks for the camera?
There’s a reason why AthleanX rarely wears T-shirts – it’s part of his job description which indirectly requires him to showcase his muscular development and leanness.
He has a nice physique that people want. However, do you really think that he is implementing all of those tips in his actual routine? We can’t know for sure, but it seems doubtful. It would take five lifetimes to do all of that for an appreciable amount of time.
You have to understand how YouTube operates. Content creators have to produce videos indefinitely. Jeff is not an exception.
How many of the exercises and tweaks are present in AthleanX’s personal program and how many of them are just fillers for the next video? Are those strategies needed to get a similar physique? If he has built his body without those adjustments, why do I need them?
3. You aren’t special, bro.
“You gotta find your own way. Nothing works for everybody,” wrote a 15-year-old kid on a training forum before stealing money from his mom’s purse to buy creatine.
I am sorry but no. You don’t have muscles made out of otherworldly material that requires a powerful attack from a 20.87-degree angle in order to grow. You don’t need exercises designed specifically for you.
Everybody thinks they are special, but a bullet to the head says otherwise.
If something works for most people, it will most likely work for you too. If something doesn’t work for you, it neither does for the rest.
Naturals are not small because they consistently fail to find the right exercises and rep ranges. This isn’t the reason at all. Naturals look like naturals because they are natural. Arnold’s two-times-a-day-routine will not change that and neither will AthleanX’s overthought movements.
You are not trying to come up with a new original song or an idea for a multi-million dollar company. Originality is not needed here nor is it appreciated.
The goal is to work the muscular system, and since the body has been operating in the same fashion forever, creativity is nothing but unnecessary complexity.
Jesse, the man training under Jeff’s wing, has proved that. Jesse could have built his physique by doing push-ups, pull-ups and running on the off days.
4. You are fighting for a state of perfection that will never come.
Many tech maniacs spend an unreasonable amount of time analyzing the best phone to buy. They fill the voids opened by their short attention spans with unboxing videos and reviews. I have done it too and know how it ends – you are wasting your time.
Aside from the brands catering to the snobs, most producers offer the same thing for a similar price. Your life will not be much different if you choose one brand over the other.
Just a few years from now, your gadgets will be old monkey-see-monkey-do type of tech. This peculiarity renders the idea that you can buy something that’s perfect and be done with it forever obsolete.
The barbell nerds share the same sickness. We spent many hours looking for the perfect combination of sets and reps. We are seeking a mythical routine. We are like the girl waiting for the perfect man. As we all know, that man is not coming.
AthleanX’s palette of exercise fixes can make people feel that they are getting closer to perfection, but is this really the case?
Bro, it ain’t real. Three months from now you will still be looking…for something that is not there. The more you search, the less you find.
Who cares if your barbell curls are not done in the most optimal way to recruit your precious fibers?
Perfect or not, the results will be pretty similar anyway.
A very good article.
Keep up the good work 🙂
Perfect is the enemy of good
– Mark Rippetoe
Isn’t he just the enemy of spinal fluid? And ham?
Finally someone to call out his BS videos.
You are so brave to attack the biggest fitness channel on youtube, no body ever attack jeff before, but you know for sure that he is the best he isnt perfect though, but if anyone there is in the fitness industry u are going to listen to he should be jeff cavaliere, thanks anyway your content is great
Youtube muscle madness is the most repetitive and boring shit I’ve ever seen. All content is pretty much alike and the videos that are being made are exactly the same from a year ago. I used to watch this guy’s videos at some point in my own personal journey. If you follow him long enough, you realize that he repeats himself like every two years or so. He makes the same videos a little bit different and puts them up. Of couse by then, the audience is completely new so it feels fresh for this new herd of young people. So as long as new generations of muscle crazy young people come into the scene, the hits to his new but repetitive videos will continue and he will continue to make money out of it.
Now I am not actually criticizing the guy, because business-wise, I think the guy is pretty smart. And I know that he has a “physical therapy” degree. So he has some academic knowledge of the topic also. He is not just another “bro”. In some of his videos, he actually tries to teach newcomers how to prevent certain injuries, and I find this respectable. He also is not “buffed” like the other steroid-filled guys out there. I am not saying he is not using it, but at least his body seems somewhat achievable by natural standards.
All in all, even though I agree with you on the points you have made in your article, I think Jeff can be considered one of the “innocent” ones in the youtube muscle crew.
Just my two cents.
I make jokes, but honestly he seems to really know his business and I’ve gotten advice about form from AthleanX for free that has been great. Not enough focus on real form and that can make the difference between fun working out and jacked up joints.
Yet still one of the better Youtube channels out there with respect to healthy lifting.
He posts over recycled content over and over again it for the profit though…
Athlene may not promote health at a fundamental level. Again, I wrote the word “may”, which entails I might be wrong. Is it healthy to maintain such a low percentage body fat for such lengthy periods of time? Like, for years? He watches his weight, no doubt about it, but is that low body fat healthy over the long-term? He certainly has few stores of fat to draw upon if he ever needed to.
I’ve picked up a few good ideas for movements from the guy, things to keep my workouts different, changing, and interesting, but that’s about all I’ve got from him. Is he a paragon of health and fitness? I’d probably say “no”. I wouldn’t recommend his long-term low percentage of body fat to my brother or a close friend. I just can’t see how maintaining extremely low body fat like that is healthy over lengthy periods. (FYI: I’m 5’10 and 160-165 lbs., usually. Sometimes I’m 170 lbs.)
Jeff is able to maintain his look thanks to performance enhancing drugs.
“I’ve picked up a few good ideas for movements from the guy, things to keep my workouts different, changing, and interesting, but that’s about all I’ve got from him.”
What else did you expect to get from him?
The guy has a YouTube channel, he is kind enough to offer training advice for free. Take it if you want to take it, or do something else. No point in criticizing what he does.
“Tyres” instead of “tires”. Are you from England? Great article, as usual
Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.- Leonardo Da Vinci
Best angles are good only for fuck way way better some girls!
Thank you! NOONE is talking about this, let alone mentioning this guy, with any form of criticism or objection that is. Ur something else. Oh and jeff is not natty
Nr3. Made me laugh in Real life, thanks for improving my day
I would listen to the videos of AthleanX initially with rapt attention, after few weeks realised the BS pointed out by this article. Just recycled content with insignificant titbits to keep the channel going, Keep up the great work.
Hey Truth Seeker I have read your two books and a lot of your posts two years ago and some posts since that time. Your channel reeks of negativity and real pessimism. You might want to check out Inmendham on YouTube I believe you will enjoy that guy. It’s pessimism, atheism, evolution and antinatalism. There are two channels that make short clips with music and graphics to his speeches graytaich0 and AnomicIndividual87. There’s also gladiator war by CrownJules84
I’ve watched some videos of Inmendham. But I stopped.
Excellent article !
I don’t dismiss everything from Jeff because he has some truly helpful videos, but it’s just so ironic that for someone who preaches consistency he’s contradicting himself all the time. One day, he’s bashing bro split routines and the next he’s making a ”perfect biceps workout” video… How are you supposed to get through solid goals with this way of thinking? Must be really confusing for newbies.
I think his channel is more helpful to advanced lifters that are wise enough to only listen to individual advices when they want a specific improvement. Take what you need and leave the rest.
Thanks for the article. More people should read your stuff!
Honestly, I don’t dismiss everything from Jeff because he has some truly helpful videos, but it’s just so ironic that for someone who preaches consistency he’s contradicting himself all the time. One day, he’s bashing bro split routines and the next he’s making a ”perfect biceps workout” video… How are you supposed to get through solid goals with this way of thinking? Must be really confusing for newbies.
I think his channel is more helpful to advanced lifters that are wise enough to only listen to individual advices when they want a specific improvement. Take what you need and leave the rest.
Does anyone know how tall Athlean-X (I think his name is Jeff?) is?
He’s definitely fit, but something about his build makes him look pretty short.
Not to bash short guys, but it is much easier to look thick at 5’5″ vice 6’5″