There is a lot of garbage fitness advice out there. This is not a secret.

As a coach who actually cares about results, this creates a specific problem: I spend a significant portion of my time helping people unlearn nonsense before we can get to the work that matters.

So how do you know who to trust?

The one trait every good coach shares

It is not credentials. It is not follower count. It is not years of experience, although that helps.

It is Shoshin — the beginner’s mind.

This concept comes from Zen Buddhism and is deeply embedded in Japanese martial arts. The core idea: let go of the ego and become a permanent student. Approach every topic, every method, every conversation as if you might learn something new.

Simple to say. Genuinely difficult to practice, because it requires you to hold your beliefs loosely — including the ones you are certain about.

The fastest way to stop improving

Have you ever said “I already know how to do that”?

That is the trap.

It is not about being right or wrong. It is about being closed. The moment you stop being genuinely open to new information — especially information that challenges what you already believe — you have stopped improving. The ego has taken over, and the ego is not interested in growth. It is interested in being right.

The technical term is confirmation bias: seeking out information that validates existing beliefs while dismissing contradictory evidence. Comfortable. Also a reliable way to stay exactly where you are.

What the beginner’s mind actually looks like

A good friend used to talk trash about CrossFit — never tried it, just decided it was stupid. He eventually gave it an honest shot. He has not looked back.

Was CrossFit suddenly the greatest training method ever invented? Not necessarily. But he put his assumptions aside, engaged with something outside his prior framework, and came out a better athlete for it.

That is what the beginner’s mind produces. Not gullibility — discernment. You do not have to accept everything you are exposed to. You just have to stay genuinely open long enough to actually learn something.

I am a fan of CrossFit. I have also spent years pulling ideas from powerlifting, military physical training doctrine, endurance coaching, and movement practice — because all of them have something worth knowing. If I only ever read things that confirmed what I already believed about training, I would be a worse coach today than I was ten years ago.

The principle behind brilliance in the basics works the same way — mastery is not about knowing the most esoteric stuff, it is about relentlessly refining fundamentals with fresh eyes, as if you could still improve them.

A challenge worth taking

Pick a source you normally dismiss and engage with it seriously for two weeks.

If you are a CrossFitter, run a bodybuilding program for a month. If you are a long-distance runner, cut your mileage and work on speed. If you think mobility work is a waste of time, do it every day for thirty days and track what changes.

In most cases you will find something useful. At minimum, you will understand the approach well enough to have an informed opinion instead of a reflexive one.

That is what separates coaches and athletes who keep improving from the ones who plateau and blame the program.

Stay a student. It is the only way this works.