The fitness industry is HUGE and very profitable. And - mostly - full of shit. Also, their #1 target market is younger, insecure guys. I have been working out for 10+ years and I have made all these mistakes.

Assumption #1 - You need to get huge, jacked etc. Consequences of believing this: You will likely destroy that all important waist to shoulder proportion, maybe fuck up your health. The truth is that low body fat almost always wins in terms of looks. Celebs and even old school body builders and fitness models weigh a hell of a lot less than you think they do. They only look massive because they're lean. At the end of the day, if you are really muscular with low body fat, you will look fantastic. But, if you're only slightly muscular with low body fat, your proportions will be good and you will STILL look great (this is especially true for older guys). But no matter how muscular you are or aren't, if you're carrying a lot of fat, it will ruin your look. Much better to be a little on the thin side than be your average perma-bulking idiot who has bought into this bullshit and is forever "trying to get huge."

Assumption #2 - You CAN get huge. Consequences of believing this: Same as above. You will likely just get fat. A select few of us here might have the genetics to carry a lot of muscle while maintaining low body fat. For most of us however, that will be almost impossible without drugs. Let go of looking like some celebrity who has a different frame than you and may or may not be on the gear. Again, you don't NEED to be massive, to look really good. I bulked my way all the way to up to 200 pounds (naturally small guy). Sure I had more muscle then, but carrying around that much more than nature intended didn't suit my physique. Now I weigh a lean, proportional 165, everyone thinks I weigh more than that, and women respond a lot more now than they did then.

Assumption #3 - You need to stick to some ridiculous diet to be healthy. Consequences of believing this: An overly rigid existence, becoming food obsessed, maybe poor health and clogged arteries, and - AGAIN - getting fat. Who makes money off of high protein diets? Companies that sell protein powder, that's who. You know what diet NEVER made anyone money? "Eat less." Seriously, you don't need crazy amounts of protein. You don't need to eat 6 times a day. All of that is bullshit. Just eat less to get lean. You wanna pig out at Taco Bell? Fine. Just make sure you don't eat much else that day so your calories for the day are reasonable and - of course - don't do that every day. Try to consume a diet of mostly real food, go easy on the sugar and the junk, and track your calories. Same applies for gaining weight. That's all there is to it.

Assumption #4 - You need to workout all the time. Consequences of believing this: You won't be consistent in the gym (i.e. new year's resolution people), your life will become imbalanced. If you're very young, very new to the gym, have unreal genetics, are on the gear, or are being lazy when you DO hit the gym, you can get away with lifting 5 or 6 days a week. If that's NOT you, and you're hitting it hard every time, lifting that often is counterproductive. Most experienced natty's can lift hard 3 or (at the MOST) 4 times a week. My lazy ass lifts 3 times a week to maintain a good physique. Honestly, the more important variable is how much I eat.

Assumption #5 - Getting jacked will get you laid Being fit will make you confident, and THAT will get you laid, but honestly - once you hit height-weight proportionate - a lot of women don't care that much. Also, if being fit is your only hobby and all you have got going on, well you're not bringing much to the table.

Focus on getting as strong as possible while always keeping your proportions and body fat in check, stay there, and then find something besides fitness to obsess about. Good luck guys.

EDIT: Some of you who have been reading too much Muscle and Fitness think I'm small. Well.. you're exactly who I wrote this post for. Please read some articles on the limits of lean body mass for natural athletes. Those of you who think, "220lbs with a six pack is totally attainable if I just take some more creatine," need to do some research. Seriously, don't take my word for it. There are studies. There are formulas. Look it up. The reason most people resist this idea so strongly is because (1) most people are fatter than they want to believe and (2) feel disillusioned that they might never look like the geared up examples that are - unfortunately - everywhere in fitness. Those of you who have worked out long enough know this. Dude is vascular and big? Of course he's geared up. Sadly, the newbies often are unable to tell the difference between enhanced and natty (and maybe don't want to swallow that bitter red pill) and they are who the fitness industry makes money off of. Look up some studies. Don't be that guy.