“Knowledge is power” – Sir Francis Bacon
By Will Brink
The above title is one of the best-known expressions in the English language. It was true when it was penned by philosopher Sir Francis Bacon in 1597, and it’s true to this very day… It applies well to the issues of nutrition, supplements, and training, be it to gain muscle mass and strength, or to lose fat.
Can one make progress in their respective goals (e.g., losing bodyfat, gaining muscle mass, increasing strength, etc.) knowing essentially nothing about training, nutrition, or supplements? Maybe….If you do make any progress, it will be slow, hit or miss at best, and often the progress comes in spite of what you did, not because of it! Clearly, a base level of knowledge of a given topic – in this case nutrition, training, and supplements – is essential to obtaining one’s goals. Conversely, does this mean you need to be a rocket surgeon to make steady progress in losing fat or gaining strength and muscle mass? Of course not! As I said in my article on the K.I.S.S principle for making progress (1) :
