There is a lot of bro-science around. Mind you - this is not new. When I started training in 1981 - our training program was entirely based on "copying what we heard&saw". There was not internet yet and access to (foreign) books about training was marginal. I still have some books I bought at the time which I found at an import shop in Eindhoven where I studied. My first real training book was Arnold life story - with some programs in it.
There is a difference though between then and now. Our bro-science was based on what we saw people doing in the gym - and I had the luckily experience that at the first gym that opened in Terneuzen (Sandow, ran by Krijn Dobbelaar) - there was a real coach to show us things. The approaches we picked up were simple and not disputed - we just worked out asses off - not looking for shortcuts.
In todays world with all the social media the information overflow is just massive - and it is near a day task to filter sense from non-sense. What is an interesting phenomena is that the real good information on weight training and conditioning principles already exist since the 1960-s in writen form. And books by Bomba, Mel Cunningham Siff and Yuri Verkhoshansky that came out at the end of the last century are real "bibles". Not many people have the cunjos to actually read these books though - they are indeed also not easy to digest - and it is easier to sit back and listen to a you-tuber shouting into the camera declaring the new cure-all. Recently Louie Simmons of Westside barbell did the world a big favour in popularizing the essence of such books into a "system".
With my 37 years lifting experience I realize that I learned a few of things:
I know quite a few methods - but for sure not all - that work well
I know many more things about what not to do, what does not work
Since I am very aware that the more I know, the more I know what I don't know - I keep educating myself. I do this a lot by self study (yeah - read a lot). And of course have the privilige to be able to experiment with my ATC Athletes (dont tell them I am using them as gym-rats). I must have over 100 books in our ATC library now - and members can borrow them.
Many of the programs that I digitise into our XPS coaching platform are inspired by what I learned and beg, steal and borrow from good sources. Seeing the results for instance in our power lift team - creating a handfull of over 200kg squatters and a few over 250 kg squatters in a few years time - is a very satisfying experience for me.
I am now teaching intermediate and advanced level athletes how to fully use the conjugate way of training - hence the reading material pictured here !