Every year, the fitness world rolls out a fresh batch of ‘must-do’ rules, miracle methods, and influencer-led routines that promise life-changing results.
Some are harmless.
Some are helpful.
And some… are best left in the past.
At AdMac Fitness, we’re big believers in training that fits real lives, delivers results, and doesn’t wreck your health in the process. So here are the fitness fads we’re happily leaving behind in 2026.
Waking Up at the Crack of Dawn
If you’re naturally an early riser — brilliant. Crack on.
But if you’re dragging yourself out of bed at 4:30 am because an influencer said it’s the only way to be disciplined, we’re not buying it.
Sleep is non-negotiable.
It’s when you recover, regulate hormones, build muscle, and support fat loss. Chronically cutting sleep just to squeeze in an early workout is counterproductive. You might get away with it for a short while, but eventually the cost of reduced sleep will outweigh the benefits of the early workouts.
A well-rested session beats a half-asleep dawn workout every time, and it’ll be a lot safer. When you’re tired, your technique and focus can suffer, which will impact your training significantly.
Rule of thumb:
Train when you can be consistent, energised, and focused — not when Instagram tells you to.
Starvation to Lose Weight
Let’s clear something up…
Here at AdMac Fitness we’re fans of fasting. We are not fans of starvation.
Fasting is:
Planned
Time-limited
Used strategically to improve insulin sensitivity, appetite control, and metabolic health
Starvation is:
Chronic under-eating
Driven by fear of food
A fast track to fatigue, hormone issues, muscle loss, and stalled progress
If you’re constantly exhausted, cold, irritable, and plateaued — that’s not ‘discipline’. That’s under-fueling. When you adopt this approach, you risk losing a lot of muscle, strength and injury resistance. These things are all hard to regain, so think carefully about your approach to fat loss.
Fat loss should support your health, not sabotage it.
Super-Long Workouts
If you’re resistance training for general health and fitness, but you're working out for two hours at a time, we’re willing to bet one of two things is happening:
You’re resting far too long between sets
You’re not training hard enough
Effective training is about quality, not duration. The goal is to stimulate muscle tissue across various movement patterns, joint ranges and resistance levels at an appropriate intensity. When you repeat this 3-4 times per week over a significant period of time, you’ll see huge benefits.
A focused 45-minute session:
With intent
Progressive loading
Minimal distraction
…will outperform a sluggish two-hour gym wander every day of the week. So this is your cue to get off your phone, get your head into the workout and enjoy the benefits of a focused session. Plus, you’ll have a lot more spare time for other activities as well!
Remember… Train hard. Train smart. Get out.
Traditional Body Part Splits (For Most People)
This one might ruffle a few feathers — but hear us out.
Unless you’re:
A competitive bodybuilder
With years of training behind you
And a very specific goal
You’re probably better off not training one body part per week. The research has shown this time and again over the years. More frequent stimulation of muscle tissue builds bigger muscles more quickly, reduces injury risk and helps to prevent muscle imbalances.
Full-body training or larger splits like push / pull / legs:
Stimulate muscles more frequently
Improve strength faster
Burn more calories overall
Fit real schedules far better
Training chest once every seven days isn’t optimal for most busy adults trying to get fitter, stronger, and leaner.
The theory with a traditional body part split is that you train one body part really hard, then it takes a week to recover before you train it again. The problem is, it simply doesn’t work like that. Tissue doesn’t need a whole week to recover, so it starts to catabolise before you train again.
Taking Thousands of Supplements
Supplements can be useful. - very useful in fact. They can also be massively overdone.
You don’t need a cupboard full of powders, pills, and potions to make progress. with your health and fitness. In fact, there’s a good chance that what you’re actually doing is wasting a lot of money.
For most people, this covers the bases:
Vitamin D (especially in the UK winters)
Anything beyond that should be purposeful, not panic-driven.
If you’re eating well, training properly, and sleeping enough, supplements should support the process — not replace it.
What We’re Actually Backing in 2026
So we’ve been through what we don’t believe in, and won’t be falling for, but what are we actually in support of? Here’s a list of what we like…
✔ Sustainable routines
✔ Smart programming
✔ Enough food to fuel training
✔ Enough sleep to recover
✔ Coaching, accountability, and consistency
Fitness doesn’t need to be extreme to be effective. It just needs to be done well.
If you want a training approach that cuts through the noise and actually fits your life, our AdMac Small Group Training does exactly that — expert coaching, structured sessions, and zero fads.
Train smarter. Feel better. Get results that last.
Want to improve your health and fitness? Let the AdMac Fitness Personal Trainers help…
AdMac Fitness has been helping the people of East London transform their health and fitness for nearly a decade.
We help people using tried and tested fitness approaches. Our expert team of personal trainers, based in both Bow and South Woodford can help you get a grip of your health forever. With our guidance and experience, you can relax knowing that your fitness journey is going to be guided by some of the best personal trainers in East London.
For more information on who we are, what we do and how we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, contact us on… 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Our locations are…
AdMac Fitness: Arch 457 Robeson St, London E3 4JA
AdMac Fitness South Woodford: Unit 4 Marlborough Business Centre, 96 George Lane, South Woodford, London, E18 1AD