There’s a growing demand for science-based research in the health and fitness industry, which I view as a very good thing. Science based on the training of your average gym rat, rather than those conducted on 70-year-old men doing three sets of leg extensions, will better reflect what works and what doesn’t for the millions of those people practicing a healthy lifestyle nowadays. And that number is only growing larger by the day.

There are studies being conducted and a contingent of experts at the leading edge of this trend, including a large number of those mentioned on this list. I pay particularly close attention to DH Keifer and Bret Contreras, who both practice what they preach and cater to those looking for muscle gains, not just the skinny fit look a lot of today’s popular exercise programs lead to.

But let’s try not to get too lost in the science through all this. Often what works for one’s unique genetic make-up may not work for another, so blanket statements or averages based on a group of individuals in a study is just that – one sampling. You show me one study that says a high protein diet is the only way to grow and I’ll show you another that contradicts those findings. It’s a circular argument that never truly ends.

So, what am I getting at with all this? Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing health and fitness becoming more mainstream (trendy is the word), but what newcomers looking to change their bodies need to know is this lifestyle isn’t easy. It takes commitment and one secret ingredient science can’t explain … hint: it’s inside of you.

Often what separates those who continually improve from those who stagnate is PASSION, and that applies to everything in life. So if you want to get healthier, shed some pounds and keep them off, you need an unwavering drive to succeed in the gym and the kitchen. That will to dig out another two reps when your body is telling you to give up. That simply cannot be explained in a PUBMED authored study. That comes from within. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls it The Spark. Do you feel it?

Once you find that there’s no turning back.