Bro science remains undefeated. To many lifters and gym goers, bro science has a better track record in yielding exceptional results in the gym over empirical evidence.
You may have heard lifters talk about bro science in both a positive and negative light.
The more science-oriented crowd may scoff at Bro scientists for some of their claims — which lack supporting, peer-reviewed evidence.
Likewise, bros will poke fun at radical empiricists whose epistemology begins and ends with clinical trials, dismissing their lived experience, instincts and gut as unscientific.
Whichever side of the fence you lie, it cannot be denied that bro science has been influential in the lives of many.
I have used Bro Science to great effect in my life.
Before doing my own research into various topics, seeds planted by bro scientists allowed me to steer clear of topics supported by vast swathes of the scientific community, some of which have gained notoriety, others which are more taboo.
One of the problems of bro science perhaps lies in the fallacious stereotype of the dumb meathead.
And because meatheads and jocks are “dumb”, their bold assertions should be dismissed out of hand.
In actuality, many of the most successful lifters are among the most educated individuals out there.
A flashy university degree isn’t always as useful as painstaking independently conducted trial and error at an iron temple.
And although some of their claims aren’t substantiated by current science, science is an epistemological method — subject to constant change.
Concerns postulated by the Bro Science community are often gut instincts where mainstream science has failed to deliver the facts or where controversies have arisen.
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What is Bro Science?
Bro science can change from lifter to lifter.
It is a growing compendium of the lifters community collective consciousness.
All of their acquired knowledge through experience and ratiocination, distilled into YouTube videos and obscure esoteric blogs.
It can be actionable yet controversial advice as “try diet and exercise before seeing a therapist” to “carbs make you fat” to “Deadlifts are all you need to make your back grow” to “sun your balls.”
Some Bro Science that can lead to positive changes but lack supporting evidence would be “No-Fap” or “Semen Retention”.
But the success enjoyed by this narrative could be backed by adherents abandoning p*rn consumption — which has been shown to cause positive psychological and neurological benefits.
Whatever you believe, there may be maxims thrown out there into the internet ether that will resonate with you.
Good Bro Science
One of the problems with scientists and the peer review process is that they are just as corruptible as anyone else — and I’m tired of pretending that they aren’t.
Big businesses can easily bribe underfunded scientists to run experiments that yield data favorable to whichever product they’re pushing.
Let’s not be so naive.
We are human, we aren’t perfect, we’ve all gotta eat.
Perhaps the greatest example of this is the mainstreaming of seed oils.
Bro science dictates that seed oils are bad for you
How come 60 years ago there were low rates of chronic illnesses and anxiety/depression, yet today it’s ubiquitous?
What is the common denominator?
What changed?
Well, seed oils are notoriously pro-inflammatory. Chronic inflammation can lead to both chronic illnesses AND anxiety/depression.
Look at any food packaging and you will see seed oils such as canola oil, palm oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil added to the ingredients.
The switch from animal-based fats such as tallow, lard, and butter as our main cooking fats to seed oils wasn’t just accepted overnight because it was right.
No, it needed help from the scientific community to gain legitimacy.
And now the pharmaceutical industry makes billions every year off chronic illnesses and handing out SSRI’s like ecstacy tablets at a warehouse rave in the early 90s.
Instead of relying on data sets, bro scientists inferred that seed oils — high in Omega 6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids — would offset our natural Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratios, potentially causing a host of problems due to its pro-inflammatory nature.
They hypothesized that seed oils could lead to a host of issues due to this.
Some bro scientist have made remarks suggesting that seed oils are responsible for modern mental health issues such as anxiety and depression due to gut inflammation.
Now, there are other factors afoot such as Ultra-Processed Foods (often synthesized with seed oils) and corn or soy-fed livestock that have skewed Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratios.
But it doesn’t end there.
Bro science has made another prescient call aside from seed oils.
The other is soy.
The term “soy boy” has begun to enjoy mainstream popularity as a pejorative to describe a weak man.
There is even a popular viral meme known as the “Soyjak” that has permeated into pop culture of a tearfully enraged emasculated man with a weak hairline often depicted as expressing his disapproval at certain current events.
I won’t delve too deeply into the details, but several years ago, before soy’s potent phytoestrogenic effects became more publicized, bro scientists of all stripes decried soy consumption in spite of its rich protein content for this reason.
Whether or not you believe in the effects of soy on the male endocrine system, you heard it first from bro science — putting bro science ahead of the curve.
However, Bro Science has sometimes crossed over into a quasi-mystical realm that has turned many off from its messages.
Bad Bro Science
There a examples of bad Bro Science which gain mythical status in small esoteric online communities.
One salient recent example is how certain influencers tried to state a case arguing that excessive water consumption could lead to dehydration.
Another from the other side of the Bro Science spectrum applied misreadings of biased studies to conclude that more than 50-70g of protein per day was unnecessary.
Many of these guys were told to simmer down when their lack of muscularity failed to support their findings.
Some influencers have tried to argue that fermented foods such as kimchi or kefir could cause gut issues, others have argued that carbs “make you fat” due to their insulinogenic nature — while entirely overlooking calories in calories out and the fact that all food consumption is insulinogenic to some degree.
Even pro-athletes with substantial frames made outlandish claims suggesting that they had “negative body fat”, when it is impossible to get below around 3% without sharply increasing your risk of death.
How to Implement Good Bro Science Into Your Life
It doesn’t just end with crazy workouts or unsubstantiated myths about certain foods, but anecdotal evidence based on reason, instinct, and bros who devote their bodies as guinea pigs for the furtherance of bro science can be a net positive to your life.
Now, it will require common sense on your part — you will need to be able to spot bad bro science.
Discard bad bro science based on your reasoning abilities.
If it sounds too wild to be true, it probably is. For example,
You should evaluate your bro science as to whether it is grounded in known fact. You cannot break the laws of thermodynamics, a calorie deficit is the only way to lose fat, therefore steak and eggs for breakfast will help you lose fat due to their high satiety index and in keeping you in a calorie deficit.
There’s nothing magical in some of these prescriptions, per se, but these commonly accepted bro science truths are very much grounded in reality.
While there are some crazy claims out there, much of what bro science offers is often scientific fact but expounded and twisted to the experience of bros. In other words, it works — it just lacks the peer review.
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Bro Science I’ve Added to My Life
“You are what you eat — chicken is a nervous bird”
Do you want to become as big and strong as an ox? Then eat beef.
Sounds ludicrous to many and primitive to others.
But there’s more than a modicum of truth to this.
Some Pacific Island tribesmen believed that by consuming their rival leaders, they would absorb their power. By extension, some might find it hard to believe in such primitive reasoning.
Having said that, on a material level, beef will make you more powerful due to its mineral and higher saturated fat content.
Chicken, on the whole, is a nervous bird and doesn’t offer you the same power as beef.
Why?
Because most lifters consume chicken breast with has very little fat, few calories, and its nutritional profile is dwarfed by beef.
Eggs are a whole different matter.
On a metaphysical level, eggs are a potentiality of life — which is why they boast greater power to those who consume them.
But eggs also contain much cholesterol (a precursor to testosterone), saturated fat, and are one of the most nutritionally dense foods out there.
And what about Salmon?
Bro, bears eat salmon and they are some of the strongest mammals on the land.
Case closed.
So go on, add some bro science into your life (within reason) — you won’t regret it.
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