“You need 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight to build muscle”
Verdict: Partly true
More protein helps lifters, but gains level off near 1.6 g/kg, about 0.7 g per pound, making 1 g per pound a generous ceiling.
Checked Oct 2026
Fitness claims from your feed, checked against the studies.
We take the fitness rules that travel fastest on TikTok, Instagram and gym forums and check them against meta-analyses and official guidelines. Six sentences per claim, the numbers drawn, every study linked.
The scoreboard
- Claims checked
- 8
- Sources read
- 38
- HOLDS UP (Holds up)
- 0
- PARTLY (Partly true)
- 4
- NOPE (Doesn’t hold up)
- 4
- UNCLEAR (Too early to say)
- 0
Sources are meta-analyses, systematic reviews and official guidelines. Newest evidence: 2026.
The verdicts
Eight viral claims, each stamped after reading the pooled evidence. Open a card for the six-sentence check, the charts and every source.
Showing 8 of 8 claims
“10,000 steps a day is the magic number”
Verdict: Partly true
More steps are linked to lower risk of early death, but most of the benefit arrives by 7,000 to 8,000 steps.
“Creatine is just water weight, and it hurts your kidneys”
Verdict: Doesn’t hold up
Creatine holds a little water at first, but with lifting it adds real lean mass, and trials show no kidney harm in healthy people.
“Ab workouts burn belly fat”
Verdict: Doesn’t hold up
Training a muscle does not meaningfully burn the fat over it; regular whole-body exercise is what reduces belly fat.
“Cardio kills your gains”
Verdict: Doesn’t hold up
Adding cardio to lifting does not reduce muscle growth or maximal strength on average, though same-session cardio can blunt explosive power.
“You have to train to failure to grow”
Verdict: Partly true
Hard sets that end close to failure help growth, but actually reaching failure is not required for most people.
“Cold plunges after lifting speed up your gains”
Verdict: Doesn’t hold up
Cold plunges can ease soreness, but taken right after lifting they tend to slightly blunt gains in muscle size and strength.
“Fasted cardio burns more fat”
Verdict: Partly true
Fasted cardio burns more fat during the workout itself, but over weeks it has not led to more fat loss than fed cardio.
How we check
The same three steps for every claim. The full rules, including what we won’t do, are on the method page.
Step 1
Spot the claim
We note the fitness rules that keep coming back on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and gym forums. We don’t quote or name the people who post them.
Step 2
Read the pooled evidence
Meta-analyses, systematic reviews and official guidelines come first. Every number is traced to the abstract or full text it came from: 38 sources so far.
Step 3
Call it in six sentences
Six sentences, the key numbers drawn as charts, and a plain verdict stamp. Caveats and sources sit on every page.
Four stamps, one scale
Each stamp says how much of the claim, as people usually post it, the best evidence supports. The meter shows the same thing in four segments.
- Verdict: Holds up
Holds up
The best evidence supports the claim as people usually state it.
0 of 8 claims
- Verdict: Partly true
Partly true
Part of it holds up, but the number, the scope or the certainty is off.
4 of 8 claims
- Verdict: Doesn’t hold up
Doesn’t hold up
The best evidence contradicts the claim, or the effect is too small to matter.
4 of 8 claims
- Verdict: Too early to say
Too early to say
There isn’t enough good evidence yet to call it either way.
0 of 8 claims
Heard it on a reel? Check it here before you try it.
Browse all claims