The exercise and fitness industry is always changing, as we continue to come up with new and engaging exercises and learn more about how our bodies will respond information is constantly going in and out of date. It can get confusing and hearing lots of people say different things can leave one wondering who to believe and what to do.
The best advice I can offer is go with reputable sources and follow research/ ideas that you hear on a more consistent basis from many different sources and qualified people. There is a lot of bias out there and people will often talk about what works for them, in the end do what works best for you and your goals but keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to try new things! Here are some common fitness myths …
The idea is to prepare your muscles for exercise and reduce your risk of injury. Static stretching prior to exercise has been shown to actually increase your risk of injury, pulling hard on a cold muscle can lead to pulling a muscle or even tearing it. By stretching the muscle you are releasing the tension from it, which decrease the overall ability, and efficiency in which the muscle can perform, requiring you to work harder to achieve the same result.
Try doing more dynamic stretches such as swinging your arms, doing Frankenstein walks or even basic exercises such as lunges and squats for warm up. Here you are actively contracting and engaging the muscle as well as producing the heat. Your warm up should be similar to your planned workout but at a lower intensity. Hence don’t run to warm up if you plan on doing pull ups for your workout.
2. I can target fat loss.
A common myth is that one can “spot reduce” fat by doing exercises that target specific areas, such as crunches to target belly fat. In reality all this will do is squish your fat but you won’t do much to burn it. No matter the type of exercise your body will take always take the fat from the most readily available stores.
If you are really motivated to lose weight and burn lots of fat. Focus on doing compound exercises or exercises that engage many different muscle groups at the same time. Incorporate cardio, High Intensity Interval Training and Strength Training for a comprehensive workout. Not only will you able to accomplish more during your training session but your body will be working much harder and require more energy to accomplish the task.
3. I exercise so I can eat whatever I want and still look good.
There’s nothing wrong with having an occasional naughty treat, nobody ever said you have to stick to the ultra strict, impossible diets that people always seem to look down at you for not being on. Having said that exercise is one half of the effort required to accomplish your goals, no matter if it’s weight loss, increased performance or maintenance. Eating a healthy diet is important not just for your health but it makes all the sweat and work from exercise worth the effort.
4. To burn fat you must keep your heart rate in a “fat burning zone”
There is a metabolic process that holding your heart rate at a certain level leads to increased use of fat as an energy source but it’s not the only way you can burn fat. Each and every form of exercise can lead to fat loss, it just depends on how effective the exercises and your effort actually is, how hard your workout and if you are changing up your routine constantly to keep your body engaged. Aerobic/ cardio based exercise such as running, cycling, hiking, walking or swimming. High Intensity Interval Training, strength training and even core/ flexibility. It is important to adapt a program that contains all these components to have a comprehensive program that will certainly help contribute to fat loss. 5. After my workout I must take all these different supplements, powders and pills to see results.
No you don’t. That is the result of clever marketing and manipulation from supplement companies to sell more product and make money. In reality anything and everything that those supplements provide can be easily found in typical every day foods. Just because the gym bunny next to you has cases of protein powder, creatine, multivitamins and blah blah blah doesn’t mean you need all that stuff. Simply eating well rounded, comprehensive, diverse and healthy foods throughout your day can provide more than enough nutrients for your body, certainly more than any supplement can provide.
6. A Calorie is a calorie.
Not quite, calories come from 4 different sources. Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein and Alcohol each of which contain different amounts of calories per gram (Carbs and Protein 4kcal per gram, Alcohol 7kcal per gram, Fat 9kcal per gram). Not only does your body process each source differently but utilizes them different as well. A lot of foods, particularly processed foods are very calorie dense but don’t offer much in terms of vitamins, minerals or even water. Consuming foods that are more nutrient dense (high in vitamins, minerals and water) not only help your body process the food more efficiently but the calories will be more utilized rather than stored. Remember that different foods contain different nutrients as well so simply just consuming a food based on the calorie content is not enough.
7. Alcohol is a carb.
No it isn’t, alcohol is alcohol. A lot of alcoholic drinks often contain extra flavorings, colorings and such that are often full of sugar and can increase the overall calorie content of your alcoholic beverage by adding unnecessary carbs. However like in #6, Carbs contain 4kcals per gram whereas Alcohol contains 7kcal per gram. Alcohol isn’t considered a nutrient since it doesn’t have any real nutritional value or benefit/ use to your body. The recommendations you see for “healthy” alcoholic drinks come down to what is actually added into the alcohol, but not the alcohol itself.
8. Running, squats, lunges etc. is bad for your knees and joints.
This is a common myth and a common excuse for people who simply don’t like to run. Joint issues are more contributed to lack of strength within the joint as well as the increased stressed and pressure on the joint, usually due to excessive body weight. Exercises like running itself doesn’t result in joint issues, in fact it is actually good for you however ensuring that you are using proper technique and form are crucial to prevent injuries. When starting a new program or getting back into it, many people are often so excited that they unwittingly push to hard in the beginning, more than the body can handle and this is also will lead to injuries. You know your body best but it is important to remember that you don’t have to be as fast as Usain Bolt or run a marathon on your first week, it’s important to build up your strength and allow your body to adjust on the new demands you are putting on it.
There are hundreds of myths out there; these are some of the common ones I always hear. Let me know if you have any myths you want to bust, leave a comment here and let me know!
David Smith is the owner of Stonewall Fitness, holds a degree in exercise science from Metropolitan State University of Denver and holds several fitness certifications including ACSM Personal Trainer and Group Fitness.
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