“Wearing a sweat suit or plastic wrap will help me to lose weight”; and

other fitness myths debunked

 

There are as many old wives tales about exercise and fitness as there are about curing the common cold.  Arm yourself with the facts so that you are getting a safe and effective workout without second guessing yourself when someone gives you random and perhaps misguided information.  I have tried to include as many fitness myths as I could think of so that you are prepared to defend your workouts at any time.

 

 

MYTH:  If I am not sore from my workout I did not workout hard enough;  No Pain No Gain.
REALITY:  Exercising to the point of pain can actually cause you injury not a better physique. A workout should challenge you but stop before you get to the point of causing pain.

MYTH:  Stretching is not necessary.
REALITY:  By stretching after your workout you are increasing your range of motion for future training sessions, reducing post exercise muscle soreness and if you are into sports, you are increasing your ability to maneuver your body.

MYTH:  Stretching before a workout will help me prevent injury.
REALITY:  Pay special attention to this answer… NEVER stretch a cold muscle.  Think about a rubber band in a freezer.  It has no elasticity until it has been “thawed”.  This is similar to what your muscle is like prior to exercise.  You will possibly cause sprains, strains or tears if you stretch a cold muscle.  Always warm up prior to a stretch!

MYTH:  I need to work my lower abs to get rid of my beer belly.
REALITY:  There is only one sheet of muscle in the front of the abdominal area and it is called the rectus abdominus.  There is no separate muscle group for the lower abs.  To create the washboard effect, you need to work all four parts of the abs, and just as importantly, lose that excess fat which is hiding any results you should be seeing. 

MYTH:  I can make my thighs thinner and more toned with the use of the thigh machine at the gym.
REALITY:  This is a two part answer.  You cannot make one part of your body thinner with the use of any workout equipment.  To create a thinner body you must increase your caloric expenditure and reduce the size of your physique from all over.  You can create more toned muscles however with the use of equipment.

MYTH:  If I eat more protein, I will create bigger muscles.
REALITY: Muscle building is contingent upon two things, eating more than you burn and overloading the muscles.  According to American Dietetic Association, muscles need calories so eat a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat to create muscle.

MYTH:  A thousand crunches a day will ensure my six pack.
REALITY:  The layer of fat over your abdominals is what is preventing your six pack.  Do a few less crunches and spend some of that time doing cardio to burn fat.

MYTH:  I should workout one muscle group per workout.
REALITY:  The truth is it is very difficult to target only one muscle group.  When you perform a chest press, your triceps are taking on a fair amount of the workload.  Unless you are on equipment designed to target just one muscle, odds are your workouts include several assisting muscle groups.

MYTH:  Running is bad for the knees.
REALITY:  This one caught me by surprise.  Turns out, running actually helps to protect the knee joints from damage and pain.  A study conducted at Stanford University showed runners can expect to have 25% fewer musculoskeletal pain and less arthritis than non runners.

MYTH:  Yoga will help a bad back
REALITY:  The truth is gentle yoga may assist with a bad back but the more intense styles of yoga like Ashtanga or Bikram may actually cause more harm than good because the movements are adding pressure to a back which should not be in that position.

MYTH: Working out at a lower intensity helps to burn more fat.
REALITY: You lose weight because of how many calories you burn, not which type of calories are burned.  The more intense the work, the more calories burned. 

There you have it, top myths clarified.  You are now ready to stand your ground when someone comes up to you and says “you gotta do more sit ups if you ever wanna lose that beer gut”!

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By Christina Leon, Staff Writer