– By Jessy Hamawi
Whether it’s through the internet, radio or television, we always hear those latest fitness related tips to get flat abs or the best exercises for weight loss. While some might be true, there are plenty of misconceptions around and you might be following one without even knowing it.
Here are the top 10 biggest fitness myths debunked:
One of the common misconceptions is that lifting heavier weight will build size and strength while lifting with light weight and higher repetition will help shape and tone your muscles. The truth is that the only way to tone your muscles is by a calorie deficit which allows you to lose body fat. However, using lighter weights for higher reps will help you increase muscular endurance. Studies have shown that the 8-12 rep range is the most beneficial for strength and muscle gain.
The theory behind this is that high heart rates are not helpful for muscle gain, and therefore that cardio will actually “burn off” your hard earned muscle. There is some truth to the theory especially if you perform excessive cardio, like distance running, your body will shed some muscle in order to adapt to this exercise, especially without any strength training. But for the average person who weight trains 3 times a week and has a balanced cardio and lifting program, doing cardio isn’t going to cost the hard earned muscles.
Myth #8 – You Must Stretch Your Muscles Before Exercising
Researchers at Florida State University recently showed that stretching before a run makes the body about 5 percent less efficient, meaning that a person has to burn more energy in order to run at the same pace. In 2012, Italian researchers studying cyclists found evidence that toe-touching stretches change the “force-transmission properties of muscle fibers and alter the brain signals to muscle, reducing exercise efficiency by about 4 percent”.
Myth #7 – Women Who Lift Weights Will Bulk Up And Look Manly
In general, women have a fear of looking bulky and masculine. Compared to women, men tend to have 20 times or more the amount of testosterone levels needed for muscle gain. It’s important to keep in mind that female bodybuilders manage to gain all those enormous muscles through supplements and an extreme lifting regime. In addition to increasing metabolism, decreasing risk of osteoporosis and increasing strength, strength training will help you lose body fat percentage!
Myth #6 – To Get A Flat Stomach, You Have To Do Crunches Everyday
The only way to get a flat stomach is to get rid of the fat around the midsection and this is accomplished by the combination of doing cardio to burn calories, strength training in order to increase the metabolism and following a proper diet. Abdominal exercises should be trained just like any other major muscle group and by training them will help build those muscles in your midsection, but you will never see the muscle definition unless the fat in this area is stripped away.
Myth #5 – Calories Are Not That Important, It’s All About Portion Control
Even with the many weight loss apps today, some people find it very intimidating to count the calories they consume. The theory that just by eating a small portion of certain foods people can lose weight might be true in some cases but not always. In order to lose weight, caloric deficit should be established, which means one must take in fewer calories than calories burned. Counting calories has been proven necessary for weight loss.
Myth #4 – To Lose Fat, Your Heart Rate Should Stay In The Fat-Loss Zone During A Workout
One of the most common myths out there is that of the fat burning zone. Essentially, it has been recommended that a person should perform aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, swimming at a low intensity in order to increase the fat oxidation and fat loss. The fat burning zone target exercise intensity varies but is usually 50-60% of your maximal heart rate, which is simply calculated as 220 – your age.
Usually, a person tends to have the lowest heart rate while resting; therefore, the highest percent of calories from fat are burnt while at rest. The reason for that is because high-intensity exercises burn more total complete calories. Your body and your muscles need calories in order to build and maintain themselves.
Myth #3 – No Pain, No Gain!
Exercise should not be painful no matter what the intensity is! At the height of your workout, you should be sweating and breathing hard, however you should not be out of breath to the point that you cannot answer a question. That’s how you know you are working at a good level. It’s important to distinguish between muscle fatigue and muscle/joint pain which is a sharp and uncomfortable pain during movement. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that you’re doing something wrong. Listen to your body: if it’s painful, make sure to stop immediately.
Myth #2 – To Target That Area, Focus On That Particular Area
Spot reduction is simply the idea that if you work a specific muscle group you will decrease the amount of fat in that area. The most common example is focusing on abdominal exercises to lose the weight around their midsection. Spot-reduction is not possible without surgery; your body will draw fat from different regions at different rate depending on genetics, sex hormones and age. Even though fat is lost or gained throughout the whole body, sometimes it seems that the first area to gain it and the last area to become lean are the midsection, hips and thighs.
Myth #1 – If You Are Lifting You Will Most Likely Gain Weight
When you first start weight training, it’s common to gain some weight because lifting stimulates the body to build lean muscle which helps in increasing your metabolic rate. But the muscle that you are gaining also contains a large amount of water which in turn can cause water retention. After a week or two of weight training, you might jump on a scale and notice that you’re heavier than when you first started. However, after a few weeks, your body will start to melt the fat away and your muscles will make you look leaner. If you’re noticing your clothes fitting looser yet you are weighing more, don’t be alarmed, muscle is denser and takes up less space than body fat. That’s why a smaller, more muscular person may weigh more than a bigger person with more fat.
Sources:
- Yoke, Mary M. Personal Fitness Training: Theory & Practice. 2006
- Karp, Jason. IDEA Fitness: Weight Training Q & A. July 2003 http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/weight-training
- Cook, Gray. Athletic Body in Balance. 2003
- National Academy of Sports Medicine. NASM Essentials of Personal Training. 2007