Top 5 Fitness Myths

Written by: Krista Reader

The fields of health, nutrition, and fitness are full of half-truths and misunderstood bits of information.  Sometimes this is due to the conflicting recommendations made by various health and exercise gurus, and other times the unfiltered nature of the internet can be responsible.  Regardless, health conscious folks are often left confused.  So let’s take a scientific approach to expose the top 5 of the most common misconceptions about fitness.

MYTH #1 – Weight training workouts make women bulky.  

This myth has kept women out of weight rooms for years. The truth is that there are two critical ingredients for serious muscle growth.  It comes down to diet and hormone levels.  Herculean results from weight training exercises only happen when there is a surplus of calories and high testosterone levels.  So if you’re a women and don’t make a habit of ingesting enough protein to satiate a professional football player, then stop worrying about getting “bulky” from weight training.  The majority of women simply don’t have the physiology to make it possible (there are pharmaceutically-enhanced exceptions).

MYTH #2 – Running is the best way to get in shape.

You might be hearing theme from Chariots of Fire right now, but the fact is that there is no one best way to exercise.  The effectiveness of any exercise program depends on individual fitness levels, interest, time availability, and access to gyms, parks, or fitness equipment.  Besides, “getting” into shape is just the beginning.  True health and fitness is achieved when we find activities that easily fit into our lifestyles, and in a way that we can “stay” in shape for the rest of our lives.  When you focus on exercise that you enjoy, it will be easy to be maintain for the long haul. 

MYTH #3 – Exercising allows you to eat whatever you want.

The dirty secret in the fitness industry is that DIET is actually more important than exercise when you’re looking to shed pounds and optimize your health.  Some experts estimate that what you eat will determine up to 80% of your results.  That leaves a measly 20% for exercise.  The exact breakdown is almost impossible to pinpoint, but the take home message is that there is no amount of exercise can offset a dietary intake packed with caloric-dense and nutritionally-deficient “food”.  Consider that it would take 5-6 hours of a spinning class to burn off the calories consumed in a typical meal at your local Mexican restaurant.  And that’s just to come out even, no weight gain and no weight lost.  A week’s worth of exercise for 1 meal hardly seems fair, but that’s the reality. 

MYTH #4 – Doing sit-ups and crunches will get rid of unwanted belly fat.

If it weren’t for the late night infomercials with magical pieces of equipment that will “slim and tone your midsection”, then exercise professionals wouldn’t have nearly as many inside jokes.  And that’s just about all those pieces of plastic and aluminum are good for – jokes between trainers that know better.  Deep down, we all realize that the promise of a six-pack of our dreams for just 8 minutes of squeezing and crunching is too good to be true.  The truth is that the muscle tone (how well you can see the muscles) of your midsection is completely dependent on overall body fat percentage.   And unfortunately, it’s not possible to pick and choose where your body will burn fat.  So you can do sit-ups until your blue in the face, all you’ll get in return is a sore low back and a tender tailbone.  If you’re serious about trimming your stomach, it mostly depend on ……wait for it…………diet.  Shocking, huh?

 MYTH #5 – Not sticking to an exercise program is a lack of self-discipline

Depending on the research study cited, somewhere between 50-80% of people who start an exercise program won’t stick it out.  Exercise adherence has been quite a popular research topic over the last few decades, with a heap of great insight coming from the findings.  As you might guess, the reasons that some people stay with an exercise program for the long haul while others don’t, has multiple interdependent factors.  However, amongst the reasons that programs aren’t completed is NOT a lack of self-discipline or will power.  Instead, the element of “Oh well, I’m just not disciplined enough” is a self-imposed label.  Blaming a character defect is easy and something we’re all good at, especially when uncovering the real reasons requires more work.  The truth is that even the most disciplined of us will run out of pure will power at some point.  There has to be something else fueling the desire to be healthy and fit.  If you’re having a tough time sticking with an exercise program, instead of blaming yourself, pick an activity you like, do it with some friends, and then establish a weekly routine that fits into your schedule.

 Victor Hall, Director Healthfit 4 Life