Myths
The Top 10 Myths About Exercise…
26/11/09 17:41
The Top 10 Myths About Exercise…
1. No pain, no gain…
Not so. You don’t have to work out as if you’re being chased by a lion to reap the rewards of exercise. Exercising with a moderate amount of intensity can work just as well: brisk walking, doing the gardening or hoovering round the house, for instance, can be just as beneficial.
The key is to make sure that your pace is at a moderately intense level. The only difference between high and low intensity exercise is time.
You can run intensely for 20 minutes or walk moderately for double the time. Close to the same amount of calories burnt - just that one takes longer than the other.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/wstryder)
2. Using the gym is the best way to fitness…
No. Not true. It’s ONE of many ways. Ultimately, it’s down to each individual and what works for them. Everyone’s different: someone might find the gym to be the best way for them to keep fit, and others might find working out at home to be more conducive. Some might find that power walking in the fresh air works brilliantly for them.
What’s the best way is what works best for YOU and what you can stick to with some degree of regularity. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/lobsterstew)
3. Spot reducing works…
The use of a particular exercise to focus on a specific part of the body in order to reduce fat in that area does not work.
This is known as spot reducing.
Muscles take residence underneath the fat layers. If you go on an abdominal machine and exercise like a beast, it’ll tone your muscles alright, but it won’t get rid of the surplus fat in that area. Not unless you lost weight.
However, even if you lost weight (congratulations!), where you actually lose it from boils down to your genes and what Mother Nature gave you. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/smomashup1)
4. If the workouts stop, muscle turns to fat …
You know, a lot of people say and believe that. However, the whole muscle-into-fat thing is not true. Muscle is to fat what apples are to oranges. Neither one can turn into each other (unless you have a genie) as they’re completely poles apart.
What would likely happen if you stopped working out is that the lack of exercise would reduce your muscle size, but that’s about it. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/macsurak)
5. If you’re a woman, doing weights will make you bulky…
Only if you have as much testosterone as a man has. Men produce far more of the stuff than women do – waaaay way more (two-thirds more) – which is why men can get bulky quite quickly.
In order for a woman’s body to border on Mr Universe proportions, she’d need to do an insane amount of more weights than your regular Jane and couple it with steroid intakes.
So don’t worry, do the weights. When you look in the mirror, it’s likely you won’t have Mr Terminator staring back at you. Weights are good for you. They make you look lean and toned. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/spine)
6. Pound for pound, muscle weighs more than fat…
Some people believe that muscle is heavier than fat. However, that is soooo not true. Pound for pound, muscle and fat weigh exactly the same. No difference whatsoever.
However, the really cool thing with muscle is that it doesn’t need as much space as fat. No siree. Uh-uh. Pound for pound, muscle takes up three times less space than fat (hence the leaner look).
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/sylvar)
7. Getting into exercise involves a total life overhaul…
Erm, not really. No total overhaul required. Just look at what you already do and try and introduce small changes into your daily routine. It could be walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift. Or you might decide to get off the bus two stops early and walk the rest. Or you could take the dog for a walk 10 minutes longer than you usually do. Tidy up the house or mow the lawn with a bit more pace than usual.
By introducing these mini-activities into your daily routine, you’ll be exercising without even noticing, but doing your body the world of good.
It all adds up.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/perfectoinsecto)
8. Exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat…
Sooo not true. On the contrary, it might actually have the opposite effect and stop you from losing any weight. Here’s how. If there’s nothing in your stomach, you simply will not have the energy you need to exercise in the first place. No energy, no exertion, no exercise, no weight loss.
At the very minimum, have a small banana or a cup of juice before working out. You need something in your stomach.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/revjim5000)
9. Leaning on an exercise machine is fine. My workout will still come up trumps
No, it won’t. It’s really not advisable to lean on a machine while you’re working out because you really run the risk of injury to yourself as well as learnt bad posture.
You’ll also get a lower quality workout because leaning on the machine means your body isn’t actually putting in as much work. In addition to that, it’ll prove to be a waste of the time you’ve invested into your workout.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/sashawolff)
10. It’s important to stretch before a workout…
No, it’s important to warm up BEFORE stretching. Always. Cold muscles should never be stretched – to do that can potentially lead to injury and impact the strength of your muscles for some time afterwards.
The muscles really need to be warm first. The best thing to do is warm up and then stretch before a workout – or just warm up pre-workout then do the stretching after working out.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/brenbot)
1. No pain, no gain…
Not so. You don’t have to work out as if you’re being chased by a lion to reap the rewards of exercise. Exercising with a moderate amount of intensity can work just as well: brisk walking, doing the gardening or hoovering round the house, for instance, can be just as beneficial.
The key is to make sure that your pace is at a moderately intense level. The only difference between high and low intensity exercise is time.
You can run intensely for 20 minutes or walk moderately for double the time. Close to the same amount of calories burnt - just that one takes longer than the other.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/wstryder)
2. Using the gym is the best way to fitness…
No. Not true. It’s ONE of many ways. Ultimately, it’s down to each individual and what works for them. Everyone’s different: someone might find the gym to be the best way for them to keep fit, and others might find working out at home to be more conducive. Some might find that power walking in the fresh air works brilliantly for them.
What’s the best way is what works best for YOU and what you can stick to with some degree of regularity. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/lobsterstew)
3. Spot reducing works…
The use of a particular exercise to focus on a specific part of the body in order to reduce fat in that area does not work.
This is known as spot reducing.
Muscles take residence underneath the fat layers. If you go on an abdominal machine and exercise like a beast, it’ll tone your muscles alright, but it won’t get rid of the surplus fat in that area. Not unless you lost weight.
However, even if you lost weight (congratulations!), where you actually lose it from boils down to your genes and what Mother Nature gave you. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/smomashup1)
4. If the workouts stop, muscle turns to fat …
You know, a lot of people say and believe that. However, the whole muscle-into-fat thing is not true. Muscle is to fat what apples are to oranges. Neither one can turn into each other (unless you have a genie) as they’re completely poles apart.
What would likely happen if you stopped working out is that the lack of exercise would reduce your muscle size, but that’s about it. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/macsurak)
5. If you’re a woman, doing weights will make you bulky…
Only if you have as much testosterone as a man has. Men produce far more of the stuff than women do – waaaay way more (two-thirds more) – which is why men can get bulky quite quickly.
In order for a woman’s body to border on Mr Universe proportions, she’d need to do an insane amount of more weights than your regular Jane and couple it with steroid intakes.
So don’t worry, do the weights. When you look in the mirror, it’s likely you won’t have Mr Terminator staring back at you. Weights are good for you. They make you look lean and toned. (img credit: flickr.com/photos/spine)
6. Pound for pound, muscle weighs more than fat…
Some people believe that muscle is heavier than fat. However, that is soooo not true. Pound for pound, muscle and fat weigh exactly the same. No difference whatsoever.
However, the really cool thing with muscle is that it doesn’t need as much space as fat. No siree. Uh-uh. Pound for pound, muscle takes up three times less space than fat (hence the leaner look).
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/sylvar)
7. Getting into exercise involves a total life overhaul…
Erm, not really. No total overhaul required. Just look at what you already do and try and introduce small changes into your daily routine. It could be walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift. Or you might decide to get off the bus two stops early and walk the rest. Or you could take the dog for a walk 10 minutes longer than you usually do. Tidy up the house or mow the lawn with a bit more pace than usual.
By introducing these mini-activities into your daily routine, you’ll be exercising without even noticing, but doing your body the world of good.
It all adds up.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/perfectoinsecto)
8. Exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat…
Sooo not true. On the contrary, it might actually have the opposite effect and stop you from losing any weight. Here’s how. If there’s nothing in your stomach, you simply will not have the energy you need to exercise in the first place. No energy, no exertion, no exercise, no weight loss.
At the very minimum, have a small banana or a cup of juice before working out. You need something in your stomach.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/revjim5000)
9. Leaning on an exercise machine is fine. My workout will still come up trumps
No, it won’t. It’s really not advisable to lean on a machine while you’re working out because you really run the risk of injury to yourself as well as learnt bad posture.
You’ll also get a lower quality workout because leaning on the machine means your body isn’t actually putting in as much work. In addition to that, it’ll prove to be a waste of the time you’ve invested into your workout.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/sashawolff)
10. It’s important to stretch before a workout…
No, it’s important to warm up BEFORE stretching. Always. Cold muscles should never be stretched – to do that can potentially lead to injury and impact the strength of your muscles for some time afterwards.
The muscles really need to be warm first. The best thing to do is warm up and then stretch before a workout – or just warm up pre-workout then do the stretching after working out.
(img credit: flickr.com/photos/brenbot)