As soon as you walk into the gym, everybody likes to put in their 2 cents about what you should do and what you shouldn’t. However, the majority of advice you get from Tom, Dick and Harry is usually a myth. Many people go through their workouts and fitness regime believing whatever they are told, which could ultimately affect your weight-loss goals because these myths have become integrated into the fitness world, to the point that many people base their workouts off them. So we’ve decided to debunk a few of the most popular myths floating around, in an attempt to shine some light on what you should believe and what you shouldn’t so that you can get the most out of your workout…
1. “Crunches are the key to flat abs”- They may be the most iconic abdominal exercise around, but doing crunches is not actually the best way to slim your midsection! “Since they don’t burn off a lot of calories, they don’t help in a major way with fat loss” says Wayne Westcott, professor of exercise science at Quincy College in Quincy, Mass. And while crunches do tone a small portion of your abs, moves involving your shoulders and butt such as planks and bridges, are more effective at engaging your entire core.
2. “The more you sweat, the more you burn” – That doesn’t necessarily mean you torched any more calories than usual (sorry!). Sweat is a biological response that cools your skin and regulates internal body temperature and is not a signal that you are burning lots of calories.
3. “You need to sweat for 45 minutes to get a health benefit” – Even if you’ve got just half an hour to spare a day – or a mere 10 mins- you have enough time to bolster your cardio health. More and more studies are pointing to the power of short workouts, (thank goodness), and some even suggest that quickie sessions could be better for you.
4. “More gym time is better” – Scheduling in rest days is crucial, as your body needs to recover, especially after a tough session. If you workout every single day, you could injure yourself or over-train, which keeps your muscles from rebounding and your body from improving.
5. “A protein bar is a good substitution for a meal” – Nope, protein bars are highly processed, unless you make them yourself. Highly processed food requires fewer calories to digest, so that benefit is diminished.
6. “You shouldn’t work out on an empty stomach” – Your body burns more fat when you hit the gym before you eat breakfast, according to a new study published online in the British Journal of Nutrition. Just don’t skimp on water!
7. “Running on a treadmill is as effective as running outside” – Because running against wind or on uneven terrain engages more of your muscles, it requires more energy and ends up burning about 10% more calories than running the same distance on a treadmill.
8. “As long as you feel okay when you’re working out, you’re probably not overdoing it” – One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when starting or returning to an exercise programme is doing too much too soon. The reason we do that is because we feel okay when we are working out, so therefore don’t realise that we are putting a bigger strain on our bodies than originally thought.
9. “When it comes to working out, you’ve got to feel some pain if you’re going to gain any benefits” – Of all the fitness rumours ever to have surfaced, experts agree that the ‘no pain no gain’ holds the most potential for harm. While you should expect to have some degree of soreness a day or two after working out, that’s very different from feeling pain while you are working out. A fitness activity should not hurt while you are doing it, and it is does, then either you may be doing it wrong, or you may already have an injury!
10. “Squats are bad for your knees” – I don’t know when this myth will stop being a thing but not only is it false that squats are bad for your knees, full squats are actually really good for your knees.