It’s never a bright idea to turn to some rando on YouTube or even worse – TikTok – for advice on the right way to exercise and efficient exercise routines. There may be countless articles and videos on the internet on the subject, your friends may have their own opinions, but the only person you should ask is your doctor or personal trainer – basically, someone who knows how your body works.
Here are some fitness myths that everyone believes are true! Remember to take these debunked myths with a grain of salt. This is the internet after all.
1. Everyone should exercise
Even if it’s just doing some stretching after a nap, we need to be as active as possible during the day to reap the benefits of a healthy body. However, each of us is unique and has different body types and conditions. Therefore, not all types of exercise are beneficial for everyone. A thirty minute jog might be easy for your friend, but after the first 2 minutes you will figuratively die. Chances are you have heart problems you don’t even know about, so overloading your system is a bad idea.
2. Vigorous exercise burns fat
Some people resort to intense exercises to transform their “muffin tops” into tight and fit bodies, not realizing that simple muscle contractions can’t eliminate sagging skin in minutes. To shed body fat, you need to do it the hard way – regular exercise and diet. Yes, proper nutrition is 90% success here.
3. Sweat burns calories
You’ve probably heard somewhere that if you don’t sweat, you won’t burn any calories. That’s what a sauna is, right? In fact, experts debunked this myth a long time ago, as sweat only helps prevent the body from overheating by cooling down. In fact, there is no correlation between sweating and calorie loss.
4. Exercise turns fat into muscle
You’d think your fat would burn faster and you’d be in better shape by jogging, but unfortunately, it’s not enough. Cardio exercises help burn fat, while pushups, planks, and pull-ups help build muscle. Only by using this tandem you will get the desired result. If you let yourself go, you’ll have to work really hard to get back in the saddle.
5. Post-workout cupcakes are okay
Thinking that it’s okay to treat yourself to unhealthy snacks has to be one of the most popular myths out there. You basically justify your bad eating habits because you can’t give them up. Sure, you can’t stop yourself from eating whatever you want after the gym, but it’s bad for your health and almost impossible to reach your fitness goals. Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand. And exercising shouldn’t give you a free pass to eat junk food.
6. No pain – no gain
You’ve heard this a lot, but it’s not true. The soreness you feel after exercise is caused by microscopic tears in the muscle tissue. In addition to microtrauma, your muscles secrete lactic acid when stressed. Is pain a sign of a good workout? Some people believe that the whole body should be sore, but the absence of discomfort is normal, especially if you are a seasoned fitness addict. It’s even worse if you leave the gym feeling like you’ve been attacked by a gorilla.
7. Exercise makes back pain worse
It’s not so much what you lift, it’s how much and how you do it. Of course, trying to deadlift something that shouldn’t be lifted by a human would be silly, but if you’re going to do it anyway, do it with your legs, not your back. We created the S-shaped spine for a good reason, you know? In fact, if you’re sitting on a chair, don’t try to pick something up off the floor, even if it’s a pencil. Snap your back like a tree branch!
8. Situps are the perfect weapon to fight belly fat
The dreaded belly fat strikes again. What will you do about it? Of course, the first exercise that comes to mind is 100 situps! However, these types of exercises do not burn fat, but they strengthen the abdominal muscles.
