Social media has become a minefield for fitness myths and it’s become very difficult to avoid some common misconceptions that target innocent rookies. Here are some of the biggest and most common myths.
MYTH 1: MUSCLE TURNS TO FAT WHEN YOU STOP WORKING OUT.
This is one of the most common fitness myths that I see on the socials. A lot of people are afraid of lifting weights because they think when they stop, the muscle they gained will turn to fat. This is like saying wood turns to plastic. Muscle is composed of different materials than fat and cells do not convert from one type to the other.
MYTH 2: LIFTING WEIGHTS MAKES YOU BIG.
Another common fitness myth that turns people, especially women, away from weightlifting. The truth is that weightlifting does not make you bulky unless you specifically follow a bodybuilders programme. It takes hours of targeted heavy lifting, a special diet, and very involved, targeted workouts that can take years to build. And even then, building muscle is very hard (and even harder for women).
MYTH 3: YOU CAN TARGET YOUR ABS (OR ANOTHER SPECIFIC AREA).
The false part of this myth is that you can selectively lose fat and “tone” target body parts. The truth is when you lose weight, you can’t pick where the weight comes off, and you can’t selectively sculpt certain body parts without doing full-body exercises. In order to lose fat, you will need to follow a weight loss programme that includes exercise and healthy eating.
MYTH 4: PAIN IS GOOD.
The old saying “No pain, no gain” helps spread the fitness myth that pain is a necessary part of making fitness progress. The truth is that you may experience some discomfort or even slight pain at times when you’re working out, but the pain is not a sign of progress, and too much pain means you need to stop exercising. There is no correlation between muscle soreness and fitness progress.
MYTH 5: IF YOU AREN’T SORE, YOU DIDN’T GET A GOOD WORKOUT.
This is one of the fitness myths that goes along with the pain misconceptions. People often think if they feel sore after a workout, their muscles are getting stronger and they are making fitness progress. The best way to make fitness progress is to follow a fitness programme that uses progressive overload, which gradually increases your intensity or duration of exercise to improve your fitness level.
MYTH 6: NEVER QUIT.
To push through any pain can be very damaging – mentally and physically. There are many cases in which it’s important to quit an exercise, including when you’re injured or mentally burned out.
MTH 7: KEEP DOING THE SAME WORKOUT TO GET DIFFERENT RESULTS.
Another common fitness myth is that you should do the same workout over and over. When you get into a comfortable routine of running the same distance and pace every day you might slow down your progress. This is fine if you want to maintain your current fitness level but you will not make performance gains if you keep repeating the same workout.
MYTH 8: YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING IF YOU EXERCISE ENOUGH.
I wish this were true but the fact is that even if you run a lot, lift weights, or do other exercises, you can’t eat absolutely anything without gaining weight. The truth is that everyone needs a certain amount of nutrients to function well but you cannot an eat unlimited amount of calories.
MYTH 9: WOMEN NEED DIFFERENT EXERCISES THAN MEN.
This is one of the fitness myths that frustrates me the most. It’s hard to see how many women miss out on the benefits of strength training due to gender stereotypes. Adults of all genders need at least two strength training sessions a week.
MYTH 10: PRE-WORKOUT IS NECESSARY.
If you need energy for your workouts, you should get it from healthy foods. You do not need to take any caffeinated, sugary, chemical concoctions.