Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Debunking Fitness Myths

You’ve probably heard some fitness myths floating through the gym, the internet, or from friends and you may even believe some of these myths yourself! It’s important to understand the facts from fiction to protect yourself from injury, and to make sure you are exercising properly. Let’s dive into some popular fitness myths that we hear daily in the gym and explain why they are just that: myths!

GettyImages-1246345722“No Pan, No Gain”

Pain and soreness should never be used to measure a good workout. Nor should you ever push through pain when exercising. Pain or soreness during exercise can either indicate delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or an injury. If you ignore the pain you feel, repetitive movements can worsen the pain, resulting in a more serious issue over time. DOMS is normal, and usually lasts up to about 48 hours after exercise, and just means your body wasn’t used to the movement you performed. However, give those muscles a chance to recover before exercising them again to make sure that is all it was. Remember, listen to your body, it’s telling you something hurts for a reason.

"Spot Reducing Fat Exercises"

As a fitness professional, I have been asked several times what exercises a member can do to lose fat around the tummy, arms, backside, etc. Unfortunately, it is not possible to pinpoint certain areas of the body to lose fat. To lose fat, you need to burn more calories than you eat because this causes a calorie deficit. The body also does not burn fat only from the area you are working, because it uses energy from your body, leading to total body fat loss. Also, your body can be stubborn, and fat can be lost from different areas at different rates that you weren’t expecting. But please don’t let that discourage you! Know that the exercise is still beneficial and will increase strength and endurance in that area and sometimes give that part of the body a more “defined” appearance you are looking for!

“Lifting weights makes you bulky”

This saying could not be falser. Many think that heavy weights will make you bulky and light weights will make you lean. The type of weights you are lifting does not necessarily contribute to muscle growth, as most of the adaptations that make you stronger occur in your central nervous system. It is true that lifting weights will promote muscle hypotrophy leading to a size increase, but not “bulky” in appearance. In fact, to become the type of bulky you might be picturing, it takes a lot of time, hard work (and sometimes steroid use) to become “bulky”. In fact, for females, hormones prevent excess muscle mass. Muscle tissue is a lean tissue, so when paired with a good diet, strength training can help build a lean physique. Lifting heavier weights can offer several health benefits in your bones, muscles, ligaments, and brain, to name a few.

"Carbs make you gain weight"

Recent health trends have led people to believe carbohydrates are horrible for your body and cause excessive weight gain. This has mostly started to rise because highly processed carbohydrates are high in calories and sugars, leading to fat gain if eaten in excess. Complex carbohydrates like fruit, whole grains, and veggies are a valuable source of fuel used by your body and your brain to keep you alive. If you were to cut out carbs completely this would lead to weight loss, but not a healthy long term weight loss. It would also cause extreme lethargy, headaches, dizziness, and low blood sugar among some more mild side effects. The takeaway? Limit processed carbs and keep the whole foods!

"Lactic acid causes muscle soreness"

Lactic acid or lactate causing muscle soreness has been a fitness myth floating around for decades. While this myth was debunked in the 80s, many people (including some fitness professionals) still believe it to this day. Lactate doesn’t stick around in our muscles long enough after exercise to cause the soreness that we feel for the next day or two. Lactate clears out of our system about 30 to 60 minutes after exercise to be recycled into energy. The soreness we feel after exercise is the result of microtrauma (microscopic tears) in the muscle and connective tissue, leading to DOMS (mentioned above). There is a lot more science that goes into it, but this hits the basics.

Is there other information floating around the gym (or magazines) that you wonder has any truth to it? If you have access to a reputable source such a fitness professional, start there! Or, of course, the internet is full of answers, but you need to know that the website cites its findings and isn’t the thoughts of one individual. Regardless, we are glad you have interest in learning more to improve the work you do for your health every day!

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Topics: senior living health and wellness exercise myths exercise and health exercise and aging

NIFS: Ten Myths that Fool the Smartest of Exercisers


Some of you may have already been the brunt of an April Fool’s joke today.  Let’s clear up some fitness myths so you are not the brunt of any more jokes, especially in the gym.

1. The gym negates a bad diet- You cannot out exercise a bad diet. Don’t try it; I promise your diet will win every time! Hours and hours can be spent in the gym yielding few results because a person is only changing one piece of the puzzle. They use the excuse that they can eat whatever they want because their exercise offsets the excess calories taken in. The body does not work this way. Most people do not realize the amount of calories they actually consume and the amount of time it would actually take to burn it off at the gym. It takes much, much longer to burn off that cookie than it does to eat it!

2. Spot reduction works- Don’t feel like a complete fool if you have believed this one; it is not completely untrue. You cannot pick which areas from which you want to burn fat, but you can strengthen certain muscles by performing exercises focused on particular muscle groups.  By strengthening these muscles, you will tone areas and create shapely muscles. Now comes the second piece of the puzzle; to see these muscles you must burn off the excess layer of energy or “fat” to expose these beautiful muscles you have been working so hard for. Again, the gym does not outweigh your diet.

woman using exercise band resized 600

3. I’ve never been flexible and never will be- You make yourself inflexible by never training yourself to be.  Yes, your muscles may have been tight all your life, but this is because you have never worked to train them to be anything but tight.

4. Weight training bulks you up- If you want to change the composition of your body you have to weight lift. Yes, even you, ladies; it’s not just for the guys. Lifting will not make you bulky; things like your diet and the way you train can lead to bulk. Female bodies are lacking enough testosterone to gain as much muscle mass as a male. Lifting weight will change your body composition by increasing the percentage of muscle throughout your body, leading to a higher metabolic rate and a lean, shapely figure.

5. If I’m not sore or in pain, I’m not working hard enough- Don’t seek soreness. It can come from many different factors that have nothing to do with the quality of your workout. Judge your workout by more than how sore you are. How do you feel mentally? Are you smiling? Relaxed? Have more energy? Feel accomplished?

6. Cardio and resistance training are two separate activities- Mixing the two together can be the best combination for fat loss and save you tons of time! While lifting in the gym take fewer breaks between sets or add cardio intervals in between sets. This will allow your heart rate to stay elevated and give you the weight training you set out to do with the added cardio component.

7. I need machines to get a total workout- Why not think of your body as a machine? Machines and free weights serve their purpose and can be an essential part of your routine, but don’t limit yourself. You will get stuck at some point if all you use is machines. There will be a time when these are not available to you. When performing body weight training, you are in full control of the weight (your own body weight). You are recruiting muscles, especially stabilizing muscles that tend to go unused during machine workouts. Body weight training allows you to mimic movements that you will actually perform in real life.

8. Muscle weighs more than fat- Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. The difference is their density. As we gain muscle and lose fat, our weight may change very little even though our body composition is changing and we are becoming leaner. Don’t become discouraged if the scale is not going in your favor. That being said, don’t assume you are at a healthy weight; the number is just higher on the scale because of your muscle mass. Get tested! A body composition test is the only true measure of what your weight is actually made up of.

9. Recovery time is social time- Don’t let distractions get in your way. Hopefully you came to the gym with a purpose in mind. Do what you came there to do. Turn off your cell phone, put in your headphones, and stick to your plan. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in half the time when you are focused, then you will have more time to rest or socialize after your workout.

10. A tired mind is a tired body- Answering emails and phone calls, long meetings and appointments can make you feel drained after a full day at the office. Ditch the tired excuse. You might be tired of the work you have been doing, but your body may be looking to get rid of built up energy from the day. A tired mind does not mean a tired body! A workout can give you the extra energy and clear mind you are searching for.

Don't fall for those old tricks, re-establish your health for a better you!  

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Topics: wellness April fool's day exercise myths exercise and health