A lot of people begin their fitness journey armed with erroneous information. It’s one of the reasons why they don’t see any results in their efforts or why they become slimmer at one point, but eventually reach a plateau.
If you’re going to attend some fitness classes in the Gold Coast, it’s best to educate yourself about what you should or should not expect when you start working out. Here, we shed some light on the biggest myths about fitness and health.
Myth: Exercising cancels out bad eating habits
So many people think that exercising will cancel out their bad eating habits. As long as they spend an hour at the gym lifting weights, running on the treadmill, or performing Zumba, they don’t need to watch what they eat afterward.
Unfortunately, exercising covers a small portion of your plan to slim down or buff up. According to fitness experts, 80% of your plan to be and look healthier relies on your diet. If you work out all day, but still pig out on high sodium, high calorie and sugary meals and drinks, you won’t be able to eliminate your excess pounds.
Myth: All you need is muscle toning
According to fitness experts, a lot of women are afraid to bulk up, so they often ask their trainers if they could focus on exercises that will only tone up their muscles. But according to fitness gurus, our muscles are already toned. They just don’t look toned because there’s a big layer of fat covering it.
So, if you want to show off your toned muscles, you need to watch your diet. You can also consider engaging in intense weight lifting to see better results. Additionally, fitness experts say that women shouldn’t be afraid of bulking up because it takes more than just lifting weights to look like a bodybuilder.
Myth: Stretch before exercising
A majority of people think that stretching before exercising helps prevent injuries. But, the reality is if you stretch before you lift weights or run on the treadmill, you actually weaken your muscles by 30%. And if your muscles are weaker before you start exercising, then you increase your chances of incurring an injury.
What fitness experts suggest is to stretch your muscles after you work out – not before. Doing so will help relieve some of the tension in your muscles after an intense physical training session.
Myth: Spot reduction is real
Nope, it is not. You cannot just target one area of your body and reduce the fat in that area. A lot of people believe in this myth because it’s easier to exercise if you think that you only need to target one area of your body (oftentimes the stomach, to form abs) to get rid of the fat there.
The proper way to eliminate excess fat is to watch your diet and burn as many calories and sugar as you can by performing intense exercises. Some of the exercises you can try are squats, burpees, dips, pull downs, shoulder presses and deadlifts.
Myth: You burn more ‘fat’ on an empty stomach
Some people think this makes sense because if the stomach is empty, then it’s easier to burn the rest of the fat in other areas of the body when we work out. Unfortunately, this isn’t true.
According to fitness experts, when you work out on an empty stomach, you won’t have enough nutrients to fuel your body and allow it to reach its optimal state.
These are just some of the common fitness misconceptions you should kick to the curb once and for all. Now that these myths have been cleared up, you can be confident that you’ll make informed decisions when it comes to your fitness journey.
