Have you ever been at the gym when a fellow gym goer has given you an exercise tip? Have you passed that tip on to someone else? Perhaps your child's coach has imparted some of his knowledge on to you. You might have heard the same tip from several people so it must be true, right? Myths and half-truths abound in the fitness world.
This month I would like to look at what I consider to be the top ten fitness myths.
By definition, getting in shape means that any given workload will be easier to perform and less costly in terms of energy. Because the body tends to adapt to exercise quickly you will need to run faster, longer, and lift heavier to get the same metabolic disturbance. This is why your weight loss will eventually slow down or stops if you do the same exercise routine over and over again. It's important to mix up your workouts with various conditioning methods such as biking, rowing and strength training circuits. The importance of good nutrition is paramount. Nutrition is often the biggest limiting factor in people's quest for fat loss.
Steady state cardio is one of the most popular methods for fat loss. Yes, you will burn calories and some fat doing steady state cardio but science has proven that the best way to burn more calories and fat is through intense exercise. What is intense exercise? Resistance(strength training), interval running/climbing/cycling/rowing, circuit training, rope jumping, running hills, squat thrusts, plyometrics, explosive medicine ball work, explosive kettle bell exercises and strong (wo)man exercises (tire flipping, carrying sandbags, sled dragging). It is high intensity because incorporates many muscle groups and is done near your maximum heart rate. The period of increased oxygen consumption and energy demand is called "oxygen debt". The oxygen consumed can be elevated for minutes to hours after a workout. This contributes to a higher metabolic rate, which will allow you to burn more calories and help you to achieve the ultimate goal of fat loss.
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that they want to reduce their belly size, I'd be rich! The truth is ab exercises are for strengthening the abdominal muscles. You will only get that "six pack" from reducing your body fat through diet and exercise. No amount of crunches will get you that rippled stomach that you see on the cover of magazines. Training a muscle group will not burn fat locally. You may gain some muscle size but unless you change your diet, don't expect to see results.
Women often avoid weight training because they are afraid of bulking up. Adding muscle mass to your body will help to contribute to a higher metabolic rate. Strength training also helps to build stronger bones and connective tissue. Women don't produce enough testosterone to become bulky.
This is a common scenario: a woman starts to train with weights, 6-8 weeks later lean body mass goes up and fat mass goes down. She fits into one size smaller but the scale doesn't move. Celebrate this!!! Don't get so caught up in the number on the scale. If you must step on the scale, don't do it more than once a week. If your clothes are fitting better, this is the best indicator that you are making progress.
Most people have squatting knee pain from poor technique. In an attempt to keep their torso vertical, they drive their knees excessively forward. In a good squat, the angle of the shin matches the angle of the torso. This ensures loading of the glutes and hamstrings and minimizes the shearing forces across the knee. In people with a history of knee pain, it's best to try to maintain a vertical shin angle throughout the motion. This can be done by squatting with a stability ball on your back, against a wall. In many cases, strengthening the muscles of the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and hips will help with knee pain.
You can expect to have some soreness a day or two after working out. Sore muscles will occur from working at higher intensity or changing your exercise routine. The amount of soreness you experience will depend on your warm-up, post exercise stretching , supplements and diet. You shouldn't feel pain while you are working out. Don't work through pain. Instead stop, rest and see if the pain goes away. If not cease the activity altogether and see a doctor.
Many people don't warm up at all before they exercise. While a quick jog or short bout of cardio does have some benefits such as increase your circulatory rate, body temperature and elasticity of muscles it does little to stimulate the nervous system and doesn't take the joints through the full range of motion. Static stretching before exercise has been shown to decrease performance measures such as power, speed and balance. Instead a dynamic warm-up is preferable with movements such as arm circles, lunges with hip hugs, jumping jacks, hop jumps, side bends. You want to warm-up with a movement that will mimic your activity. This will help with performance and injury prevention.
Distance running events are about covering a set distance as fast as possible, meaning speed is key. Speed is improved by putting more force in the ground in each stride. More strength means more force. A strong core is also important. All of our appendages work off our core. More core strength means more power to the legs and arms. Strength training will also help to stabilize and support the muscles in the hips and legs and lead to less knee and hip injuries which are so common in runners. One workout a week should be dedicated to strength training.
Unless you are an endurance athlete there is no justification for loading up on carbs prior to working out. Carbs are used preferentially as an energy source, so if fat loss is your goal then abstain from carbs prior to your workout. A better choice before doing a workout is a lean protein (chicken , fish, lean beef, turkey) with some greens and nuts. You are best to save the carbs for your post-workout meal. The carbs will restore muscle glycogen that you have used during your workout. A good post workout meal could consist of multi-grain bread with chicken or turkey topped with Summer Fresh Spinach Dip.
