Fitness Myths BUSTED!!!!
MYTH: Muscle turns into fat when you stop working out.
REALITY: Muscle and fat are two completely different tissues that have different functions, so it’s physiologically impossible to turn one into the other. If you stop exercising, your muscles atrophy, so you lose the tone you worked so hard to create. Because the muscle isn’t being worked & the tone is gone, it will look flabby. But by no means has it turned to fat.
MYTH: Lifting heavy weights make women bulk up.
REALITY: Women don’t have enough of the muscle-building hormone testosterone to get bulky, even using heavy weights. The truth is, some people will gain muscle faster than they lose fat, so they may look bigger until they shed some of the flab and reveal the slim, toned muscles underneath.
MYTH: I work out so I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight.
REALITY: Oh, if only this were true. During a moderate 60 minute workout, the average person will burn around 400-500 calories. By eating one piece of pie, you just voided out all of your hard work. Working out is only one part of being healthy and fit. You also have to keep your diet in check to keep off the pounds.
MYTH: Doing crunches will give me tight, toned abs.
REALITY: Yes – doing crunches will give you tight, toned ab muscles, but unless your body fat is low, those abs will be hidden by a layer of fat. In order to see that 6 pack, you have do your cardio to burn away that layer of fat covering up your abs and eat a very healthy, clean diet.
MYTH: Spot reduction (fat loss in only one area) is possible
REALITY: Contrary to what the infomercials suggest there is no such thing as spot reduction. Fat is lost throughout the body in a pattern dependent upon genetics, sex (hormones), and age. Overall body fat must be reduced to lose fat in any particular area. So if you’re looking to only lose weight in one area and keep it in others, it won’t happen unless you’re willing to undergo lipo.
MYTH: Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight.
REALITY: Skipping meals is actually the best way to NOT lose weight. People who skip meals tend to feel hungrier later on, and eat more than they normally would when they finally do eat. Skipping meals also makes your body think that it is starving and it will store every calorie you eat because it doesn’t know when the next meal will come.
MYTH: No Pain – No Gain!
REALITY: When working out, you should expect to have some degree of soreness a day or two afterwards, but you should never feel pain while working out. If you feel pain during exercise, you may have an injury. Feeling your muscles “work” may be uncomfortable during or after your session, but pain and extreme soreness is not normal. It’s your body’s way of telling you to ease up.
