Posted on March 05, 2015 by Kate Halsall

 

Oh there are so many fitness myths around…….if you drink too little water your head shrinks, doing planks every day will get you ripped, an apple a day will keep the dentist away…… You saw it on You Tube, read it in the newspaper, or your training buddy told you – so it must be true right? The problem is, bad advice will result in a negative impact on your goals. Plainly put, sometimes we just have to stop believing everything we see or are told – unless it comes from a trusted source (you know, like a Motive8 Personal Trainer)! So here, we’ve picked 5 of the most common fitness myths and then looked at the actual truth to shed some light on them for you, and make sure you actually DO achieve those goals!

Myth 1 – No Pain, No Gain
You’ll have heard it – you’ll even have told yourself it. “No pain no gain”; “You have to feel it during your workout to provide any benefit; “if you don’t sweat you’re not working hard enough”; “if you don’t feel sick at the end of your workout you’ve not pushed yourself” etc etc, etc

Truth
Realistically, it’s your workout, your goals, your progress and your effort level. There are also different kind of pain!! If anything, you should only feel muscular pain or sickness during your work out depending on what type of training you are doing, how long you’ve been training for, or whether you have or haven’t eaten before that training. If you get anything else – you should stop! So for example, if you’re doing German Body Composition Training, it’s natural to feel a lactic acid burn; if you’re new to exercise it’s normal to feel tightness in your muscles or maybe a little sick as you overdo it in your first ever circuit. Generally if there’s going to be any “pain”, it should be from the muscle ‘soreness’ AFTER training. As for the sweat statement – our bodies work in different ways to regulate it’s temperature, which just means we all sweat differently.

Myth 2 – I can spot reduce problem areas
Doing ab crunches and sit ups will get you a flat stomach and a six pack, lots of triceps work will reduce your bingo wings, running will tone your legs. You’ve heard it all before…..

Truth
If only it were that easy! The simple fact is that you cannot chose where your body loses fat from, it’s got to be a whole body workout to decrease overall body fat. Have a read of one of Chris’s previous blogs on this subject:
http://www.m8north.co.uk/blog/tone-my-muscles/

Myth 3 – Muscle can turn to fat
If you stop training your muscle will turn into fat and get flabby.

Truth
Muscle fibres and fat cells are completely different types of tissues – so it’s simply impossible! If you stop training, your muscles will get smaller and they will lose their toned appearance (this is called atrophy), but they won’t turn into fat. If, at the same time as stopping training, you also then change your healthy eating habits, then things may get a little flabby as you’ll be gaining body fat!

Myth 4 – Running on a treadmill is less impact on your joints
Treadmills are designed to lessen the impact on your joints and knees.

Truth
There are treadmills out there that are designed for less impact, but generally most gyms just have standard treadmills. Running impacts your joints regardless of where you run. The best way to limit this impact is not only to vary the terrain on which you run, but to also to compliment your running with other exercise eg weight training will help to strengthen your bones and joints and yoga will help strengthen ligaments and tendons.

Myth 5 – Lifting weights makes women huge
Lifting weights will make you bulk up and make you look like a manly she-hulk, as personal trainers we hear it all of the time!

Truth
The truth is, we all have muscles. If we train them we get leaner and stronger. The difference is that women simply don’t have as much testosterone as men do and therefore can’t get the same bulk.

Other Fitness Myths Busted:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/practice-smart-fitness-25-debunked-training-and-diet-myths.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/25-more-fitness-myths-crushed-by-pauline-nordin.html