Within the fitness industry, there are many different philosophies and ideologies behind exercise and health. Social media has become one of the biggest influences over the fitness industry. There are numerous fitness influencers, health coaches, and apps providing a plethora of fitness material about what to do and what not to do in order to achieve their guaranteed “best results”.
This creates an overload of information that can be confusing and often misleading. It can get hard to decipher what information is accurate and what is not. The following are three fitness “myths” that I consistently hear, and the truths behind them.
You can target fat loss in desired areas.
As nice as that would be, there is no such thing as targeted fat loss. I‘m sure we’ve all heard or seen a post or workout-of-the-day where we’re encouraged to, “Try this at-home core workout to burn away that stubborn belly fat.” However, the body has a different, natural process for “burning” away fat. Doing a specific amount of crunches or planks each day is not going to guarantee fat loss around the mid-section. A consistent, well rounded exercise program, along with proper nutrition, will naturally cause weight and fat loss, eventually leading into those desired areas.
Lifting heavy weights will make females bulky.
Once again, this is misconception. Getting too bulky is a common fear that a lot of women have when a trainer suggests a strength training program. They often foresee themselves looking like the pictures of professional female body builders who have large amounts of muscle mass. Building muscle is slow process that requires a lot of factors other than just lifting heavy weights. It takes years of dedication in the weight room and discipline in the kitchen, in order to build that kind of mass. Another factor that will keep women from getting bulky is that they naturally produce less testosterone then males, and testosterone is the main muscle building chemical in the body. So ladies, don’t let the fear of getting too bulky keep you from lifting heavy and all the benefits that go along with it.
You have to do cardio to lose weight
Surprised to learn that this is also untrue? Losing weight the right way is all about energy balance. You must be in a caloric deficit to lose weight, which means you would need to burn more calories than you consume during the day. Resistance training is proven to help with fat loss while in this caloric deficit because it helps increase metabolism. A higher metabolism means more calories burned. Another reason resistance training is very favorable for fat loss is called the afterburn effect. After resistance training, your body continues to burn calories longer than it would after a cardio session, which generally has a shorter afterburn effect. This does not mean to give up all cardio in the pursuit of weight loss, as cardiovascular fitness is a necessary component to overall health. However, we once again see that a well-rounded resistance training program, partnered with a cardio or HIIT regimen, is going to be most effective.
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