5 More Fitness Myths and the Fitness Facts Behind
Them
From eDiets - The premier online diet, fitness, and healthy living
resource
Last year, I wrote an article called "10
Fitness Myths Exposed" which received a lot of positive response.
The past few weeks Ive had several emails asking for more, more, more!
Everyone loves a quick guide concerning
what works and what doesn’t in fitness. Unfortunately, many fitness
equipment manufacturers, diet books and supplement companies have only one
thing in mind: profits. Hey, profit is a great thing. However, it’s not a
great thing when it’s at the expense of human beings who are searching for
a way to get fit, lean, muscular and healthy.
So, here we go again with some more of my
all-time favorite fitness myths:
THE 5 DEADLY LIES
1. The healthiest method to gauge your
progress is weighing yourself: MYTH
You think I’m about to say that the
answer is to get frequent body fat tests, don’t you? Nope! The healthiest
way to gauge your progress is to make sure your strength levels increase when
performing resistance exercise, make sure your endurance improves through
cardiovascular exercise and make sure that your clothes fit exactly the way you
want them to. When did we stop trusting ourselves to the extent that everything
has to be successful by a measurement? Don’t we have enough pressure in
our lives?
2. It’s important to work out for
two to three hours a day for great results: MYTH
It’s amazing how many people ask me
how long my workout sessions are. The question should be, "How short are your
workout sessions?" Long workouts are counterproductive. Numerous studies prove
that more than one hour of an intense workout increases cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that, among other things, will assist in
destroying muscle.
The body appears to be designed for quick,
intense workouts. There is no need for more than 40-45 minutes of weight
training and 35-40 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. I’m not suggesting
that you’ll lose all your muscle or go to an early grave if you exceed
these recommendations. I’m simply stating that best results are achieved
with intensity, not necessarily long duration.
3. Women will get BIG if they weight
train: MYTH
I covered this in my article last week, but
its worth repeating. A woman has one-third the testosterone of a man, so
putting on a ton of muscle is not going to happen. The women you see in the
magazines that look BIG and manly are on steroids, growth hormones etc.
You’ll look bulky if you’re carrying excessive body fat and building
muscle. However, if you’re reducing body fat, you’ll eventually be
able to see those lean, defined muscles.
4. You must work out five to six days
per week to make progress: MYTH
The number of days that you work out does
not constitute level of fitness. I see a lot of people in the gym five to six
days a week and they’d be better off playing ping pong. Consistency and
level of effort is the key. I'd rather see someone work out three days per week
with enthusiasm and intensity, than five inconsistent days of lackadaisical
effort. In fact, for those clients that have trouble with motivation, I
recommend only two days of workouts per week, but they must do it every week.
5. To get a flat midsection, perform a
lot of abdominal exercises often and with intensity: MYTH
This is my all-time favorite. In order to
get a six-pack (physiologically it’s actually an eight-pack), or simply a
flat stomach, body fat levels must be reduced significantly. This is achieved
through a calorie deficit combined with exercise. In fact, unless you’re
competing in an event or genetically predisposed, maintaining visible
abdominals is a most difficult endeavor. A few extra pounds and they disappear.
Hold onto a little excess water and they vanish.
The bottom line is abdominal exercises
don’t give you a flat stomach. Abdominal exercises build the muscles,
while reduced body fat through nutrition, weight training and cardiovascular
exercise help to reduce overall body fat which leads to a flat mid-section.
I hope you find these points helpful. Just
as I mentioned in my "10 Fitness Lies Exposed" article, remember to bite your
tongue when someone spouts out one of the above fallacies. With tact and
patience, share your knowledge and help spread the word.
A competitive bodybuilder and former
2001 Mr. Connecticut, Raphael Calzadilla is a veteran of the health and fitness
industry. He specializes in a holistic approach to body transformation,
nutrition programs and personal training. He earned his B.A. in Communications
from Southern Connecticut State University and is certified as a personal
trainer with ACE and APEX. In addition, he successfully completed the RTS1
program based on biomechanics. |
