Fitness

5 Exercise Myths That You Might Actually Believe

Exercise tips have been passed along from person to person. There are so many tips and tricks that people share about exercise, but not all of them are true or effective. In fact, it has now become quite a feat to distinguish between what’s true and what’s not – unless you take on some research.

Experts stress that knowing fact from fiction is important in order for you to exercise safely and injury-free. While some of these exercise myths are well-meaning and generally harmless, there are those that can pose risks or dangers to your health.

Let’s begin by busting the top five exercise myths many people actually think are true.

#1 Exercise Works For Everybody

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Exercise is something that everybody should do – at least, that’s what most people say. And we should get moving on a regular basis to keep ourselves healthy. What is worth noting, though, is that everyone is unique and has different body types and conditions.

Thus, not all types of exercises are beneficial for everyone. Thirty minutes of Crossfit may be easy for your friend, but it may not be for you.

Just because many people are doing this kind of exercise doesn’t mean that you should do it right away, too. In order to find out the best type of exercise for you, visit your GP to assess your general health or seek help from a personal trainer to have a program designed specifically for you.

#2 Spot-reducing Fat Is Actually Effective

People advocate “doing hundreds of crunches” in order to get rid of the nasty flab that envelops the stomach, but little do they realize that body flab cannot be eliminated by simple spot-reduction.

In order to get rid of the fair size amount of fat in your body, you really have to do it the hard way – by performing regular sweat-drenching cardio exercises and muscle-aching strength training, or better yet, a combination of both.

#3 You Only Burn Calories When You’re Sweating

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The myth says that if you’re not sweating, then you’re not torching any calories. That’s why they don sauna suits or close all the windows and turn off the fans so that they’ll sweat more.

Experts refute this statement by countering that sweating only helps prevent the body from overheating by cooling it down. It doesn’t actually have a connection with the amount of calories that you’re burning from exercise.

There are lots of people who do high-intensity exercises but do not actually sweat a lot.

The worst part of this myth is that you may be too focused on getting yourself to sweat a lot and forget to drink water, causing yourself to be dehydrated.

#4 Working Out Will Convert My Fats To Muscle

You may be excited to start running, thinking that it will burn your fats and get you fit. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. If you want to be lean and muscular, you will definitely have to burn those fats first and build muscle second.

Cardiovascular exercises will help you burn fats, while strengthening exercises helps you build muscle. That’s why it’s great to do these in tandem.

Combination exercises like circuit training, plyometrics and HIIT also do the trick. If you have more than your fair share of flab in the body, you may have to work a little harder than your counterparts.

#5 I’ve Already Worked Out For The Day, So I Have The Free Pass In Eating Whatever I Want

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This seems to be the most prevalent myth, where people justify their eating habits because they have already worked out. True enough, nobody is stopping you from eating whatever you want after you work out, but it makes your health and fitness goals more difficult to achieve.

Healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand with each other, and exercise shouldn’t give you an excuse to eat junk food.

The next time someone gives you tips on exercise or diet (or basically on anything else), take it with a grain of salt.

Not everything that goes around is real and is backed by science, so take your time to research, read and learn so that you too can help others share information that’s actually reliable and real.

Now that we’ve debunked our first five, it’s time to add more to the list. What exercise myths have you come across? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Cover photo: www.weheartit.com

About the author

Justine R

On an eternal quest for happiness, Justine tries to lead a positive lifestyle by giving back to the universe and following natural approaches to parenting, health, food and beauty. When she's not on the beach, she keeps herself fit (and sane) by running and doing yoga.

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