Facts And Myths About Fitness

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the conflicting health advice found in magazines and on the internet. Many trends and styles of training, once considered healthy and fashionable, are actually false myths about fitness.  

Myths about fitness

Myth 1: running is bad for your knees

This is totally untrue. The point is that you should always take care to do it on an appropriate surface and with the correct sports shoes. .  

If you have a very recent injury, start off with gentle walking and add speed and distance as the days progress.

A study from Stanford University (United States) found that the knees of older runners are no less healthy than those of people who do not run.  

Myth 2: Exercising on an empty stomach will make you lose weight.

This is another of the great myths about fitness that are false. The truth is that There is no problem with you walking or exercising on an empty stomach but this will not help you lose weight.

What can happen are two things:

• Your body begins to burn muscle when it has no energy reserves. Due to this you will notice weight loss, but it will not be fat.
• Your body consumes the excess glucose. In fact, if you are diabetic and your morning glucose levels tend to be high, your nutritionist may recommend walking on an empty stomach.  

Myth 3: Exercise has to hurt to work.

The third of the fitness myths that are false has been debunked by a study 2015 from the University of Rhode Island (United States).

The conclusion they reached is that ignoring the body’s signals about the need for rest can lead to chronic pain and disability .

It is normal to feel some pain and fatigue when exercising, but you should be careful not to overdo it. Remember to adapt to your physical condition.   

Myth 4: You should take 10,000 steps a day.

The idea of ​​counting steps through fitness apps and devices is unfounded. The idea of ​​10,000 steps per day is just an arbitrary number invented in a Japanese study from the 1960s.

According to a study , Walking 10,000 steps can work differently depending on the group to which the person belongs and their physical condition.  

Myth 5: To “work”, exercise must be done regularly for hours

A healthy exercise regimen doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym every day. A study, conducted by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, showed that it only takes a few minutes per day to be in shape.

• Regular and repeated exercise has great health benefits. Nevertheless,  Not being able to do it consistently for hours is no reason not to do any type of exercise.
• Even a half hour walk can make a big difference.

Myth 6: If you don’t exercise when you’re young, it’s dangerous to start older.

A study 2009 of the Hadassah School of Medicine of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (Israel) concluded that older people who adopted sports activity late in life managed to live longer and better than those who did not .

Remember that it does not matter when you do it: the important thing is to exercise.

Myth 7: Lifting weights will make you look “square.”

Many women fear exercising with weights because they believe that their figure will become less feminine and more square. However, this is another myth about fitness that is false.

The reality is, you won’t get a bodybuilder’s body unless you eat large amounts of protein and testosterone. Conversely, Weight training improves the strength and appearance of your muscles .

Ideally, the routine should be monitored by an expert advisor. If your gym gives you the option, take it. A few sessions a week will not affect you.

Myth 8: Stretching helps your body heal faster.

A study from the University of Milan (Italy) found no significant changes in blood lactate levels in people who perform stretching exercises after exercising. Lactate is a measure of how fatigued your muscles are.

What was shown is that stretching may not completely reduce muscle pain or speed repair of muscle tissues .

However, warming up does have positive benefits for joint flexibility.

Myth 9: Sweating is synonymous with exercising correctly

Another myth about fitness that is false, but that we all believe, is that sweating means that you are burning fat.

This is not true at all, well sweat is also related to external factors such as the temperature  and humidity of the environment.

Although sweat removes a small amount of toxins, the vast majority of it is water that you must replace. Sweat is a way for the body to cool you down and signal that you need hydration .

Myth 10: Doing sit-ups reduces belly fat.

A study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research measured the relationship of abdominal exercises with abdominal fat loss. The conclusion was that there is no significant reduction.

If you want to lose fat from a specific place, you need to lose body fat in general. Ideally, create a workout that combines cardio and strength exercises .

Did you know any of these myths about fitness? Did you follow them? We hope that from now on you will start exercising correctly. The best and most ideal is to have professional advice.