Monday, June 27, 2022

Top 10 Fitness Myths Exposed :

Top 10 Fitness Myths Exposed
1. Sit-Ups and Crunches Reduce Fat in the Tummy
Sit-ups and crunches are definitely great for inducing great deal of pain in the abs as well as increase the risk of developing herniated disk in the spine. And I would say that's pretty much it what these exercises do for the body. It's been proven in research that tummy exercises and spot reduction does not work. In the first place, we stored fat in our tummy when we have excess food due to our genetic predisposition. The best approach to losing the tummy is do high-intensity cardio combined whole-body resistance training and following a balanced and nutritious diet.

2. Women Get Bulky from Weight Training
Although there are many bodybuilding women out there that seems to prove this point but in reality they may have trained very religiously for many years and taken loads of bodybuilding supplements. Unfortunately, some of them may have been or on steroids to boost the testosterone level in the body to help build manlike muscles. In reality, women do not have high enough level of testosterone to become bulky even from high volume of weight training.

3. Long Slow Run is Best for Weight Loss
When it comes to weight loss, most people would usually take the approach of running for 30-60 minutes for 3-5 days a week. As recent research has showed, it is not exactly the most effective way to lose the fat in the body. It may not even help to lose the potbelly. It has been found that shorter duration high-intensity cardio is far more superior to long slow run in banishing the fat in the body especially in the gut. Obviously, it's a lot more strenuous to perform the high-intensity cardio. Go figure that out. Shorter or longer training?

4. Skipping Meals Helps With Weight Loss
Out of desperation, many people would starve themselves to lose weight. In reality, weight loss initially are mainly water and starvation cause the metabolism to drop. To make matter worse, you will find weight gain easier when eating resumes to normal. For best approach in weight loss, eat 5-6 small healthy regular meals per day combined exercise.

5. Squats are Bad for the Knees
Squats are not bad for the knees if the proper techniques are applied. In fact, we do squats everyday when we sit on our toilets and standing from couch. I would even say that full squats are great for the knees because it would allow the joints in the knees to be lubricated with nutrients when it is subjected to full active range of motion. When doing the squats, you should focus on sitting into the hips than bending the knees forward that will cause the elevation of the heels. Be sure to check that heels are planted to the ground and keep your back straight not upright when you squat.



6. Muscle Converts to Fat
Very often, we can hear people who give such excuse like "muscle converts to fat when training stops" not to exercise or lift weights. The truth is, muscle and fat are completely different type of cellular tissue that do not change into one another.

7. Light Weights With High Repetition is Best for Shaping
It is unfounded that light weight with high repetition leads to better toning. The truth is, you need to induce high enough strain on the muscles in order for any gain of lean muscle tissue that can increase the metabolism. High metabolism leads to more fat-burning effects that results in better toning. Therefore, heavier weights are needed to induce the stimulus for better toning.

8. Sit-Ups Strengthened the Core Muscles

Sit-ups certainly work the abdominal muscles on the front of your core muscles but the abdominal is only part of the puzzle. Excessive sit-ups actually cause imbalance in the core muscle. The core muscles are like corset that wraps around the entire midsection of your body from the front to the back. Working the abdominal muscles alone is pretty much useless for strengthening the true function of the core muscles which is to hold statically. Therefore, the best approach is to do planks in any variations to enhance the true function of the core muscles.

9. Weight Machine is Safer than Free Weights
Weight machines may seen safer and easier to use but the problem with the machines are that they cause more risk of injuries in the long run. This is because they do not train movements naturally and tend to target specific particular muscle group and as a result developed muscle imbalance. Also, the machine weight training does not teach your muscles to balance like free weights. With proper techniques, the free weight training is not only safer but also gets you better result in terms of toning.

10. Weight Training Can Decrease Flexibility
Olympic weightlifters who obviously train with weights have been found to be one of the most flexible athletes around. It really depends on how you approach weight training. If you train through full range of motion, there is no reason why weight training can reduce your flexibility. In fact, you can develop functional flexibility with full range of motion weight training
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