What’s the truth behind the top workout myths?
- Exercise is only for those who need to lose weight
- Spot training helps lose fat in specific areas
- Cardio routines are best for losing weight
- No pain means no gain
Spending a lot of time in a gym in Manila and not getting any results? Well, you might have just fallen victim to several workout myths that are keeping you from reaching your fitness goals. There are a lot of these falsehoods and they’re widespread among gym-goers and fitness buffs causing more and more people to be misled.
These false statements and beliefs are a great threat to gym-goers for many reasons. The first, as stated above, is that it’s preventing them from achieving their fitness objectives and goals. Second, some of these myths are pushing people away from exercise and fitness altogether. Lastly, there are a few that are actually harmful to the human body, which when followed, can lead to injuries and bodily harm.
In order to avoid this and save people from making mistakes, we have listed what these myths are as well as the truth behind them. Simply continue reading if you want to find out more!
Exercise Is Only for Those Who Need to Lose Weight
A lot of people believe that working out is only for those who want to lose weight, but that’s actually not the case. Although there are people who are working out to lose weight, it’s better to think and act upon the idea that you are working out to get fit.
What this means is that you aren’t just trying to remove the flab on your stomach or arms but are actually strengthening your entire body, from your muscles and bones down to your mental health and mood. All this is done to ensure that your systems deliver peak performance every single day and to reduce the risk of diseases and other conditions.
So remember that just because your BMI is well within normal doesn’t mean that you don’t stand to benefit from hitting the gym or running a few laps around your neighborhood.
Spot Training Helps Lose Fat at Specific Areas
Spot training is a concept in the fitness world where one loses weight or fat and gains muscle in a single area using specific methods without affecting other parts of the body. It is an annoyingly persistent myth only because people want it to be true.
Unfortunately, spot training doesn’t work and it should stop being a thing. The only way for you to lose fat in a specific area is to lose overall body fat. You can accomplish this through high-intensity interval training, strength training, and other kinds of workout routines.
The lesson here is to switch up your routines and stop focusing on a single area. This way, you can achieve weight loss and also balance the growth of your muscles, giving you a fit body.
Cardio Routines Are Best for Losing Weight
People who are working out to lose weight spend all their time running on the treadmill and jumping from one cardio machine to the next. While cardio workouts are great for creating a calorie deficit or burning calories, it isn’t the best way to achieve your weight goal.
In order to get that extra boost that your workout needs, incorporate strength training into your routines. Although it’s not always the first thing that comes to mind when planning to lose weight, it does help you build lean muscle which, in turn, benefits your weight-loss goals. How you ask? Simple. Having more muscles means you burn more calories even while at rest which means more pounds are shed.
Additionally, you also need to eat right and healthy, get a good night’s sleep regularly, lower your stress levels and tend to all your bodily needs accordingly. These are all important factors that you have to consider during your weight loss journey.
No Pain Means No Gain
The ever so famous and present motto “No pain, no gain” is actually a myth that needs to die. Although it is true that you have to push yourself and try to go over your usual limits when you’re working out, it doesn’t mean that you have to feel sore, beat up, and absolutely horrible a few hours later.
Experiencing muscle or joint pain after a long work out session typically suggests injury, especially if it happens frequently and you are not new to exercise. It might also mean that you have workout habits that are preventing your aching muscles from recovering. Not resting between routines, failure to refuel and rehydrate, and lack of sleep all contribute to soreness, so you may want to get those out your system.
Moreover, you also don’t have to be drenched in your own sweat to say that you had a solid session. It may just be that you worked in an overheated studio and your body is compensating by producing a lot of sweat.
Key Takeaway
There are a lot of myths circulating in the fitness world. You may hear them as you work on your body in a gym in Manila or Makati or from your peers who are new to exercise.
We’ve listed a few of the most persistent ones here but you’re sure to hear a lot more. Once you do, it is important to confirm them with a doctor or trainer or simply research on the topic. Find out whether these things carry any truth with them before you put them into action because you may just cause harm to yourself and your body!
