What you don't know about fitness can hurt you — and
interfere with your fitness goals.
Whether you’ve heard them from friends, family, or gym buddies, certain
fitness myths persist that may cause us to keep bad habits. As you
regularly update your routine based on progress made and new goals set, it
is crucial to not fall into the trap of these common myths that might
sabotage your goals. For a safer workout with awesome results, read on and
get your fitness facts straight.
1. You should eat more protein and exclude fat and carbs
Not quite. Diets that zero in on protein while reducing carbohydrates
and fats are not as effective as you may think. While you don’t want
to primarily consume refined carbohydrates and saturated fats, protein
is not a solution for everything – nor a promise for weight loss. In
fact, consuming excess amounts of protein can increase your risk for
heart disease and obesity. Most people get sufficient daily protein,
without the need for shakes and supplements. Having two to three
ounces of a lean protein per meal is often enough to fuel the body.
2. More sweat means more fat-burn
Not at all. Sweating is your body's cooling mechanism and leads to a
loss of fluids, not fat. Wearing extra clothes during your workout to
increase sweating will not make you burn fat faster but probably just
make you thirstier.
3. You should stretch before your workout
Not necessarily. It's not proven to help prevent injury, curb muscle
soreness after exercise, or improve your performance. Static
stretching before exercise can even weaken your performance. The most
likely reason is that holding the stretch tires out your muscles. You
should warm up by doing dynamic stretches, which are like your workout
but at a lower intensity.
4. Heavy weights will bulk you up
Actually, it can slim you down. Women who lift a challenging weight
for eight reps burn nearly twice as many calories as women who do 15
reps with lighter dumbbells. Also, female hormones prevent excess
muscle mass. Lifting actually offers several health benefits for your
heart, joints and ligaments, metabolism, posture, and balance.
5. You can target your fat-burn
No. Working out can reduce your overall body fat, but you can't
control where that fat comes from. It is genetically determined where
your fat deposits tend to increase or decrease the amount of body fat
fastest.
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