Have you ever wondered what is really true or accurate about all the health and fitness information out there? I have compiled the top 10 biggest fitness myths and share why they’re not true!

1. You can spot reduce: Unfortunately this is the #1 fitness myth out there! You CAN NOT decide where your body releases fat from. Doing exercises for a certain muscle group or body part WILL in fact strengthen and tone that area, but it doesn’t mean you will lose fat there. What determines that? Partly genetics and the balance of your training. Everyone has their own “trouble areas” and acknowledge that it’s NORMAL! Focus on a quality diet with balanced portions and consistent exercise routine instead. Then when you do lose weight/fat, that specific area will have more shape & tone that you are looking for.
2. Women should do low weight, high rep exercises to “tone”: Women need can (and should) strength train and lift weights that are challenging…and that can mean higher weight and lower reps! Women who want to “Tone” means they want to have muscle definition without adding size (understandable!) However, the muscles HAVE to grow & be fatigued in order to change your overall composition. This means finding resistance that is challenging anywhere between 8-15 reps. Doing more like 20, 30 reps? It can still be beneficial, but many find the results they’re looking for when they lift “heavier”.

3. Lifting weights makes you bulky: Strength training does NOT have to add bulk. Many times people will bulk up is because their DIET does not match their exercise level. Most “bulking” happens when the person is eating in a calorie surplus AND lifting very heavy weights several days a week (think 5-8 reps per exercise, 6x in the gym). The average person who does moderate strength training few times a week will actually notice they aren’t bulky but in fact tighter and slimmer!

4. Fasted exercise is the best: Doing any exercise fasted (upon rising on an empty stomach) can be beneficial…but only because of your preference. Fasted exercise might tap into more fat stores than if you were fueled, but it depends on the exercise duration & intensity. Some people will say they aren’t their strongest, so their workout actually suffers. So should you eat?? It depends on your own body, schedule and preference, but go by what feels best for YOU and maintainable long term. You will still burn the same calories when fasted or later in the day!

5. You should stretch before exercising: We’ve been told to stretch as a warmup to exercise. Static stretching (or holding the stretch) when the body is not properly warmed up lengthens the muscle and can actually hinder exercise performance or lead to injury! Instead of static stretching, focus on light aerobic exercise or dynamic ranges of motion for joints/muscles as a warm up. Once the body is warmed up, then leave the static stretching as a cool down to lengthen & relax the body.

6. Low intensity cardio is best for burning fat: Here is a quick science lesson: Exercise at a low intensity (i.e. 50% of max heart rate, like walking) uses fat as the predominant fuel, while exercising at a high intensity (anything over 75%, like running) uses mainly carbohydrate. (There’s a continuum between the two, so as exercise gets progressively harder, the amount of carbohydrate used increases and the amount of fat used decreases.) But the trouble is that low intensity exercise doesn’t burn many calories (or would take a very long time) while more intense workouts burn more & stoke your metabolism. So yes while you might using fat as fuel, fat loss comes down to expending more calories than you are consuming. So that is why higher intensity exercise that burns more calories is superior (and also is more time efficient!)

7. No Pain No Gain: While taking it too easy in the gym won’t produce the results you want, pushing yourself too much can do more harm than good. Overtraining can be serious and “More is Better” is not always true. Working out every day without prioritizing rest and recovery will hinder results, increase chance of injury and can lead to a host of other problems.

There is a real difference between muscle fatigue and real pain! It is important to recognize the difference. If the pain is sharp, unusual, stings or severe, then something is wrong and you need to address the problem. Refer to my article here No Pain No Gain? for more information on how to reduce your chance of injury.

8. You should focus on cardio when wanting to lose weight: Many people stay away from strength training when trying to lose weight, because we’ve been told that aerobic exercise is more beneficial. This is in fact not true! Both types of exercise is important, and especially when it comes to weight loss. Aerobic exercise might burn more calories in that session, but strength training will keep your metabolism and calorie burn for higher LONGER, even after you’ve stopped working out! Furthermore, strength training improves your muscle tone, and muscle burns more calories at rest than fat mass. Lastly, cardio will only change your size, while strength training will change your size AND shape of your body. Make sure to incorporate both so you are losing weight while improving your body composition!

9. Sweating is an indicator of an effective workout: Sweating is the body’s natural response to heat and a way to regulate body temperature. Sweating can happen when exercising because body temp and heart rate rises. But, sweat can also occur because of the temperature of the environment. Sweating does NOT equal burning calories, rather you are just losing body fluids. Think of a sauna or sitting in the sun on a really hot day; you aren’t exercising, but sweating a lot. You aren’t moving or burning calories, rather just losing some water weight! Instead of focusing on sweat, worry more about your own internal body temperature and having exercise be intense enough where you could talk, but it would be difficult!

10. Best way to get abs is to do core exercises every day: Refer to point #1…you can’t spot reduce! Doing lots of core exercises will strengthen your abs, but they won’t magically make them appear. How can you get a leaner midsection? Focus on losing body fat. That means prioritizing smart cardio, proper and personalized nutrition, sleep, stress management AND optimizing hormones.

Need some personal help or still have questions about how to navigate your fitness? Send me a message below and let’s chat!