7 Common Fitness Myths You Need To Stop Believing

Fitness Myths That Have Been Interfering With Your Fitness Goals

Sometimes, the things you don’t know, or in this case, the things you know might be interfering with your fitness goals. Some of the things you think you know about workouts are fitness myths that have no bearing on the results you need. Read on to discover some of those fitness myths that have been stopping you from reaching your goals.

Fitness myth 1: Mornings are the best time to workout

FACT: There is no “best time” to work out. You should work out at whatever time makes exercising more consistent for you. If you prefer and can be more consistent with a late-night trip to the gym compared to an early morning run, then that’s your best workout time.

Fitness myth 2: You can lose weight if you exercise, no matter what you eat.

FACT: While exercises are essential for weight loss, the calorie deficit from what you eat determines whether you lose weight or not. No amount of workouts can offset bad eating habits.

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Fitness myth 3: Heavily sweating during workouts means you are burning fat faster

FACT: Sweat is your body’s natural reaction to overheating. Sweat is an aqueous solution of salts and organic substances that your body releases to adjust the internal body temperature and cool the skin. Sweating does not mean that your body is burning fat. If you drink little water and sweat profusely, your scale might show a lower number. However, this is only due to the loss of water weight from dehydration, and the “weight loss” is very temporary.

In the same vein, not sweating during workouts does not mean you are not burning fat or getting fit.

Fitness myth 4: You can target where to burn fat.

Image Credit: Favorece

FACT: While we can hope and wish to target the places where we want to burn fat, it is just not physically possible. You have no influence on what areas will burn the most fat and how much fat they should burn. We all store fat in different body parts and we lose fat from these parts unevenly.

Exercises that target specific body parts may influence weight loss by burning calories, indirectly leading to fat loss in those parts. But they do not affect the fat cells in those specific parts. If you are going to lose weight, your entire body will lose weight not a specific body part.

Fitness myth 5: Sit-ups are the best way to get firmer abs.

FACT: Your exercise needs to challenge the muscles on your sides, back, and front and not only on your abdomen to give you firmer abs. Unlike sit-ups that only target the abdominal muscles, planks involve all of these other important muscle groups. Therefore, sit-ups are not the best way to get firmer abs.

Fitness myth 6: Exercising on an empty stomach will burn fat faster.

FACT: The body needs food to convert into readily available energy. It also needs that energy to burn calories and build muscles. Working out on an empty stomach will only make you feel dizzy and weak, affecting your exercise. You can have a light meal, protein bar, or fruits 45-60 minutes before a workout.

Fitness Myth 7: Exercising daily will help you reach your fitness goal faster.

FACT: Your body needs recovery, as well as exercise, to make the most fitness progress. While exercising, your muscles experience micro-traumas and your rest days allow the body to repair those worn muscles. If you exercise yourself daily into exhaustion, your body may begin to react in ways that you will not appreciate. Some of those reactions include:

1. Constant fatigue and sleep disorders
2. Increased appetite
3. Weight gain as a result of the body’s protective mechanisms
4. In women, menstrual cycle dysfunction

Your rest days are as important as your workout days, don’t skip them.