The 5 Worst Fitness Myths

The internet is a wonderful, useful and ever-present gift to humanity, but with this amazing technology come a few negatives.

The one that bother me the absolute most?

The abundance of false information that is readily available.

In regards to fitness, nothing bother me more than people who are just trying to learn as much as possible are misled by false information. These “myths” end up hurting many people and typically sabotage results and end up sending people miles away from their actual goal. 

So, here’s 5 of the worst fitness myths that I have seen.  Muscles Can Become Fat: The first time I read this I couldn’t help but laugh about it.

I mean, think about it... Why would anyone in the world every want to build muscle if at some point all of that hard work, time and energy just turned back into fat over time? Where would the sense be in that? And why would doctors worldwide promote the positive benefits to strength training? 

GOOD NEWS! This is false! Amusing, but definitely not true at all.

Muscle tissue is just that – Muscle tissue. And that means.... you guessed it. Fat tissue is (drum roll) Fat tissue.

Thanks to the laws of science, one will never be able to become the other. So, get out there and build those muscles, they won’t turn into fat once you’re retired and sipping Pina Coladas (These will turn into fat though. So.... maybe drink them in moderation?) Strength Training Makes Women Bulky:

It’s easy to understand how many women are afraid to do any sort of strength training because they don’t want to get super muscly. There’s logic there. Strength training, naturally, increases the amount of muscle you have on your body. For most women, this isn’t quite the look they’re going for… Luckily for you, and once again thanks to the lovely laws of science! Most women just don’t have enough natural levels of testosterone to put on bulky muscle. Not unless they have an extremely focused and dedicated drive to do so.

GOOD NEWS! For most women, the time and effort you spend with strength training will honestly get you closer to the lean look you’re after instead of the bulky muscle look you think you’ll get. Train Enough and You Can Eat Without Concern: Common myth here, and possibly one of the reasons people believe that myth #1 is true. I’ve seen a few people throw away all of their hard work because they thought this was the case. You can train every single day at intense rates, but in the end your total calorie intake vs burn still matters. What makes this myth so dangerous is that many people actually overestimate their caloric burn while simultaneously underestimating their caloric intake.

That my friends is a recipe for frustration pie...

GOOD NEWS! If you maintain a calorie-controlled diet, rich with whole foods and pair that with a consistent and challenging fitness routine... You’ll lose weight and gain muscle, while finally dropping some of that frustration you’ve been haunted by! You Can’t Burn Fat with Strength Training: Oh my how wrong you are.... Muscle, out of everything, is like you knight in shining armor when it comes to fighting fat gain.

Every pound of muscle you have burns about 10-20 calories a day, through normal everyday usage... you know, just living and breathing and stuff. By training regularly you’ll increase your muscle mass as well as preserve the existing muscle mass you already have. Which, essentially makes you a fat burning factory.  The Only Way to Tone Is High Reps and Light Weight: I believe we can thank the 90’s for this one. For the most part, this originated with television fitness trainers and their popularity in the 90’s. The myth, basically says that extremely high reps with light weight is the way to get a toned body. 

The truth is: All you’re really doing by exercising that way is building your muscular endurance. Which is definitely a good thing, but not the way to a toned body.

The best way to get a toned body? Well, besides a proper diet... is to perform about 8-10 reps of an exercise with heavier weight and focus on pushing your muscles with each set you complete. 

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