Fitness Myths – Busted!

In this time and age, anyone can give you fitness tips. I mean, just take a look at the hundreds of Instagram fitness accounts telling you what to do for a workout. The number one rule of social media? You can’t believe everything you see being posted. Like these fitness myths.

#1 LIFTING WEIGHTS MAKES WOMEN BULKY
Women often avoid the weights and dumbbell rack in favour of the treadmill and cycling machine because of this: If a woman does bicep curls and shoulder presses, she’ll be all muscular and veiny. Wrong wrong wrong. Women only have three to five percent testosterone so bulking up like men is just not possible (unless you consume 10,000 calories a day and do hella strength training).

#2 STRETCHING PRE-WORKOUT DECREASES RISK OF INJURY
Some professionals don’t even believe in stretching before a workout. You don’t want to put your muscles to sleep before a workout; you want them fired up and excited to conquer the day! Static stretching has been proven to weaken some muscles and give you a poor workout experience. Instead, spend a few minutes brisk walking on the treadmill or 100 jumping jacks to get the blood flowing. Alternatively, opt for dynamic stretching.

#3 SPOT REDUCTION WORKS
Doing a million sit-ups a day will not give you a flat tummy if you neglect your cardio and every other exercise. If you wanna get rid of those love handles, you’re going to have to go through the pain (and joy) of long cardio hours coupled with full body workouts. Eating healthy will definitely speed up that process too!

#4 EAT ONLY EGG WHITES, NOT THE YOLKS
Egg yolks contain most of the egg’s nutrients. Iron, folate and vitamins are all found in the egg yolk so why the bad rep? The main worry people have about egg yolks are the levels of dietary cholesterol and its effects on heart health. Good news! A recent study found that dietary cholesterol does not translate into high levels of blood cholesterol so don’t go through the hassle of getting rid of the yolk before making an omelette.

#5 THE MORE YOU SWEAT, THE MORE YOU BURN
It’s always nice to end a workout drenched in sweat and say ‘good workout bro’. Sorry to break it to you but how much you sweat does not necessarily translate to a good workout. Our body sweats as a response to hot temperatures. The amount you sweat can easily be a cause of the humidity in the gym rather than the intensity of your workout.

Photo by Evan Dvorkin on Unsplash