Don’t believe everything you read on the internet or see on late night info-commercials. There are so many misconceptions about health and fitness but we give you the skinny on five of the common fitness myths.
Muscle turns into fat
People may gain weight when they stop working out because they continue to eat the same amount but burn off fewer calories. As a result, their unused muscles grow soft while they simultaneously gain excess body fat. Lack of exercise can cause your muscles to reduce in size. You can stop this from happening by eating a balanced diet and continuing to exercise on a regular basis.
Stomach crunches reduce stomach fat
It is a well known fact that you cannot spot reduce. You could do over 5000 crunches a day and still not see any improvements in your abdominal muscles until you burn the layer of fat over your stomach muscles. This is achieved by watching your diet and burning more calories through cardio exercise and weight training.
You should stretch before you workout
Research shows that stretching prior to exercise has no effect on decreasing injuries but it is important to warm-up before a workout. Stretching after exercising is also essential to return your heart rate back to normal and prevent muscle pain. It is also vital to replenish your fluids and drink plenty of water after exercising.
Women will bulk up if they do weights
The average woman will not be able to bulk up like a man because they lack the testosterone levels necessary to develop huge muscles. A balanced exercise program should include a cardio and weights work out. Weight training can help speed up your metabolism, tone up your muscles and bring you closer to achieving your fitness goals.
If you’re not working up a sweat, you’re not working hard enough
Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion; it is the body’s attempt at cooling the body because of a rise in body temperature that is brought on by the increase in physical activity. Dehydration can lead to heat strain, heat exhaustion or even heat stroke so make you replenish your body with water after you have finished exercising.
There are so many fallacies and myths about exercising but having a balanced diet and exercising regularly doing a program of cardio and weights will help you reach your fitness training goals.
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