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Top 10 Most Common Fitness Myths
Stretching before exercising
The conventional wisdom is that stretching elongates the muscle and helps prevent injury. Conversely, stretching before a workout will weaken the muscle by 30%, and the reduced tension may increase the risk of injury.
Do warm up by walking before cardio or doing light weights before intense training, and do stretch after a workout.
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Erasing bad eating with exercise
Your eating has to be in check. About 80% of what you look like is based on diet.
It’s a calorie game, people often overestimate the amount of food they burn in an hour-long session. Do the math, and figure out your weight-loss goals.
Toning muscles
Your muscles are already toned or you wouldn’t be able to move around. They’re just not visible because of the layer of fat covering them.
Different exercises for men and women
Both sexes have the same body structure but different hormonal make-ups which may mean a difference in muscle strength but does not mean they should work out any differently.
“Men tend to focus on abs, chest and arms, and women tend to focus on gluts and legs,” Maik Wiedenbach notes. “They’re each forgetting one half of their bodies.”
Women lifting lower weights
... and do higher repetitions than men.
Because women’s testosterone is lower, they likely won’t be able to lift as much weight as men, but the typical three-pound lady dumbbells won’t work because the resistance is too low to create change in the muscle.
Everyone should do six to eight repetitions with a weight that challenges them.
Reducing fat in one area
No matter how many crunches you do, someone with 20% body fat will never have abs like someone with 8% body fat.
To lose weight quickly, you’ll need to burn as much fuel as you can with intense exercises like squats, dips, pull downs, dead lifts and shoulder presses while following a strict diet.
Burning only fat at a target heart rate
The only time when you burn fats exclusively is when you are asleep.
Interval training, a mix of low and high intensity, will produce the best results.
Burning fat on an empty stomach
Technically the body is deprived of nutrients in the morning, so will tap fat stores-- but it is the wrong approach.
Working out on an empty stomach burns more muscle, which defeats the purpose of any fat-loss diet. Working out in a fasting state is sub-optimal, since the lack of nutrients will not allow for peak performance.
Shakes are great for weight loss
It’s not that they’re inherently bad for you, but that they won’t keep you full.
Whole foods have more fiber and take up more stomach volume, which keeps you feeling satisfied. They also require more digestive work, so use more energy and keep the metabolism up.
Eat only egg whites
Some studies show that yolks helped to reduce LDL, or the bad cholesterol.
The yolk contains most of the vitamins and minerals in the egg, plus half the protein. Since an egg white-only breakfast is nearly fat free, it will cause a significant insulin spike and promote hunger cravings as well as energy swings later in the day.
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Calories In Calories Out Principle Is Out
This myth is usually followed with “X makes you fat, not calories”. That X is usually a macronutrient such as carbs or fat. Sometimes it’s a chemical found in the foods.
Eating Small Meals And High Metabolism
The rationale behind this myth is the fact that when you eat, your energy expenditure goes up during digestion.
The problem with this myth is that the amount of extra calories you burn during digestion is directly correlated with the calories you consume. That means eating ten 200 Calorie meals increase the metabolism at the same rate as eating two 1,000 Calorie meals.
Diet Sodas And Weight Gain
Although there are many potential health effects of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners, weight gain is not one of them. Your body can’t store fat out of nothing.
For some people, consuming certain beverages may trigger a craving for another food. If you know when you drink diet soda, you are going to crave some other food, avoid it.
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Sore Is Not Always Good
While it feels satisfying to have sore, aching limbs, and a sign of a good workout. This is entirely unnecessary and one can eliminate the soreness by doing slow reps, or avoiding eccentric (muscle...
Heavy Lifting For Bulk
One can get stronger by increasing the size of the individual muscle fibers, and by recruiting more of the muscle fiber to work together when needed.
A bulky body is also considered a negative in certain sports. Getting bulky is a specific, targeted training which includes high-volume exercises, calorie intake, and protein supplements, and cannot be attained by simply lifting heavier weights.
Using Scales
Scales are actually useful in providing you with information about your general progress and direction.
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There is no "best diet"
The “best” diet is a theme: an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and plain water for thirst.
That can be with or without seafood; with or...
Best foods don’t have labels
Because they are just one ingredient: avocado, lentils, blueberries, broccoli, almonds, etc.
The "Age" of vegetables
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