In today’s fitness driven world of internet ads, advice columns and blog, it seems that everyone knows everything about how to achieve optimal health. Or at least they think they do. Much of the “advice” we get about fitness and workouts can sometimes be wrong. We’re here to bust some common workout myths, advice and misconceptions.
MYTH: THE BEST TIME TO WORKOUT IS IN THE MORNING.
ANSWER: FALSE
The best time to work out is whenever there is enough time to dedicate 30-minutes to an hour worth of hard work. The key is consistency and making fitness a daily habit is the goal. Pick a time that works with your schedule and stick with It. For some it feels good to wake up early and get the workout over with. For others, late-night workouts are the only time their schedules will allow.
MYTH: WEIGHTLIFTING MAKES WOMEN BULKY
ANSWER: FALSE
Lifting weights actually helps to burn more calories and can boost metabolism. It takes an excess number of calories and months, or years of weight training to gain muscle mass to look bulky. Weight lifting helps to keep burning calories outside the gym, burning the fat that sits on top of the muscle. Women also have different chemicals than men do; testosterone levels in women are much lower, therefore unless you are taking supplements and eating like there’s not tomorrow, you are on the right track towards muscle definition.
MYTH: YOU CAN GE TOUT OF SHAPE BY MISSING TWO WEEKS OF EXERCISE
ANSWER: TRUE
Without any sort of exercise within a two-week period, you can lose the endurance that was gained with consistent workouts, and cardio is lost more quickly than strength. A person’s capacity to use oxygen during exercise builds up with practice but endurance will go down after about a 12-day period of inactivity. Although it falls faster than strength, it is easier to build back up.
MYTH: EXERCISE CAN MAKE-UP FOR UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS
ANSWER: FALSE
Burning calories consistently isn’t the only factor into leading a healthy lifestyle. Food plays a huge role in overall health. It’s as simple as this; you are what you eat. Eating healthy, nutritional food will only help to increase your overall health. Our bodies need certain nutrients that aren’t in greasy foods like french fries and burgers. Although you may be burning the amount of calories that are in a serving of fries, it keeps your body from burning the fat that you want off!
ADVICE: CARDIO IS THE BEST FOR WEIGHT LOSS
ANSWER: FALSE
In general, to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat. Although doing low intensity cardio ( like walking or biking) may burn more calories per minute, resistance training will continue to burn calories even after you have completed your workout. The real answer to this myth, is whatever fits best for you! Set a goal to target weight loss or gain muscle mass. Combine both cardio and weightlifting to maximize ultimate fitness level.
ADVICE: SPORTS DRINKS ARE THE BEST WAY TO HYDRATE AFTER A WORKOUT
ANSWER: FALSE
Sugar, sugar, sugar! These drinks have such high sugar concentration that it is not easily transported into our blood streams. Children and teens can process these sugars better than adults. Sports drinks have the electrolytes needed for rehydration, but so does water. The best way to hydrate is water in order to avoid the empty calories.
ADVICE: TAKE PROTEIN POWDER FOR A WORKOUT
ANSWER: TRUE AND FALSE
If you are doing weightlifting workouts of any sort, you should consider adding a protein powder into your pre-workout routine as your muscles feed on protein powder and will be able to ensure more during your workout because they can replenish themselves. However, if you are doing a cardio workout, your muscles aren’t being depleted like a weightlifting workout, so adding in protein powder is just extra calories that are unnecessary.
