Fitness Myths Debunked

By Edsel Segovia, Chris Sports Resident Coach 

We live in exciting times. Especially in the realm of exercise, I’ve never seen so many options for anybody to start. Gyms are now sprouting everywhere but still many people are falling for common fitness myths. Here are a couple of examples and why it’s time for you to shift your mentality.

1) Lifting weights will bulk you up
To this day, people still associate lifting weights with bodybuilders. As much as bodybuilders use free weights and machines to gain size, what people don’t see is the amount of calories they consume to build such herculean proportions. A proper strength training program has the benefit of providing you with lean mass that helps you burn more fat. It also allows you to gain strength that you’ve never thought you’d have!

2) Cardio is a prerequisite to doing weights
This is totally false. Cardio training has excellent health benefits especially when it comes to having a strong heart. But doing cardio as a first step to a fitness routine actually delays your progress due to the fact that you’re not building muscular mass. Lean muscular mass gained from strength training revs up your metabolism much faster than cardio. It also makes your joints stronger and keeps you injury free that can result from unbalanced cardio training.

3) You shouldn’t be eating after a workout when you’re trying to lose weight
Have you ever heard of the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen”? If you haven’t, well there’s a hundred percent truth to that. The best training program or coach cannot provide you with the body you want if you don’t take charge of your nutrition. A lot of people think that, because they’re trying to lose weight, eating after a workout defeats the purpose of their activity. In fact, all the more that you should eat after a workout because your muscles are damaged and need to repair themselves. Eating a nutritious meal is the answer! A healthy balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat should help your muscles recover and make them burn more fat.

4) Sit-ups and crunches can make you lose your belly
Fat is present all over our bodies. It is responsible for a lot of cellular processes and will be our last line of energy in very extreme situations. Unfortunately, it’s also the tissue that accumulates aroundour organs and surrounds our belly. The only way we can get rid of the excess fat that we’ve acquired through our dietary habits is by increasing our body’s lean mass. Lean mass is metabolic (meaning it’s very active and burns fat) and is our soldier against fat. We can build lean mass by prioritizing weight training. Crunches and sit-ups are useless if your gut is enveloped with fat. Plus, latest studies have proven that they can be really detrimental to your back.

So that’s just a few examples that permeate people’s perception of strength training. Hopefully, by debunking these fitness myths you can create some positive changes in your workouts.