Yesterday, Fitness First – Rockville shared 5 basic Fitness Myths that were commonly held (and believed) by many of our own members and guests. Today we are going to address 5 more of Myths that keep popping up. We named these the “Guy” Myths, because we hear these from men far more often than we do from our female members.
Read below and see if you can’t see one of your friends, or yourself, expressing one of these when you are chatting around the weight bench.
Fitness Myth No. 6: If you’re not working up a sweat, you’re not working hard enough.
“Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion,” says Tyne. “Sweating is your body’s way of cooling itself.” It’s possible to burn a significant number of calories without breaking a sweat: Try taking a walk or doing some light weight training.
Fitness Myth No. 7: As long as you feel OK when you’re working out, you’re probably not overdoing it.
One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when starting or returning to an exercise program is doing too much too soon. The reason we do that, says Schlifstein, is because we feel OK while we are working out. “You don’t really feel the overdoing it part until a day or two later,” he says.
No matter how good you feel when you return to an activity after an absence, Schlifstein says you should never try to duplicate how much or how hard you worked in the past. Even if you don’t feel it at the moment, you’ll feel it in time, he says — and it could take you back out of the game again.
Fitness Myth No. 8: Machines are a safer way to exercise because you’re doing it right every time.
Although it may seem as if an exercise machine automatically puts your body in the right position and helps you do all the movements correctly, that’s only true if the machine is properly adjusted for your weight and height, experts say.
“Unless you have a coach or a trainer or someone figure out what is the right setting for you, you can make just as many mistakes in form and function, and have just as high a risk of injury, on a machine as if you work out with free weights or do any other type of nonmachine workout,” says Schlifstein.
Fitness Myth No. 9: When it comes to working out, you’ve got to feel some pain if you’re going to gain any benefits.
While you should expect to have some degree of soreness a day or two after working out, Schlifstein says, that’s very different from feeling pain while you are working out. “A fitness activity should not hurt while you are doing it, and if it does, then either you are doing it wrong, or you already have an injury,” he says.
As for “working through the pain,” experts don’t advise it. They say that if it hurts, stop, rest, and see if the pain goes away. If it doesn’t go away, or if it begins again or increases after you start to work out, Schlifstein says, see a doctor.
Fitness Myth No. 10: I need to be in better shape before I consider classes or a Trainer.
While it is understandable that someone may want to test their commitment and schedule before they obligate themselves to a coach or a group training session, the idea that you need to be at a particular fitness level before seeking help is backwards thinking. “Any trainer worth the title works with clients of many different skill levels.” says Schlifstein.
Furthermore, if you were beginning a new hobby, learning a language, or developing a new skill, you would look for an instructor. It is when we start a new activity that we need guidance. Bad habits and improper form are developed early on, and it is during the early stages that someone is most likely to hurt themselves.
Conclusion
So that wraps up our review of the most commonly held fitness myths. We had plenty of runner ups, but we felt like these are the most dangerous that we have come across. Our final message to anyone is that, when you are dealing with fitness, don’t just accept what you over hear.
Do some research, and recognize that everyone’s body is different, and what works for one person is not always going to work for another. Finally, there is no substitute for time and energy. You are worth the investment of both, so spend the time and the energy to get the results you want, with the right knowledge and your goals will be achieved. Until next time, see you at the Gym.