Myth #1: Spot Reduction Will Reduce Abdomen or Thigh Fat

Fact: According to my experience, this is the most common fitness myth. Most of the people in the gym come up and ask for exercises to reduce their tummy, hips, or thighs. Spot reduction is a fad; you cannot target the fat in a particular area to reduce it. The only way to reduce fat in a particular part of the body is to reduce the overall body fat. Therefore, it is imperative to embark on a comprehensive fat-reduction program that includes aerobic exercises, a resistance training program, low-calorie diet to control unnecessary calories, and being as active as you possibly can in your daily life. It is also very important to accept the fact that by following a proper food and exercise regime, you will lose fat from all over your body but will not lose it equally. The fat deposited in some parts of your body burns faster compared to other parts.

Myth #2: Lifting Heavy Weights Can Make Women Look Like a “Hulk”

Fact: This is a myth that keeps haunting women time and again. Worry not, women don’t have the physiological makeup to develop huge muscles. Lifting heavy weights surely stimulates the production of testosterone; however, it stimulates only enough to increase the body’s metabolism and help you burn fat, and is not sufficient to make you bulky. Women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men; that is why women will not become bulky in spite of lifting heavy weights regularly. Owing to more testosterone, men grow facial hair, develop hoarseness of their voice, and develop muscle mass. The low testosterone levels in women enable them to stay beautiful and not develop huge muscles as in men even when they work out with weights. With training, the muscles will develop, but it will not gain large amount of mass like men.

Myth #3: You Burn More Fat If You Exercise on an Empty Stomach

Fact: It is a common belief that exercising on an empty stomach challenges the body’s reserves and burns more calories and fat. In a study published in the “Journal of Medicine” and “Science in Sports and Exercise” (1999), researchers found that when the subjects ate nothing, they became fatigued faster and stopped exercising about 30 minutes earlier. According to Dr. David Prince, assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the College of Medicine, Yeshiva University (NY), exercising on an empty stomach can lower blood sugar levels, causing hunger cramps that leads one to eat much more than they would otherwise. It is a fact that not only your muscle requires glucose, but also your brain needs it. Therefore, working out on an empty stomach could impair both muscle function as well as some brain function, which in turn could lead to injuries.

Most of the trainers recommend a good pre-workout snack like yogurt or a small amount of cereal with milk or a fruit. The bottom line is exercising on an empty stomach does burn slightly more fat, but the workout regime kind of “slacks off,” which in the long run gives negative results. 

Myth #4: The More the Muscle Soreness, Greater the Results

Fact: Many people judge their previous workout by muscle soreness. Muscle soreness, also known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), is very common in people who exercise. It usually occurs within 24 to 48 hours after a workout. Muscle soreness is due to inflammation and microscopic tear of muscle fibers. DOMS is a necessary stage in the process of building new and stronger muscles. People exercising regularly should make a note that excess muscle soreness means that they are overtraining with insufficient caloric diet.

Always remember that if the soreness is substantial even after a few days of exercising, then it may be an indicator that your muscle fibers are not healed yet, and any further training will give you negative results. The most important thing you could do to prevent DOMS is to perform a proper warm up and cool down every time before and after the workout, respectively. Other than warming up, proper nutrition, active recovery and soft tissue manipulation (massage, kneading, or rolling) can be an effective way to speed up the recovery process. Start weight training program with light weights and gradually progress to heavy weights.

Myth #5: The Longer the Workout Duration, the Better and Earlier the Results

Fact: It is not about working out longer, but smarter. You may have fallen for the sapience that the more time you spend in the gym, the better the results will be. Staying for a long time in the gym can actually be counterproductive. Short and intense workouts are the path to be followed if your goal is to maximize your muscle gains. Overtraining can actually result in losing muscle. The reason for this is the excess production of the hormone cortisol (that releases in the body after strenuous workout), which is responsible for muscle break down. ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) recommends the ideal workout duration to be 45 to 60 minutes (excluding warm ups) for 3 to 5 times a week.

Let not excuses or wrong information get in the way of achieving your desired goals and staying motivated to lead a healthier life!

(via)