Little knowledge is dangerous. This is true even in the fitness and exercise world: one misleading piece of advice from a random trainee who has no expertise can lead to severe circumstances. So for safer workout sessions, we all need to get our facts straight. Or more like fix all the knowledge and information we already have about fitness.
Here are the most common fitness and exercise myths: debunked.
Stretching prevents injuries:
A 2007 study published in the journal Research in Sports Medicine debunked the notion that stretching before work out prevents injuries. In fact, stretching right before a workout routine can loosen your muscles up before a workout makes you nice and limber, reducing your chances of muscle tears or pulls. The University of Hull in England researchers “concluded that static stretching was ineffective in reducing the incidence of an exercise-related injury.“
In short, what most of us think could be our warm routine can actually be drastic for the fitness sessions.
According to author Jeffrey Gergley, an associate professor of kinesiology at Stephen F. Austin State University, “stretching before your body heats up can tear muscle fibers.” Meanwhile, stretching after working out can assist your muscles to come back in their natural state. .”
Fat can turn into muscles and vice versa:
This is one of the greatest misconceptions. Fat and muscles are two entirely different body tissues. One can never magically “transform” into the other, it is beyond science.
Brad Schoenfeld, an assistant professor of exercise science at the City University of New York’s Lehman College, explains it best to LiveScience: “The best analogy I can use is, you cannot turn an orange into an apple.”
What actually happens is that excessive training burns your calories and increase your muscle mass, meanwhile decreasing your fat mass.
The best way to lose weight is to reduce calories:
Research has suggested that it’s not the calories reduction in diet that helps one lose weight but change overall eating behavior. Habits such as scheduling your meals, using smaller dishes, and eating in small segments instead of binge eating can help you reduce weight quickly.
Yoga wont cause injuries:
Yoga is not as safe as one might think.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, yoga causes musculoskeletal pain in 10% of people and aggravates existing injuries in 21%.
No pain, no gain:
Keep in mind that your goal is to over-exhaust yourself but to stay fit and healthy. Exercise should not be at the expense of your pain. If you feel the slightest discomfort or pain in a session, stop exercising immediately and inform your gym instructor as soon as possible. Your body being sore at the end of a workout session, is not a sign of healthy exercise or instant weight loss but it means that you need to change your exercise techniques.
You need to go to the gym, daily:
We are usually told never to skip a gym day. But in reality, for every hustle you do in life, sometimes you need to rest to get back in form. Same is the case with fitness and hitting the gym: if one does rest within 24-48 hours after working out, the muscles will torn up and there will be no muscle gain because the tissues were given no time to rest.
According to Toronto YMCA, “Over the 24 to 48 hours following your workout, your body struggles to rebuild those muscles, resulting in their improved strength, endurance, and tone.”
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