After writing “10 Fitness Lies You Should Know Before Summer,” I got a lot of great feedback from people asking me to write more about fitness. So, I went ahead and decided to break down some more myths regarding the industry; stuff everyone should know before falling in the trap.
1. Fasted cardio is the answer to burn fat.
No!
Think about having to wake up early in the morning just to have to jump on the treadmill right after, and without having to eat anything. Honestly, whoever came up with the idea of fasted training is completely nuts. The conclusion was made from the assumption that since you haven’t eaten anything, then your body would burn fat as a fuel.
This is not true! So, please don’t start your day off by starving to death on a treadmill. Instead, focus on eating less calories and/or exercising more.
2. The more protein the more muscle.
Bigger no!
I was personally an avid believer that by buying protein shakes and drinking them after working out, would make me huge. The problem with this one, is the fact that people mixed correlation with causation. Protein powders are the top selling supplement out there and it’s because fitness models swear by them, thus people think by drinking what the drink will make them get to that level.
However, protein powders are a supplement and should be used as such; just a supplement. The truth of the matter is, you don’t need a lot of protein to build muscle. Unfortunately, there isn’t a “one-size fits all” answer to this, but it seems that 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is a great place to start at.
3. Eating smaller meals boosts metabolism.
Nope.
First of all, you should do what works for you. If you like to eat 8 times a day, good for you; but just remember that you could eat 2 times a day, and have the same results you want. Wait, what? If you eat 17, or 3 meals a day (calories being the same) your metabolism would still be the same at the end of the day.
4. Detoxing.
Definitely not.
I hear people drinking juice for days straight without eating, or buying some tea that magically cleanses your body from toxins and chemicals. Please don’t buy into this.
Even worse, the FDA has taken legal action against these so-called Detox tea companies because they contained harmful ingredients.
Long story short, scientific research found that these cleansing programs don’t work, and can potentially be harmful to your health.
5. Following fitness models’ routines.
Don’t do it.
Most of the fitness routines you see on magazines with fitness models are done just to fill in some pages. Also, most of these focus on burn-out routines with high repetitions, which won’t do you any good specially if you just started out lifting.
In fact, most of these routines are done as a photoshoot, and the exercises are meant to look good in camera. If you really want to get “fitter,” even if you are a girl or a boy, you should focus on compound movements such as squats, and presses.
Do you have any questions regarding fitness? Let me know in the comment section below.
