5 Fitness Myths: Busted

MYTH #1 Doing crunches will get rid of belly fat.

You can’t “spot reduce”. What exactly does that mean? It’s a misconception that you can do exercises on a particular body part to get rid of fat in that area. That is what this myth is based on. You can do thousands of crunches and it won’t get rid of fat around your midsection. You will strengthen your abdominal muscles, but they will remain covered by body fat. Instead of just crunching and focusing on just your abdominal muscles, perform a combination of strength training and cardio conditioning, using full body and multiple muscle exercises. This way you build lean muscle throughout your whole body, turning your body into a calorie & fat burning machine.

MYTH #2: If you're not working up a sweat, you're not working hard enough.    

The amount of sweat is not related to exertion. Sweating, also known as perspiration, is the body’s way of cooling itself. Everyone is different. During the same workout, some people will be drenched, and others will barely break a sweat.

How much a person sweat depends on how many sweat glands they have. People are born with 2 – 4 million sweat glands that become active during puberty. Women have more sweat glands, but men’s glands are usually more active.

MYTH #3: Women shouldn’t lift weights because they will bulk up

This myth is what leads the ladies to the little weights and high repetitions. Or worse… ladies just avoid weights all together.  Lifting weights builds lean muscle in the body. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat, adding a little bit more muscle to your body and decreasing your fat actually makes you look leaner—not bigger.

Building “bulk” requires a large amount of testosterone, and females don’t have the amount of testosterone required to build the amount of muscle that they fear. Testosterone is usually thought of as a male hormone, but it is present in both sexes. It plays an important role in the development and function of the heart, brain, bones, muscles and blood vessels.

MYTH #4: If you’re not sore after a workout, you didn’t work hard enough.

Soreness is not an indicator of exercise quality. We don’t build muscle or get stronger during the workout. While soreness is never the goal when exercising, it does happen. During exercise our muscles are subjected to forces that cause microscopic tears in the muscle fibers. Those tiny tears become inflamed and result in soreness.

The soreness, known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), usually occurs 24-48hrs after working out and lasts from 1 – 2 days. During recovery, the repair of the muscle tissue results in building muscle. Thus, recovery is as important as exercising.

MYTH #5: No Pain, No Gain

This is probably the worst of the fitness myths, because it has lead to so many injuries that could have been avoided. This myth creates the thought that somehow you’re cheating yourself if you don’t “suck it up” and deal with the pain. Exercise shouldn’t hurt. I’m not talking about being sore (which doesn’t usually happen during exercise) or muscle exertion. I’m talking actual pain. I tell my clients all the time, “If it hurts, don’t do it”. The pain is an indicator that something is wrong, and “working through the pain” will only make it worse.  

David E. Cox, ACE-CPT, is a personal trainer that has dedicated his life to helping to improve the lives of others through exercise and healthy living. He is owner of Positive Vibes Fitness, a private personal training studio in Glen Burnie, MD where we educates, motivates, and inspires people from all walks of life. Be sure and sign up for his monthly eNewsletter, The Vibe, at www.positivevibesfitness.com