It is very easy to get misinformed in today’s technological era, when everyone is an expert in everything. All you see on TV is fake specialists who tell you what you want to hear. Also it is very comfortable to fall in the trap of such myths. For example you hear a friend or a colleague that says he lost his belly fat just by making ab crunches. It may be so, but maybe he did not say that he also was on a diet and did a lot of cardio. I personally was not aware of few of these ten myths that I personally did some research. So here they are the ten myths about fitness and nutrition that actually matter:
Myth 1): Ab exercises can make you lose stomach fat
You can’t target where you lose fat. This is called “spot reduction” and it doesn’t exist. When we lose fat, our body decides where to lose fat from. Most likely our body will lose fat in a balanced proportions from all over our body, but there are persons who have a different way of burning fat. So ti lose stomach fat you have to lose weight and fat from all over your body.
Myth 2) Swimming is a great weight loss activity.
While swimming is great for increasing lung capacity, toning muscles, and even helping to burn off excess tension, Harr says the surprising truth is that unless you are swimming for hours a day, it may not help you lose much weight.
Because the buoyancy of the water is supporting your body, you’re not working as hard as it would if, say, you were moving on your own steam. It’s not uncommon to feel ravenous when you come out of the water. It may actually cause you to eat more than you normally would, so it can make it harder to stay with an eating plan.
Myth 3) If you’re not working up a sweat, you’re not working hard enough.
Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion. 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.
Myth 4) A protein bar is a good substitution for a meal
Nope. Protein bars are highly processed, unless you make them yourself. Highly processed food requires fewer calories to digest, so that benefit is diminished. I love protein bars, but I eat them as treats to be eaten instead of, say, a Snickers bar.
Myth 5) Muscle definition comes from lifting light weight for many reps
Leanness and muscle definition come from having muscle mass and low body fat. If you train with light weights only, you just won’t build muscle. If you don’t have any muscle mass, you won’t burn much fat. If you have low body fat coupled with small muscles, you’ll have nothing to show off!
Myth 6) The more you sweat, the more fat you lose
Sweat has nothing to do with intensity; it’s your body’s way of getting rid of heat. Fat is oxidized inside your body, and it is not going to vaporize because you’re sweating!
Myth 7) Creatine causes massive weight gain
Creatine is found naturally in your body. Creatine’s primary use is as an energy source. Creatine pulls water with it into the muscle cell, which can cause the cell to volumize. Volumized cells are healthy and, in super-jacked people, can actually make muscles look bigger.
The reason for the weight-gain myth is that most people combine a creatine supplement with carbs and other bulking food. Combined with sugar, creatine can cause subcutaneous water gain.
Myth 8) Women need different exercises than men.
Despite what the relationship books say, when it comes to fitness, men and women are from the same planet, says Wiedenbach. Both sexes have the same body structure but different hormonal make-ups, he says, which may mean a difference in muscle strength but does not mean they should work out any differently. Men tend to focus on abs, chest and arms, and women tend to focus on gluts and legs. They’re each forgetting one half of their bodies.
Myth 9) Women should lift lower weights and do higher repetitions than men.
This myth is particularly common because women worry that lifting weights will bulk them up. However without chemical assistance, women cannot achieve extraordinary muscle growth. Because women’s testosterone is lower, they likely won’t be able to lift as much weight as men, but the typical three-pound lady dumbbells won’t work because the resistance is too low to create change in the muscle. .
Myth 10) Drinking water can help you lose weight
Many sources tout drinking copious amounts of water to be the all-curing panacea of the Gods. If you’ve heard that drinking lots of water improves your skin tone, or that it flushes toxins from your body, you know what we’re talking about. But the fact of the matter is, the evidence for such catch-all health benefits is lacking.Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania have found that both the aforementioned “benefits” simply aren’t true. Another myth is that drinking lots of water will make you less hungry. Sorry to tell you this — you may eat less because you’re too busy trucking back and forth between the bathroom and dinner table, but that’s about it.
Oh, and that whole “recommended eight glasses a day” thing? Also false. You should drink only when you’re thirsty, and this is done just to replace the amount of water a healthy adult loses every day — about four to six glasses.
bodybuilding, forbes, webmd, fitnessmagazine
