10 Popular Exercise Myths

I found this list of exercise myths in my OCD fitness search and I wanted to share them with you. Some of them were a surprise to me!

#1- Your cardio machine is counting the calories you are burning. I think we all know this one is a myth. The machines grossly over estimate your burn. The fact is, calorie burn depends on your age, sex, BMI, and fitness level. Men and women burn calories differently, young people burn calories differently than older people, and a machine certainly can't determine your fitness level. Even if you enter your weight, age and sex, there are other individual factors at play that make you burn differently than the next 150lbs 29 year old female  stepping on the treadmill. So take those numbers with a grain of salt.

#2- Heart Rate Monitors let you know how hard you are working. This was a new one for me, I assumed surely your heart rate was a good estimate of your output, but apparently monitors are not always accurate, and can falter based on the type of workout your are doing. Your best measure is your own body. Can you talk in full sentences? Can you barely muster a few words? Are you about to pass out? Your body will let you know how much effort you are putting in.

#3- Your weight is the end all be all. Ok so this one I have talked to death, but it is important enough to say again and again. Your weight has little to do with your fitness level. I can personally attest to that. I have seen some very thin people who weigh much less than I do, that have a hard time doing squats. ( No offense intended at all to these people). The point here is that your weight is just a number. Muscle weighs more than fat and so you will probably see an increase on the scale when you first start lifting weights. Your best measure is your fitness level and how well your clothes fit. Forget the scale.

#4- Low intensity exercise burns more fat. The more intensely you exercise the more carbs you burn. You may burn less fat but you burn more calories, your body doesn't dig into the fat until after it has burned through the carbs. Which is why they recommend that you do a quick warm up and then weight lift before cardio. Lifting weights burns more carbs so when you go to do cardio you start digging into the fat reserves.

#5- You can spot reduce for tight arms, or toned abs. The more repetitions your do just creates muscle memory reducing the effectiveness of the workout and causing your body not to burn as much fat. Working all body parts will reduce muscle memory and increase calories burned.

#6- You can eat whoever you want as long as you workout. Well this one seems like a no brainer. Working out alone is not enough to burn fat, you have to have a calorie deficit. Unfortunately an intense calorie deficit works the opposite way. Muscles need food, so you have to have a good balance of carbs, proteins and fats. Starving reduces your metabolism and causes your body to want to store fat. And if you eat crappy foods and still workout you will not see any progress. Nutrition is 90% of weight loss.

#7- Cardio is the only way to lose weight. Cardio is great for your heart and increases endurance, but it is not the best way to burn fat. Since muscles have higher energy stores in them your body will actually begin to feed off those after extended cardio regimens rather than fat. 10-25 minutes if cardio is the best range to work in not to feed off muscle and burn fat.

#8- You have to do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach to burn fat. I have heard this one a lot, the best way to work out in the morning in to do it before breakfast.. well that seems crazy, your body needs fuel! You haven't eaten in 8-10 hours. Your metabolism is at a snails pace in the morning. Eating a balanced healthy breakfast before your workout gives you energy and gets your metabolism going.

#9- Chug a protein shake after a workout. I used to do this all the time. I had a trainer tell me I needed at least 30 grams protein after a workout, and that's hard to accomplish with foods. The fastest way was a shake. While protein shakes are good for emergencies they are low quality processed food. The best source of protein is through turkey, beef, yogurt and nuts.

#10- Drinking ice cold water burns fat. This I have heard too, although it sounded fishy to me. There are no proven facts that drinking cold water causes your body to warm itself up revving your metabolism to burn more fat. Water is good for you, but you can stick to room temp.

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