Fitness Myths That Need To Be Busted!

Home // ENDURANCE BLOG // Fitness Myths That Need To Be Busted!

November 15, 2017

Recent Articles

You all know what this article is about. You hear a fitness tip, your friend swears by it, you read an article in a magazine saying it is the new holy grail and you believe it! The fitness world is full of half truths and right out LIES. Don’t worry, we will set you straight. Some of these fitness myths are harmless, but some of them can be really damaging.

1. Running on a treadmill is better for your knees than pavement. Myth! Running is great. Don’t get us wrong, but running can stress your knees regardless if you do it on pavement or a treadmill. Make sure to mix up your cardio activities so that you reduce the stress on your joints AND you will be able to run longer in life.

2. Crunches will blast belly fat! Right? Wrong! Your abs exist no matter how strong you are, they are probably just hiding under a layer of fat. Getting abs means having very low body fat percentage. You can’t pick and choose the places on your body where you lose fat, you need to have a workout regimen that promotes weight loss all over your body and that includes your belly!

3. Yoga can help with back pain. Nope. At least not necessarily. If your back pain (or any pain really) is muscle related, yoga is great! It helps stretch the muscles and work out tension. It also helps strengthen the core, which can really help with low back pain especially. However, if your back pain is skeletal, or you’ve ruptured a disk you may actually irritate the problem more by doing yoga. So the right answer is go to your doctor and see what they recommend before self diagnosing and potentially injuring your self.

4. If you aren’t working up a sweat, you aren’t doing it right. Nu-uh. Sweating simply means you are activating your body's self cooling system, it’s like turning on the AC on a hot day. It does indicate your body is working! But there are lots of exercises that don’t involve heavy sweating, like going for a walk, light weight training, or yoga (see above).

5. Working out with a machine is the safest way to get a workout. *Fog Horn Sound* Not a chance! Machines always do their job the way the humans program them, the machine might be doing exactly what you want it to do, but in reality you are the problem. Human error means some people don’t know how much is too much weight, or how far is too far. If you have a personal trainer helping you out, you should feel more comfortable, but don’t work out alone and if you don’t know how to use a machine, just ask!

6. NO PAIN NO GAIN. This is probably the biggest misconception about working out, and also the most harmful. You should for sure be sore after a work out for a few days, but if you are in pain during the workout then you are doing something wrong or you are injured and need to see a doctor. Don’t work through the pain, if it hurts, stop and see if the pain goes away, if it doesn’t you need to see a doctor.