8 Common Fitness Myths Debunked

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  You can out-train a bad diet and lose weight

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Although many people seek the elusive “magic pill” to lose weight, the hard truth is that you can’t “out-train a bad diet”. In order to effectively lose weight and then maintain weight, a number of lifestyle factors must be taken into consideration. Firstly, it is suggested that you monitor food intake and have a general understanding of caloric literacy and energy balance (eg. Calories intake must be less than calorie output to lose weight). This is also assisted by increasing protein intake and having regular contact with a dietician if required. Secondly, you must increase physical activity levels and incorporate both aerobic and resistance training into your weekly regime. It is also essential that you track and monitor your progress (eg. ≥ 10,000 steps a day or 150 active minutes per week). This process is best assisted by an accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist, Exercise Physiologist or Strength and Conditioning Coach. Finally, you must also address goal setting and tracking the outcomes of your lifestyle choices. This final step is often where you can make adjustments to your choices based on evaluations (Ferraro, Patterson & Chaput, 2015).

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So long story short, in order to lose weight and also keep it off, you must address all three of these lifestyle factors and adjust them appropriately to suit you as an individual.

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Lifting will make you bulky

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A common misconception, particularly among women, is that lifting will make you bulky. However, this is untrue. Generally, men produce 10 times more testosterone than women and therefore, the two different genders do not put on muscle in the same way. When you lift weights, you will increase your strength and muscle size   which in fact, encourages a higher level of calorie burning and an increase in your metabolism. Furthermore, the most important thing when trying to avoid body fat gain, is that the most important thing is diet. Did you know that a single medium serve of fries is approximately 340 calories? And that to create 1 kilogram of muscle it takes 9000 calories? That would mean you would need to eat 26.5 medium fries on top of your regular diet to grow that extra bulk.  The saying “abs are made in the kitchen” is absolutely true- clean up the diet and reap the aesthetic goals that come with it.

If you are looking to become a lean machine, stick to these simple rules:

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1.      Don’t overeat for your goals!

2.      Lift heavy (ask your coach for assistance in programming)

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So this common belief actually couldn’t be any more farther from the truth- get lifting people! 😊

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You can’t train with an injury

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Nice try…but you can still train with an injury. Now this can obviously be dependent on the severity or type but in general, training with an injury is entirely possible. Often, when succumbing to an injury the individual will lose muscle mass quite rapidly due to minimal resistance training. However, there are a number of things you can do to help maintain the skeletal muscle mass you have! A study by Wall, Morton and Van Loon (2014) suggests limiting limb mobilisation, ingesting 1.6-2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day and also continuing to train the rest of your un-injured body! If training within a group setting, you can always complete alternative exercises to avoid using the injured body part. If you become injured, consult with an accredited practitioner to discuss any modifications that need to occur to your training regime.

 

 

Eating a high protein diet is good for you

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It may seem that every where you look these days is “high protein” or “containing protein”. Every products package on the shelves seems to boast this word in big, bold letters and every hip café has a menu with meals that draw your eyes to the all-important protein content in it. However, although it is essential to have protein in your diet, too much can be problematic. As protein is not stored in the body, any excess protein in your diet has to be filtered out of the body. If too much has to be filtered out, this can cause problems such as disorder in the kidneys or liver.

 

Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet and consuming the appropriate amounts of proteins, carbohydrates and fats each day will enable the body to work efficiently and bring you closer to reaching your goals. The recommended daily intake of protein is 0.75 grams/ kilogram of body weight/ day for women and 0.85 grams/ kilogram of body weight/ day for men.

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  Muscle turns to fat when you stop lifting weights

You may have heard the old-wives tale that when you stop lifting weights, muscle turns to fat. This belief has probably been fuelled by before and after pictures of body builders and power lifters following the end of a competition phase. Well, the truth is, muscle and fat are different types of tissue and when you stop lifting weights, they do not become one.

 

The reason why you could potentially gain fat mass following cessation of strength training is if you continue to consume the same high calorie diet you had when training at a high level. It is at this point, that the extra calories you consume (but are no longer using for training), will be stored within the body. In order to maintain a healthy level of fat mass, you need to maintain an appropriate calorie consumption for your level of training. Consult with an accredited Dietician if you need help in this area.

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You can “spot” reduce

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You may have often thought “I want to get rid of my tuckshop arms” or “If I could only lose this muffin top…”. Well, unfortunately, there is no such thing as “spot reducing”. When you work out, you can reduce your overall body fat but you cannot choose where this loss of body fat comes from. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research had a study group performing localised muscle endurance resistance training on one leg only. Although all-over body fat was reduced upon completion of the study, the training program was not effective in reducing fat mass in just the trained leg (Ramirez-Campillo, et al, 2013).

A real-life example is the comparison of both the dominant and the non-dominant arms of tennis players. Due to the high use of the dominant arm, it would be expected that perhaps it would be “leaner” than its counterpart. However, a study by Gwinup, et al (1971) showed that although there was an increased arm girth, the subcutaneous fat fold thickness in the dominant arm was very similar to that of the non-dominant arm.

 

 

“No pain, no gain”

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It sounds like a slogan from a tee-shirt but I am sure we have all said or thought it at one point right?! However, it is very important that you learn how to tell the difference between “good pain” and “bad pain”. Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (DOMs) is the general ache you may feel generally 24-72 hours following your workout. This is NORMAL pain and is caused by microscopic trauma (minor tears) to the muscle and connective tissue. Generally it occurs to unaccustomed eccentric loading of skeletal muscle and can be treated by rest, massage, cryotherapy, stretching and anti-inflammatories in more intense cases (Sellwood, et al, 2007). Within reason, this sort of pain is fine and nothing to be alarmed about.

Again, any sort of fatigue is also pretty normal, especially if you are a newbie to the type of physical activity you are undertaking. Although, fatigue shouldn’t be a goal of your training, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing so no need to be alarmed.

 

Now, if in any part of your workout you feel pain that could be described as “all of a sudden” pain such as something sharp, stabbing, burning or “out of nowhere pain”, this is BAD pain and you should stop your exercise immediately. If these sorts of pain occur in the joints rather than the muscle, DEFINITELY stop immediately. This sort of pain could occur for a number of reasons such as if you are using too much weight, bad form or it’s the beginning of an injury occurring. If you feel this pain, seek the assistance of a qualified coach or practitioner straight away. You will need to ensure your form is correct and that you have no existing or new injuries.  

 

You should static stretch before a workout

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This one is surprising- no is the answer in short! It goes against common logic right? But a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research states that static stretching before a workout can actually leave your muscles feeling weak and unsteady. The study concluded that participants who performed an active dynamic warm-up were 23% more stable and balanced during their workout than when they performed static stretching beforehand. It is suggested that before you complete your workout, you undertake a active dynamic warm-up that mimics the activities and motions you will use during the session, but at a slower pace. This type of warm-up is important before any type of workout (cardio or strength based) and can help your body be prepared for what it is going to do.

Furthermore, static stretching before a workout can actually do your body damage by tearing muscle fibres as the body may not be heated up enough to cope with such an intense stretch.

 

 

References

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1.      Ferraro, Z.M., Patterson, S. & Chaput, J.P. (2015). Unhealthy Weight Control Practices: Culprits and Clinical  recommendations. Clinical Medicine Insights: Endocrinology and Diabetes 8, 7–1.

2.      Gwinup, G., Chelvam, R. & Steinberg, T. (1971). Thickness of subcutaneous fat and activity of underlying muscles. Annals of Internal Medicine, 74, 408-411.

3.      Ramírez-Campillo, R., Andrade, D.C., Campos-Jara, C., Henríquez-Olguín, C., Alvarez-Lepín, C. & Izquierdo, M. (2013). Regional fat changes induced by localised muscle endurance resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27(8), 2219-2224.

4.      Sellwood,K.L., et al. (2007). Ice-water immersion and delayed-onset muscle soreness: a randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(6): 392-397.

5.      Wall, B. T., Morton, J. P., & van Loon, L. J. (2015). Strategies to maintain skeletal muscle mass in the injured athlete: nutritional considerations and exercise mimetics. European Journal of Sport Science, 15(1), 53-62.

 

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Sarah Hervert has a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science and is an Australian Strength and Conditioning (ASCA) Level 2 accredited coach. She has experience working with regional, state and national level athletes and has a passion for coaching athletic development and strength and conditioning in adolescents as well as injury rehabilitation.

 

Oscar Marroquin is an Accredited Exercise Physiology (AEP), a Sport and Exercise Scientist and an Australian Strength and Conditioning (ASCA) Level 1 accredited coach. He specialises in exercise and rehabilitation for those with chronic conditions and injuries.