Myth Busters: Fitness Style
Everyone has heard them, everyone has repeated them, but are they really true or just something someone said at a cocktail party or gym juice bar that have gone viral? What are they? They are fitness myths. Some of these myths may have started long ago with the at the time current scientific research available and then been amended over time as more research was done, and some are just thing people say because they heard someone else say it an it made them sound smart to repeat it.
Fitness Myth #1: “Yoga is great for back pain”-----In fairness this is actually true, IF the back pain you feel is muscle related. Yoga will help you to build up your core and therefore alleviate the pain. However, yoga is not useful if the back pain is related to other issues such as a ruptured disc. In fact doing yoga may do more harm to the injury. If you have back pain of any sort talking to your doctor about what exercise will help or hurt is the way to go. Yoga maybe the answer, but it may not and why risk further injury just because everyone (outside of the doctor’s office) is telling you yoga is the answer.
Fitness Myth #2: “Stretching helps your body recover faster from a workout” Current studies show that blood lactate levels in those who stretch after a work out isn’t any less than those who don’t. However, that being said stretching after a workout while the body is still warm does help to increase joint flexibility. So while stretching won’t help your muscles recover faster, it will help you to increase your flexibility. So this is one myth that while technically false still has benefits in practice.
Fitness Myth #3: “Running is bad for your knees” This myth has been around for years and years, but new research done by Stanford has finally debunked it as a truth. The Stanford research found that older runners’ knees were no less healthy than that of non-runners. Good news for all those crazy runners out there. Runners should do a total body stretching work out at least twice a week to help build up the muscles around the knees, and therefore prevent any knee injuries do to imbalances in the quadriceps and hamstrings.
Fitness Myth #4 “Crunches equals flat abs.” To be fair this myth has been busted a few times, but it is worth repeating. Crunches do very little for losing belly fat, you need to burn calories for that, and cardio is the best way to get that done. Also planks and bridge like exercise that use more of you distal trunk (meaning they use more shoulder and butt) have been proven to be more effective in engaging your entire core. Doing crunches can help you to engage a few of your core muscles, but not enough to really give you that six-pack everyone is dreaming of, or even that flat stomach. So ditch the crunches and start working on those planks.
Fitness Myth #5 “No Pain, No Gain” Worst myth ever!!!! Pain is never good, and you aren’t going to gain anything from it except more pain and an injury. Having soreness in your muscles a day or two after you work out is normal. However, if at anytime you feel pain during your workout you are either doing the exercise wrong or you have an injury. Pain is the body’s way of telling you something isn’t right and you need to stop. The only thing you are going to gain from pain is an injury and time off working out. Bad myth for convincing everyone that you need to feel pain to feel like you are achieving any fitness benefits.
There are many more myths out there, but these seem to be the ones that just keep hanging on no matter how much new research comes out against them. The key to keeping myths at bay in your work out routine is to speak to professionals ex: Doctors, trainer, and yes even your own body for your information on any new routines you are taking on.
Happy and Safe workouts! Any other myths you would like to debunk?