There are so many myths about female fitness that I hear all the time that it is hard to know what to believe anymore. Being a Certified Personal Trainer specializing in female fitness, women will tell me they saw something in a magazine or on TV so it must be true and they believe it. Truth is, you can’t always believe what you hear.Here are some of the common female fitness myths:
Spot Training
Spot training or spot reduction does not work. Trying to lose all the fat in just your belly or your love handles by just working on your abs or your inner and outer thighs is a waste of time. The truth is the body naturally distributes body fat all over your body and focusing on only one area on your body will not help. Incorporating a combination of a clean diet, cardiovascular training and strength training will help trim your body fat in your stomach area and other areas of your body as well.
Cardio is the Best to Lose Weight
This one is very common and I see it all the time. Women specifically seem to believe that the best way to lose weight is hours and hours of cardio. The truth is this couldn’t be further from the truth. First off you can never outrun a bad diet. It does not matter how many hours on the treadmill you do if your diet is bad. You should start there to lose weight. Secondly, cardio is a great tool to incorporate in your workout to work on your cardiovascular system but should not be the main focus of your workout.
Sweating a Lot Means you Worked Your Butt Off
Dripping in buckets of sweat does not necessarily mean you had an intense workout. Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion. The amount someone sweats could be affected by many different factors including the temperature you are training in, genetics, medication, hydration levels, and clothing you are wearing. Due to all these different factors, sweating a lot does not necessarily indicate you worked your butt off.
Crunches are the Best to get a Six Pack
Don’t believe everything you hear. Crunches are a not the best exercise to get a six pack. A 6 pack is 90% affected by your diet. Reducing your body fat percentage by diet and exercise will help you see your abdominal muscles. Crunches are an exercise to build abdominal muscle but are usually not done properly having to rely on secondary muscles. Try doing a plank instead, as it works more of your core muscles and is more affective than crunches.
Muscle Soreness = Good Workout
Many people judge their workouts by how sore their muscles feel immediately following. More soreness is not necessarily a good thing. There is something called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) which normally occurs between 24 and 48 hours after a workout and depends on different factors including the phase of training, amount of rest and your nutrition. Women who are looking for weight loss and toning goals should keep in mind that extreme muscle soreness could mean you are overtraining in a caloric deficiency. The less sore you are after a workout, the less recovery time you will need in between workouts.
All these myths above are exactly that. They are myths. They are not true and should not be believed. Next time you see a new female fitness fad on the TV or in a magazine, do some research into the science and you will find the truth and what you are looking for. For the best results hire a Certified Personal Trainer to create a unique workout program for you to reach your fitness goals.
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