Gyms are all around us, and so are myths. The ones you hear for the gym are not new. In fact, many are common ones that have just been re-worded. Here’s another article about six of those myths. But wait! There’s more! I am also including three myths that may not be so common as well. Read on!

6 Common Myths

1. You can spot reduce fat- Sorry, not really a thing without expensive procedures. What you can do instead is pay attention to where you gain weight at first (legs, stomach, arms) and work on reducing your overall body weight. Weight tends to come off the way it went on, so if you gain in your abs first, that could be one spot where you will notice a difference first.
2. If you work out, you can eat whatever you want– Eh. If you want to get technical about it, as long as you are creating a calorie deficit (burning more than you consume), you can lose weight. Now, the problem with that is you’re still not going to be healthy. If you feed your body junky food, it’ll feel and run junky. If you fuel your body with good, whole, nutrient-dense foods, you will notice a change in how you feel daily. You can still enjoy your food; just try to limit the highly processed, fast food options. Once in a while is okay, as long as you don’t make it a habit and go for that extra large meal.
3. Lifting weights will make you bulky- For most women, the testosterone level is low enough that ‘bulking up’ is more difficult. That and to properly bulk up, you need to meet a specific set of ‘requirements’ to do so. Diet has to be 110% spot on, your weight lifting regimen is specifically geared to maximize that muscle growth, and sometimes, supplements are used. For the average gym-goer, this isn’t particularly something you should be concerned about. I’d worry more about proper form, using the right weights for your level, and listening to your body.

4. You have to stretch before you work out– It actually does the opposite of what you want it to do IF you are only doing static stretches. Think of pulling your foot to your butt to stretch your quads, sitting and reaching towards your toes, or crossing your arm across your chest to stretch your shoulders. By stretching the muscles statically before your workout, you can damage them by stretching cold muscles. What you should do instead is warm up with a brief walk or some light cardio to get your blood pumping and prime your body for working out. This will get your muscles ready more effectively than doing more static stretches like bending to touch your toes and holding.
5. You need $$$ of XYZ supplements- Please don’t. Your body is a remarkable machine capable of so many things that you do not need to add additional and often questionable substances to it. Many supplements you can get are not strictly regulated, which means they might follow unsafe practices or add things that can harm your body. Instead, by eating a well-balanced, well-rounded diet, you can get the majority of the nutrients your body needs. This doesn’t apply to everybody as everyone is going to have different needs and may need supplements to help maintain a healthy body. This is not about that; it is about spending hundreds of dollars at GNC for special supplements that promise better performance, focus, energy, fat burning, etc. Now, I use two types of supplements for my own goals; pre-workout and protein powder, but I will discuss those in a future post.
6. No pain, no gain– Okay, so it’s not really a ‘myth’ per se, but it is just an infuriating statement that I wish would dissolve off the planet. Working out should not cause actual pain. If it is, something is wrong. Uncomfortable and painful can be hard to distinguish sometimes but once it tips that threshold from being uncomfortable TO being painful, you need to pay attention more and ease up. Aside from the obvious downsides of being injured, the time it takes your body to heal can be long enough for you to regress to a former level of training. It can hold you back and can make workouts or day-to-day activities lousy.

3 Uncommon Myths

1. The best time to work out is (am, pm, or mid-day…)– This one is easy. The best time to work out is the time that fits into your schedule the best so that you can seamlessly integrate it into your day-to-day. If the best time is 5 am, awesome. 12 am? Sure. 7:46 pm? Why not! If it is something you can sustain without having to move everything else around, then you have found the best time for YOU.
2. You must work out every day– so this one is fairly common, but I’m putting it here. Your body does a lot in a day; adding exercise is great and all but you still need to rest. By resting, you give your body the time to recover and rebuild itself to be even stronger before. Awesome right?! You can still be active on your non-gym days by incorporating something like a daily walk for 30 minutes or in three 10-minute intervals if you are crunched for time.
3. Do cardio first- Ideally, you will save your cardio for after you lift or even do it on non-lifting days. By doing cardio first, you wear your body out before you even really get to the heavy lifting (haha). When you do that, you compromise by not lifting as heavy, not lifting as much, or by lifting with poor form. Lifting requires a certain finesse for it to be done safely and effectively; this finesse can go to the wayside if you use it up on cardio first and wear yourself out. It can be lousy, but save the cardio for the end or do it on days you are not lifting.

I hope this article serves you well and that you are staying safe, eating well, and lifting properly. Keep up the amazing work, don’t give up, and remember that you’ve got this. Bye, my lovelies!