Busting Popular Fitness Myths

There are so many fitness myths out there and it can be hard to differentiate what is true and what is complete utter BS.

This blog is going to bust some of the biggest fitness myths within the fitness industry:

‘Lifting weights makes you bulky’ – Definitely not. Lifting weights enables you to build lean muscle and sculpt your body. It takes a lot to build even a little muscle, so please do not worry about looking bulky. Resistance training helps achieve that 'toned' look which is highly desirable. So don't be scared and go pick up some heavy weights to get the results you really want and you can feel like a badass in the process.

Doing loads of ab circuits gives you abs. Sorry to disappoint, but no it doesn’t. Similar to the point above. Doing core exercises will build strength and muscle, but this won’t show unless you reduce your overall body fat.

You can spot reduce fat. No, you can’t. When you train your body, this will tone overall but you can’t choose what particular areas lose more fat. You can do tricep dip after tricep dip but this won’t make your bingo wings go away, it will just build up muscle beneath them. Instead of trying to lose fat from one place thro

ugh targeting particular exercises, focus on improving your diet and reducing your overall body fat.

Fasted cardio is the secret to fat loss. Nope. There has been research which has found a very tiny difference in the effects of fasted vs un-fasted cardio on individuals weight and fat loss results.

The more you train the better. Absolutely not, if you weren’t already aware you don’t need to train all day, every day to get results. This can lead to issues such as over training, injury and fatigue if you’re not recovering adequately. Remember quality over quantity always! Instead, focus on quality over quantity.

If you’re not sore then you didn’t train hard enough. Again, not true. You can have a great workout and not be sore the next day. When you train regularly your body gets used to being under more strenuous exercise, therefore doesn’t cause so much muscle soreness but doesn’t mean the effects on the muscle aren’t the same! Equally by stretching, supporting your recovery through good nutrition, sleep, reduced stress etc then soreness can be greatly reduced.

You have to be ripped to be healthy. Not at all.

Having visible abs is not a sign of good health, and neither are defined arms or toned bum cheeks. Health is so much more than aesthetics and how you look. It’s about how you feel, function and perform. Genetics play a massive part in our body composition and so not everyone’s abdominal muscles will be as present as others since some people will store more body fat over their mid-section.

I hope these myth busters helped particularly if you had any worries about the above.

Feel free to message me anytime if you have any questions/ queries. :)

Louise xx

Blog inspiration: Zanna Van Dijk