Fitness is the mystical world of quick fixes, mixed-up advice, old wives’ tales, and ‘beliefs’ based on no evidence (much like the food pyramid, but that’s another story).
I am sure there are very few people who have not been affected by fitness and nutrition advice from sources like doctors, coaches, and even grandmothers who swear by it!
It is an obstacle course that can lead to a lack of progress, plateaus, and even cause injuries.
Having fallen victim to ALL advice ever given in one way or another, I want to set the record straight a little bit.
First of all, there is nothing general about fitness. Every person is different, every person has their own body and their own challenges, and there is absolutely no cookie-cutter plan available that works for everyone.
Let’s go through some myths out there that might be leading you astray.
‘No Pain’ No Gain’
Probably the most well-known one.
When you are in the zone, do you find yourself whispering this out loud, even when your body is crying out for you to stop?
How can you differentiate between muscle fatigue, good soreness, and damage?
Soreness usually happens when you have been doing reps where you are shortening and lengthening muscles, but without impact on a surface. These repetitive movements cause fibres to break, and this can cause swelling and soreness. The soreness comes from the swelling. The pain is not actually a bad thing; it helps the body learn to heal itself, and depending on your fitness level, the pain may last a day or two.
If it goes on for more than 3 to 5 days, you may have pushed yourself too hard, and the body did not get the rest and recovery it needed. When you’re building a workout routine, be aware of your body and give the muscles time to rest between reps and between workouts.
Start slow and build on it.
Even practiced fitness enthusiasts try to push themselves to do more reps or faster reps or higher weights, but it is building it slowly that is important, and if you need to give the body a rest, and recovery, sleep is the best medicine.
You Should Always Be Sore After a Good Workout
This isn’t really a myth, but it ties in with the myth above. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS; aka ‘muscle fever’) is your friend. Well, that friend ‘who makes your life tough, but has good intentions’-type of friend, but a friend nonetheless.
If you’re experiencing soreness the day after your workout, or, like me, the day after, then this means you were doing your exercises right.
The inflammation surrounding your overworked muscles is being tended by your body, with your blood heading down to the sore areas to help a pal out. This can make it all feel worse before it feels better, but it is just your body doing its magical thing.
If you experience this constantly, pull back a bit.
“Listen “to your body. Don’t be deaf,”
Static”Stretching is the Best Warm-Up
You often see runners warming up for a race by doing a quad stretch or calf stretch, but this short stretching isn’t benefiting you. Apparently, this can actually work against you as the stretch wasn’t tough, and it can exhaust the muscle, hinder your performance, and could actually cause an injury.
Dynamic stretching is the best way to increase your flexibility, increase SSC (stretch shortening cycle), and increase your V02 max.
Weight Lifting Will Make You Bulky
This is not true. Strength training improves power, economy, and injury resiliency. The goal here is smaller weights, more reps, and gaining strength. You won’t, but your muscles will work better and support your body more efficiently.
You Can Out-Exercise a Bad Diet
A friend of mine used to say, ‘I run so I can eat!’ This is actually a common thought out there, but the bottom line is mortality.
Physical activity + good eating habits = good.
Bad eating habits are, well, bad for the body and can shorten your lifespan because they’ll slow down your metabolism, you’ll have a surplus of sugar in your system, which’ll overload your pancreas, and lots of processed foods have nasty ingredients/chemicals in them, which are bad for your health. And microplastics, don’t forget those.
Food affects the brain over time, and what you take in has more impact than weight control.
Cycling is Safer Than Running for Your Joints
Many people take up cycling as a ‘low-impact’ alternative to running, assuming it’s completely safe from acute injury.
Cycling, however, opens you up to a whole other set of risks, especially when sharing the road with motor vehicles. If you’re male, cycling (especially static cycling and/or wherever you have a bad-quality seat) can largely increase your chances of getting prostate cancer.
Another risk, regardless of gender, has to do with the risk that comes with cycling. Unlike running, where you get to choose your path, cyclists often have to follow rules, which can place them next to traffic – and that’s us.
From my personal experience, I remember cycling in Champaign a few years back, and during the ride, an angry car driver aggressively overtook me, leaving me very little room to maneuver, and I ended up crashing. The driver fled the scene, but luckily, I had my GoPro attached to my helmet, which helped me get the license plate.
And it was only thanks to some very friendly and professional Champaign bike injury lawyers that I’ve managed to find justice. They explained to me that it’s 100% car driver’s, and they’ve had similar cases where the outcome was very serious injury and even death, making me reflect that I’m lucky to be here.
Cycling (while, to be fair, not always) CAN be dangerous. So I’d stick to running where I get to choose my own route, away from angry drivers.
The More You Sweat, The More Fat You Burn
Sadly, that’s not true. This is strictly your body regulating its temperature, and the only weight you lose with sweating is water weight. Once that is replenished, you gain that water weight back.
Wrestlers, jockeys, and bodybuilders sometimes use the instant loss of water weight to make sure they make their pulling weight before competition, but it is not calories burned and will come right back.
Conclusion
There are probably a hundred myths out there, and sure, they may have some iota of truth, but for the most part, listen to your body, build up your stamina, and avoid injury the best you can. Learn the difference between smart training and winging it.
Question all advice, do your own research, and do what works for your body, your mind, and your fitness.
No cookie-cutter plans, just living a healthy, better, unique you.