Do you ever feel as though you can’t trust most things you read on the internet? I certainly do, which is largely the reason why I have created this website – to provide science-based information to help you with your fitness and nutrition.
In this article, I am going to cover 9 common fitness myths that you may or may not have heard at some point in your life.
You Should Stretch Before You Workout
The idea that you should do static stretches before you work out is a common myth in the fitness industry that you may have heard before.
Research, such as this study, has showed that performing static stretches before weight lifting inhibits strength and hypertrophy.
That being said, there is some research to suggest that the detrimental effects of static stretching before lifting weights is limited if you hold the stretch for less than 60 seconds.
So in general, I’d follow this rule of thumb: if you feel like you need to perform static stretches in order to get into the proper position to perform an exercise properly, then that is a good reason to stretch before working out. If that is you, then hold the stretch ideally for no longer than than 30-60 seconds.
If that is not you, stick to more mobility, stability, and dynamic stretches.
Research shows that dynamic stretching is not harmful, with some studies suggesting it is beneficial before working out. I personally like to do 2-3 minutes of dynamic stretching before my workouts.
I will write a future article on how to properly warm up, but if you need a simplified version, see the graphic below.
Lifting Weights Will Make You Bulky
This is one of the most detrimental myths in the fitness industry, especially in regard to women. It really is too bad because it turns many people off from lifting heavy weights, when the vast majority of people could benefit from lifting heavy.
Lifting heavy weights is often associated with men who are big and bulky and (likely) on steroids. That being said, even for natural lifters who lift heavy weight, they often don’t become too big and bulky, especially woman.
For example, I have been lifting heavy weights for years and I would certainly not classify myself as bulky – I simply have gained lean muscle mass.
Women’s hormones really don’t allow them to “bulk up” in a way that is undesirable for most people, especially if they are not training specifically for that.
Lifting heavy weight is very beneficial for both men and women and that is what is needed if you actually want to change your physique.
If You Are Not Sore, Your Workout Wasn’t Effective
I am planning to write an entire article on this topic, so if you want to read more about it when it’s out, I will link to that article here.
To briefly talk about muscle soreness and muscle growth, muscle soreness is caused from muscle damage which is only one of the three ways we grow our muscles. So soreness can be a factor that contributes towards muscle growth, but it is not needed to grow your muscles.
What matters most is progressive overload, continually getting stronger on compound exercises (bench press, pull ups, rows, shoulder press, squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts).
This graphic shows how week over week, the weight being used is increasing 5 pounds, which means you are putting your muscles through more work. If you are doing that, regardless of how sore you get, assuming you are eating properly and your recovery is good, your muscles will grow.
That said, in terms of soreness, if you are incredibly sore after every workout, you are either likely doing too much work or not working out frequently enough. On the contrary, if you are never sore, then I’d also be concerned because you likely aren’t stimulating your muscles enough. You should feel some soreness if you are putting your muscles through an intense workout.
Cardio Alone Will Make You Lose Weight
This common misconception leads people to only add cardio into their routine when trying to lose weight. Instead, it would be much more effective to, in addition to exercising more, make changes to your diet, such as eating more fruits and vegetables (which will help you get in a caloric deficit).
In fact, research shows that cardio alone is not very effective in regards to fat loss. Only doing cardio as a means to create a calorie deficit (which is needed for fat loss) is not sufficient.
Instead, cardio should be seen as a tool that helps us create a caloric deficit in addition to eating a diet that puts you in a deficit.
Now this isn’t to say that you can’t lose weight adding cardio into your routine and not changing your diet, but what most people find is they end up eating back the calories that they burned during cardio, which negates the effect of cardio (in terms of fat loss).
Research consistently shows that people are not very good at judging how much food they are actually eating, which is why cardio alone often isn’t effective for fat loss.
You Shouldn’t Lift Weights For Weight Loss
When most people think of weight loss, they think of cardio. While that can be effective, weight training can also be effective, but has additional benefits. While you do not burn many calories during an actual session of weight training, research shows that it increases your metabolism in that each pound of muscle burns an extra 6-7 calories each day. While this is less than was once previously thought, muscle burns more calories than fat, which burns just 2 calories per pound. This is because it takes more energy for your body to maintain muscle than fat.
In addition to simply weight loss, if you are trying to preserve or gain muscle, it is very important to lift weights. Research demonstrates the benefit of lifting weights on preserving lean mass when in a calorie deficit. In other words, when you are in a calorie deficit and attempting to lose fat, you are more prone to losing muscle, which stresses the important of lifting weights in order to prevent the loss of lean body mass.
You Can “Target” Fat Loss
One of the biggest myths in the fitness community is that you can “target” fat loss depending on the exercises you do. The most common example of this is doing crunches and ab exercises to lose belly fat. This is a myth – you can’t “spot reduce.”
It doesn’t matter if you do 0 crunches or 1000 crunches, that will not determine whether you lose belly fat or not. What matters for fat loss is being in a calorie deficit – eating fewer calories than you burn each day.
Doing ab exercises will help develop the muscles in your core, but they will not help you lose fat off your stomach.
Unfortunately, each person stores body fat in different areas and where you lose fat first and last is unique to the individual. Most of the time, the stomach area is the last place you lose fat, so instead of thinking you are losing belly fat by doing ab exercises, ensure you are in a calorie deficit and you will start to see the weight come off.
Lifting Weights 6 Days Per Week Is Better Than 3-4
When it comes to weight training, most people think that more is better. This could not be further from the truth. Lifting weights 6 days per week is not inherently better than 3 or 4 days per week. In fact, unless you are an advanced lifter, or you just absolutely love spending time in the gym, I would not recommend more than 4 days per week.
This is because if you focus on getting stronger on key, compound exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, push ups/bench press, overhead shoulder press, and pull ups/rows, then you don’t need to spend 6-7 days per week in the gym. The gym, unless you want it to, should not “be your life.” Instead, it should “enhance your life.”
So instead of doing 6 average days in the gym each week, consider simplifying it to 3-4 days, focusing on progressive overload on the compound exercises I mentioned above. If you are concerned that this is not not enough, or you are simply interested in reading more about this topic, check out my article here on training volume – how many sets you should do for each muscle group each week.
You Shouldn’t Work Out on an Empty Stomach
Many people claim that working out on an empty stomach is not safe. It is true that working out fasted may leave you more fatigued and use up valuable energy sources. This could cause your blood sugar levels to to be low and could put you at higher risk for feeling lightheaded or nauseous.
That being said, it is important for you to find a routine that works for you. Some people prefer to workout on an empty stomach, while others want to eat a big meal shortly before working out. Personally, I like to eat about 1-2 hours before working out, as I feel the strongest and most energetic with some food in my stomach.
If you prefer to workout fasted, that is okay – just make sure you are in tune with your body and watch for symptoms of low blood sugar levels, such as feeling lightheaded or nauseous.
You Must Sweat During Your Workout
Sweating has nothing to do with how good of a workout you did. Sweating is simply a means for your body to cool off so it will vary greatly depending on the environment you are in. Some people sweat more than others, so judging your workout based on how much you sweat is ridiculous.
Chances are, if you are chasing the “sweat,” then you are probably not lifting weights optimally (if that is your goal). If you are lifting weights, focus on getting stronger with adequate rest between your sets. If you are curious as to how long you should rest between your sets, then check out this article I wrote recently.
Put simply, sweating does not dictate the effectiveness of your workout.
Conclusion
In all, there are many fitness myths that are still prevalent today that inhibit people’s ability to make progress. In general, stick to the basics, work out 3-4 days per week, lift heavy weights, and ensure you are making progress in the gym.
If you do this, you will see results.
I hope you learned something new from this article. Please let me know if you have any questions and always feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have about your training!