Myth: If your workout is not resulting in weight loss, you’re wasting your time.
Fact: Most weight
loss is due to reducing calorie and fat intake. Rigorous exercise benefits are
endless – clearer thinking, lower risk of stroke, heart disease, various
cancers, diabetes, etc.
Myth: Only lift
weights if you want to muscle-up.
Fact: Lift weights anyway. It’s indispensable in preventing muscle and
bone loss. “Strengthening your muscles also decreases your body fat percentage
and increases the rate at which your body burns calories, which can help with
weight management.”
Myth: If you exercise
regularly, you can be a couch potato all day long.
Fact: Being a couch
potato for long periods is detrimental even for people committed to regular
daily exercise. Research has found that this bad habit elevates the risk of
various diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Myth: You must stretch
before every work-out.
Fact: Stretching cold
muscles has almost no value, and may cause injury. Muscles benefit from
stretching when warm, after a work-out.
Myth: You can burn
fat by exercising specific areas of your body.
Fact: Spot reduction
is a common myth. Exercise burns fat in all your body, including the targeted
area.
Myth: If you exercise
before going to bed you will get a good night’s sleep.
Fact: The National
Sleep Foundation recommends not exercising 3 hours before
bedtime. Increasing your body temperature will inhibit a good night’s sleep.
Consumer Health Reports, March 2012
Photo: DriveEntertainment (flickr)
Jerry De Luca is a Christian freelance writer who loves perusing dozens of interesting and informative publications. When he finds any useful info he summarizes it, taking the main points, and creates a (hopefully) helpful blog post.
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