By Allie Tarkoff
From your “for you” page on Tik Tok to the endless fitness influencers on Instagram, it is quite easy to get caught up in the lies and myths around exercise. Not only is it difficult to differentiate the real fitness truths from the lies, but it can also be tricky to find a plan that works best for you. This article explores the most common misconceptions and myths around exercise and its relationship to body image as a whole.
Myth 1: You should workout everyday to remain healthy. While there is no doubt that working out is a critical aspect in one’s ability to remain healthy, over exercising or even exercising everyday is not necessarily going to help you achieve your fitness goals. In fact, studies have shown that in some cases, working out with full intensity everyday can actually have negative impacts on your health. Studies have also shown that your body needs a rest day in order for nerves, muscles, bones and connective tissue to rest and regenerate.
Tip: Take a rest day or do an active recovery workout, like yoga or stretches! This allows you to keep moving while allowing your muscles to heal. Also, try to incorporate simple movement into your day, like walking around the block.
Myth 2: You can target where you lose weight through exercise. This is one of the most popular misconceptions when it comes to exercise and weight loss. In order to understand how our bodies burn fat , we must understand how muscle and fat operate. Metabolism is the process in which our bodies turn our calories and turn them into fuel. This process is how weight is “lost”, but weight loss is based on where our body takes fuel from, which is not necessarily the area you were focusing on in the workout. . According to Johnson Fitness and Wellness, weight loss is “a result of total body metabolism,” so where we lose weight is out of our control. Muscle definition is caused by a “balance of muscle growth and weight loss.” So, while you will be strengthening your core through different ab workouts, you should mix up your workouts between strength and cardio in order to achieve a more well-rounded exercise plan.
Myth 3: You need to join a gym in order to exercise. No! Because of the pandemic, most people have been unable to go to their gym or even join one. This has created a new era of at home workouts and training. But, even prior to the pandemic, it was also unnecessary to join a gym in order to exercise. Many of the most effective and efficient workouts can be done on the street or even in your home. While a gym membership may keep you motivated to stick to routine, you don’t need one to exercise routinely and effectively.
Tip: Download a free exercise app! There are tons to try; each focus on different things like yoga, HIIT, short workouts, and more.
Myth 4: Not feeling sore means you did not get in a good workout. While in some cases it is true that the difficulty of your workout and soreness are connected, in most cases, soreness is not a good indicator of the effectiveness of a workout. Many times soreness is caused by significant strain on a certain muscle tissue. Therefore, you can still get a great workout in without feeling sore the next day.
While there are many more myths and misconceptions associated with exercise and overall healthy habits, these are some of the most popular. You should not always rely on what you hear in the media or what influencers are telling you— it is best to talk to a licensed professional to receive the most accurate information.