9 common exercise myths busted
/Knowing we need to be more active and to exercise is easy. It’s much harder putting it into practice. The majority of us are always looking for ways to maximize the best results while minimizing the time and effort put into the actual workout. On top of that, questions remain such as what’s the best post-workout snack or does muscle turn to fat once you stop exercising?
Let’s sort out exercise fact from fiction so no workout time is wasted:
1. Myth: I’m busy throughout the day therefore I’m physically active
Truth: Many people feel they are already “busy” with activities associated with their job, tending to children or doing errands. If the daily physical activity involves movement such as walking up steps, household chores, or gardening, these can be included. Generally being active is associated with sports or recreational activities of at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Ideally you want a combination of both physical activities throughout each day along with a planned exercise routine. If you’re “busyness” is related to more sedentary activities like paying bills or driving long distances that does not count.
2. Myth: When you stop exercising, muscle turns to fat
Truth: What happens when you stop exercising, the muscles are not being used as much
and therefore, they decrease in size. Also many people do not adjust how much food they are
eating after they have stopped exercising and this can contribute to a higher increase in fat.
3. Myth: Sports drinks are best for keeping hydrated
Truth: If you are exercising less than 60 minutes a day, water is the best beverage to keep you hydrated. Since there is nothing to break down in water, it rapidly enters into the tissues of the body, cooling you from the inside out. Sports drinks are mainly for endurance athletes or people exercising more than 90 minutes a day who will be using up their stored muscle glycogen that needs to be replaced. Sports drinks do provide glucose in the form of sugar to keep up energy needs during an endurance event along with water to prevent dehydration. Sports drinks also provide electrolytes of sodium and potassium to replenish what the body loses when you sweat.
4. Myth: If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want
Truth: Not the case. No matter how hard you are working out, choose unhealthy food and your body won’t be getting the proper nourishment it needs. Muscles being exercised need key nutrients to help repair injuries and to replace nutrients being utilized. There’s a saying that goes a healthy body is made 30 percent in the gym and 70 percent in the kitchen. Consuming a nutritious diet made up of healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates along with adequate fluids.
5. Myth: Protein bars/shakes are a good choice for an after workout snack
Truth: Many protein bars and shakes are often high in protein BUT they tend to also be high in unnecessary ingredients. Often, protein bars are essentially a costly candy bar – lots of calories, sugar and fat - making them a not so healthy food choice. After working out, your muscles do need replenishment with protein but natural sources of it are a better choice. Good examples might be a glass of chocolate milk, a turkey sandwich or Greek yogurt with nuts and fruit - they not only provide protein and essential amino acids to repair and build muscles but also various important vitamins and minerals. The cost is also more reasonable.
6. Myth: Physical activity is only for heart health
Truth: Definitely not! Keeping your heart healthy is just one aspect of why physical activity is important. There are many other benefits you will gain by being physically active such as reducing the risk of cancer, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, insomnia, gallbladder disease in addition to enhanced resistance to colds and other infectious diseases, improved body composition, better self-image and a higher quality of life.
7. Myth: Stepping on a weight scale is your best indicator for getting in shape
Truth: The only thing a scale will tell you is how much you weigh and has little to do with how fit you are. The number that shows up when you step on a scale is just that – a number. It’s not telling you your percent body fat or water content you are. Weight can vary throughout the day – weigh yourself only once, first thing in the morning after urinating and before eating breakfast. Your goal is to increase your lean muscle mass and decreases body fat. If you are lifting heavy weights, you’ll probably notice an increase in weight as muscle mass weighs more than fat. A good way to tell if your exercise program is working is how your clothes are fitting along with using a tape measure to track progress of waist, hips, and arm and leg measurements.
8. Myth: Elderly will not benefit from lifting weights
Truth: Not true. As we age, our muscle mass is gradually replaced with fat mass leading to a loss of physical mobility impairing the quality of life. Elderly people should be encouraged to train regularly with weights to gain muscle strength, improve endurance and balance, maintain bone mass, improve posture and reduce the risk of injuries. When the elderly engage in resistance training, huge benefits are seen in being able to walk farther distances without tiring along with delaying the loss of independence associated with daily living.
9. Myth: All athletes should be taking a vitamin/mineral supplement
Truth: If an athlete is already well-nourished, nutrient supplements will not enhance performance. Well-trained athletes who have a strenuous workout do require more calories but as long as they are eating sufficient nutrient-dense foods, they will be consuming adequate vitamins and minerals – most athletes do eat more food and with the right choices, they’ll get in the nutrients they need. However, if an athlete is deficient in a certain vitamin or mineral, that can affect their athletic performance. If the athlete is restricting food intake in order to “make weight,” then taking a balanced multivitamin-mineral tablet providing no more than the DRI recommended intake may prevent deficiencies.
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