BUSTING FITNESS MYTHS
THE LONGER THE WORKOUT THE BETTER THE RESULT
This one is a huge misconception that you need more more more to get results. More is definietly not better if you aren't having quality sessions and you aren't allowing enough time to recover. Someone who spends 7 days a week at a gym and 2 hours a time each time they go but wastes most of that time on their phone, scrolling Instagram, talking to their friends VS someone who comes in 4 times a week does a 45min session with all their exercises, correct rest times and is in and out is MORE effective than person A who even though they are physically THERE more they aren't getting the best work done in that time and could be spending their time on other things!
TASK- Have a look at your gym schedule and see if you are person A who is wasting too much time at the gym and not being effective. If this is you, write ways you can change this and get better with your time management and make the most out of your sessions
BIG HUGE CHANGES ARE ALL THAT MATTERS
Something that often happens when people start their fitness journey is that they get so excited and want to do everything all at once. They not only want to but believe that's the only way to get results. If you think about long term the best results are the ones you can sustain, so if you start everything all at once it becomes tricky to maintain and you will start to lose motivation for the multiple changes you've implemented. Instead focus on 1-2 small changes at a time and allow these new changes to become habits that you don't need to think about anymore. Stick with the new 1-2 habits for a few weeks and then add another 1-2 things you want to focus on. If you fast forward a few months you will have implemented multiple new habits and it will be easier to sustain long term. TASK- Write a list of what positive habits you want to implement and order which ones are most important to you. Or you can order them in ones that are easiest for you and work from easiest to harder
CARDIO IS THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT
Cardio is NOT the only way to lose weight and this one is slowly getting more truth to the subject but is still thought by many.Cardio is a great way to get your heart rate up, increase your fitness, get sweaty and release good endorphins but ANY movement that expends energy will assist in weight loss. At the end of the day weight loss comes down to the equation of calories in vs calories out and if you are moving more than you are consuming it will result in weight loss. NOW this is a complicated subject although its simple has a lot of variables. The one thing that cardio training DOES NOT have that weight training has is the after burn affect. When we lift weights our muscles continue to burn energy to restore and replenish and repair. This does not happen with cardio yet your fitness watch will tell you cardio burns more calories because your heart rate is higher throughout. A weight training workout will not get your apple watch burning as much but it's important not to obsess over these watches because it does not factor in all the variables and cannot accurately calculate the calories burned after and during
CRUNCHES ARE BEST FOR ABSThis one reminds me of all those silly youtube videos that say '5 minute abs' which is obviously not possible! Yes, you may feel your 'abs' working more when you perform sit-ups and crunches as these movements are more isolated to that one muscle group. BUT! Our abs is not the full part of the picture. Your core strength makes up more than just the 6 pack look and the difference between someone with the look of 6 pack abs and a strong core are very different. If someone has low body fat and genetically more definition in their mid section they could have a very weak core even though they look super strong in their 'abs'. Alternatively someone could have a super strong incredible core but just not have the same definition or a low enough body fat to showcase it through. For long term health it is important we focus on our core strength to prevent injury, avoid back pain and help us move weight, have more balance, more strength in other exercises. The photo above that states that cardio and proper diet helps the development of 6 pack abs this photo is just stating bascially what I said above about it being when you lower your body fat you will see your abs more visabally. This photo is saying by doing more cardio (just expending more energy) and eating clean healthy foods that your body fat will drop and show your muscles more. In saying that I think this SHOULDNT be the focus specially for us women who hold more body fat around our mid section and although its okay to have aesthetic goals we should also be focusing on the function rather than just the look, because looks are 1 dimensional where as function is deeper and more rewarding to work on.
