Carolyn Hansen: Health and fitness myths that need busting

Stuck at a desk daily? Get up and move around every 30 minutes. Photo / 123rf

OPINION

How many so-called "facts" about health and fitness have been accepted as truth by millions of people worldwide, that turn out to be myths?

Rather than helping us achieve stellar health and optimum fitness levels, these misconceptions turn into obstacles that are not only dangerous to our health but keep us boxed up and tucked safely behind any protective mechanisms we have in place.

These errant "facts" or distorted perceptions can become a crutch, a septic bin of excuses we tap into to avoid facing the truth about our daily habits, even though many raise our risk for physical injuries and other health issues.

These myths can be dangerous and paralyse us from acting or scare us into actions against our better interest.

They often take us down a dangerous road, one misguided by false perceptions/myths that pose a real danger to the status of our health and motivation to exercise or eat healthy.

It is time to lay rest to some of the most popular health and fitness myths that have kept us paralysed with false information and dead-end results.

The ones that serve to agitate, irritate and frustrate, eventually leading to complete failure. These falsehoods also provide a wealth of excuses for people to avoid what really needs to be done.

Weight training is a tool, one that works to get us fit, toned and healthy. Photo / 123rf

Here are a few popular fitness myths that need busting.

Cardio is king when it comes to weight loss - all exercise (movement) helps with weight loss, even cardio.

However, according to popular health and fitness expert Jillian Michael; "Cardio is one of the least effective fitness modalities for weight loss."
Strength training or resistance training is key.

Nike Master Trainer, Betina Goza, whose focus is solely strength training, explains it this way.

"Resistance training helps build more muscle, which spikes our metabolism and helps us to burn more calories. The more calories our bodies can burn on their own, the easier the weight comes off."

When compound movements such as deadlifts, squats, push presses, hip thrusts and more are added to the workout, extra calories get burned.

Another bonus that strength training offers is the "afterburn" effect, a benefit that straight-up cardio alone cannot provide.

Naturally, calories are burned while performing cardio, but the effects stop there. On the other hand, resistance training goes above and beyond, offering a boost to our caloric burn for the remainder of the day, long after our workout is complete.

Because these compound movements work several muscles simultaneously, they boost our heart rate, making our heart muscles stronger.

The moral of this story: If weight loss is our goal, then building muscle via some sort of resistance or strength training is key.

True, cardio is excellent for strengthening the heart but challenging strength training when done correctly can also boost heart rate high enough to replace vigorous cardiovascular exercise. Strength training is the one workout that offers the most bang for our buck and leads us into our next myth, an issue for some females.

Myth number 2 – Weight training bulks you up. This is a concern to many females causing them to shy away from using weights. They want to get in shape, but they do not want big muscles.

The reality is men and women have different hormone profiles (the primary male hormone testosterone being key here).

Lifting weights or using resistance does the opposite for women - it makes them strong not bulky. Fat gets burned while muscles get toned and tightened.

The moral of this story: Weight training is a tool, one that works to get us fit, toned and healthy. The "bulk" that perpetuated this myth, is more about the foods eaten than the exercises performed.

Myth number 3 – Exercise counteracts the ill effects of sitting all day. It is way too easy to believe that our daily workout excuses us from any other activity or that exercise makes us immune to the negative effects caused by excessive sitting, or downtime.

Ongoing research tells a different story.

Studies released in the Annals of Internal Medicine state that "the more we sit, the higher is the likelihood that we will die sooner." Since most adults sit for approximately 12½ hours of a 16-hour waking day, the problem is pretty glaring, so glaring in fact, that many now call sitting the "new cancer".

Stuck at a desk daily? You can counter this ill effect and lower your odds of death by more than half with one simple movement – getting up and moving around every 30 minutes.

The moral of this story: Sitting too much equates to early death even if we exercise.

Myth number 4 – All that fast food eaten yesterday will easily be burned away at the gym in the morning.

Unfortunately, that is not exactly how it works. The fast food consumed last night stays in the body longer than we might think. All foods we consume directly affect and kick our hormones into action, either burning fat or storing it, boosting metabolism or crashing it, building muscle tissue or breaking it down.

Indulging in fast foods once in a blue moon cannot hurt anyone all that much but making a habit of it will. These mass-produced, quick foods are loaded with calories not nutrients.

They cause weight gain, not weight loss no matter how much one works out.

The moral of this story - Even the most zealous of exercise routines cannot overcome the ill effects of bad eating habits.
Outdated and erroneous information, bad advice along with inconsistent recommendations can all sabotage our fitness levels and prevent us from reaching our goals.

Be your own best friend and research. Don't accept anything as "fact" or eliminate anything until you know for sure it is backed by scientific evidence.

Anything less puts your fitness and your health at risk.

Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness