Top 8 Misconceptions about Exercise Health Fitness and Nutrition

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8. Doing sit-ups or crunches will reduce the size of your stomach and get you that six-pack you have always wanted.

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Truth:

This is absolute nonsense. The only six-pack you will see from doing sit-ups / crunches is if you sit your favorite beverage on top of your stomach while lying on the beach. Sit-ups / crunches have NO bearing on the reduction of your stomach. That is first and foremost a caloric and fat issue.

Here is how it works: Underneath the skin is fat and tissue; underneath the fat and tissue is your muscle. In order to see the muscle (i.e., six pack) the fat has to be reduced via decreased caloric in take.

Sit-ups / crunches will help to strengthen the muscles underneath the fat to help support your lower back. The ONLY way to reduce the size of your stomach is to incorporate the excellent healthy-eating plan, intense cardio workouts, and weight-lifting programs.

7. Weight lifting for women will produce large man-like muscles and bulk.

Truth:

How did this myth get started? Maybe in medieval times? Women do not produce enough testosterone (the key hormone needed to build large muscles) to gain large man-like muscles or bulk. Only women who produce slightly more testosterone than the average female will have the ability to gain bigger muscles, such as the highest level professional athletes and Olympic athletes.

The only way for most women to gain man-like muscles / bulk is to take large amounts of testosterone or steroids. Even if it were possible for you to lift large amounts of weight seven days a week) twenty-four hours a day, you WOULD NOT be able to gain large muscles. Weight lifting is extremely important in helping to reduce inches, body fat, and weight. In addition, weight lifting remarkably strengthens bones, joints, tendons, and muscles.

More importantly, weight lifting by women is an excellent way to help reduce the risk for osteoporosis and reverse osteopenia (the beginning stages of osteoporosis).

6. Excessive sweating while exercising means you’re not fit.

Truth: 

Sweating during exercise is a sign of an elevated pulse rate and body temperature — both key to becoming fit. It also acts as an efficient cooler for your body.

When sweat glands increase their output, they cool the body during sweat evaporation. The result is a more efficient cooler. Now sweat, baby, sweat!

5. If you don’t lose weight, there’s no point in exercising.

Truth:

Foolishness! Take one simple test for example: Use two sheets of paper, the same size and shape. Ball one of the sheets in a tight ball. Place the open sheet in one hand and the tight ball sheet in the other hand. Which piece of paper weighs the most? Which paper is the smallest? Now, how can one piece of paper be significantly smaller than the other but weight the same?

What have we learned from this experiment is that losing weight is NOT the most important component to being fit: it’s losing body fat and inches!

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4. No pain, no gain.

Truth:

You don’t need to kill your self when you work out. In fact, moderate intensity exercise lowers the risk for dying just as much as high-intensity exercise. The trick is making sure that the exercise is at least moderate-intensity — that is, equivalent to walking at a pace of three to four miles an hour.

High-intensity exercise does have one advantage: it saves time. It takes less time to
burn the same number of calories at higher intensity.

3. Eating huge amounts of protein will build muscle and help to reduce fat.

Truth:

This must be a “guy thing.” Ladies, please stay clear of this one. Eating huge amounts of protein not only will NOT build muscle, but will cause you to gain large amounts of weight; and if that wasn’t enough, can help cause osteoporosis in pre- and postmenopausal women.

When your body takes in more protein than it needs, the extra protein is converted into calories which (if you don’t engage in high-aerobic activity) will convert into fat. As for building muscle, no dice. Although muscle is composed of protein, the only way to build muscle (lean muscle, that is) is to lift against progressively heavier resistance.

2. You must stay in your “Fat-Burning Zone” when doing aerobic activity to burn fat and calories.

Truth:

There is no such thing as a “fat-burning zone”. It doesn’t exist.

Once again it’s the gurus that came up with this nonsense. (This is like the old weight charts in your doctor’s office, which didn’t take into account bone mass, muscle mass, etc. to determine desired weight.) Likewise, this entire obsession with being in the fat-burning zone has little grounding in reality.

The only way to burn fat is to increase body temperature, increase pulse rate, and increase oxygen intake. Pure and simple.

1. It’s the sugar that is causing the kids to be hyperactive, over-energetic, and unable to calm down.

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Truth:

Not so fast everyone. Its not the sugar, sorry. Sugar is not a stimulant. If your child is running around being wild, loud, out of control (at a party, in the classroom, at the park, etc.), it s simply just that he or she is enjoying that particular activity.

Sugar is a natural energy source that is necessary for aerobic activity. As a matter of fact, consuming too much sugar will do the opposite (that is, cause one to slow down) due to the instant release of sugar in the bloodstream headed directly to the brain. No more sugar high excuses.

Now, caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, chocolate, and tea. If you give your children these foods, then YES the caffeine will cause them to become hyperactive; however, if they eat just cookies, cakes, pies, and sugar candy and get active, then they are just having a great time with that particular activity.

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