Fitness Myths Busted – Part 1

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1. The more you sweat the more calories you burn

False – sweat is just your body getting rid of heat! It is reacting to being too warm and trying to cool your muscles down by sweating, so make sure that you replace the water you’re losing to avoid dehydration! On average, a person has 2 million sweat glands but some will have up to 4 million. So don’t worry if the person next to you is sweating way more than you are, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re working harder, it could just be that they have more sweat glands!

2. Lifting weights makes you bulky

False – (unless that’s your aim and that’s a different story)… and anyway, what is bulky? Lifting weights will help you increase your lean muscle mass, giving that ‘toned’ look, reduce your body fat and has a whole heap of health benefits including strengthening your bones! Your genetic makeup will also impact on how your body reacts to lifting weights but specifically, women have lower levels of testosterone so would find it harder to ‘bulk’ and would have to eat LOADS of food, even if bulking was their goal.

3. The more you work out the better

False – over-training can actually be really unhelpful to your goals and life in general! Everyone needs a rest day or two to give your muscles and energy levels time to repair and grow.* Anyway, life is about balance. Go and meet your friends, catch up with your family or just spend the evening relaxing and you’ll be much more keen to get back in the gym tomorrow!

*If you really don’t want to have a rest day then mix up your training and do yoga or pilates instead of hitting the gym.

4. The longer you spend in the gym the better

False – you don’t have to spend ages in the gym to make your workout effective, we’ve all heard of quality over quantity! Even half an hour is long enough for a warm up, cool down and effective HIIT session (high intensity interval training). These type of sessions are great for fat burning and depending on how the session is designed, can work on both cardio and strength and will keep burning fat even after the workout has ended.

5. The more you work out the better

False – ever heard the phrase ‘abs are made in the kitchen’? Well there’s truth in that! You’ll only be able to see those abs if you reduce your overall body fat. Also, remember that there are lots more muscles in your core than just those which make up your ‘6 pack’ (rectus abdominus). Crunches won’t work all of the others so make sure that your routine is balanced to include them and build up that core strength!