Hello again! As we’ve promised in the previous article about 7 Common Workout Myths, we’re here to deliver more workout myths that you may have heard of throughout your lifetime. So without further ado, let’s get to it!
(1) Muscle Can Turn Into Fat
We’ve mentioned in the previous article that fat cannot be converted into muscles. A lot of people who come into the gym seem to have that concept in their mind. “I’m going to work out so that my fat will turn into muscles”. If you’re one of those people, IT’S OKAY! You’re not the only one who thinks so. Well, actually muscles and fat are two completely different types of tissues and in our human physiology, tissues cannot interchange into one another. By doing strength exercises, you will build muscles underneath the layer of fats which in return will increase your body’s metabolism to burn off the fats.
(2) You Start Losing Muscles After A Week of Inactivity
This is another very common workout misconception. We’re not going to lie but some of us here, who have been working out for a while now, had this concept in our mind. Upon deeper and more extensive research, we can tell you that this is actually somewhat true. It applies to when we’re still at our initial stages of working out. But, if you’ve been working out for a longer period of time, then it will take a longer time for you to actually lose your gains! The reason why it’s a lot easier to lose gains when you’ve just started working out is because your body is still trying to adjust its metabolism to the new amounts of stress exerted onto the body. Therefore, consistent working out is a must when one is just starting out till that person’s metabolism has been kept in check.
(3) Early Morning Is The Best Time To Workout
Working out in the morning is a very good method to kick start your metabolism. As an added bonus, you wouldn’t have to squeeze in to short some of your time within your busy schedule
just so that you can hit an hour at the gym. Many people swear by this practice but in our opinion, whatever time of the day that you choose to work out, shouldn’t pose a problem as long as you control your caloric intake and adjust your caloric expenditure throughout the day. So in other words, your caloric intake and expenditure should be catered to your fitness goals.
(4) The Number of Calories Burnt On The Cardio Machine Is Accurate
There’s nothing like getting off the treadmill or the elliptical machine and just looking at the amount of calories burnt on the monitor. It gives us a sense of relief and accomplishment. Well, we’re very sorry to be the bearer of bad news but the numbers that you’re seeing over there are simply just not accurate. According to a study in 2018 done by the Department of Kinesiology, Sam Houston State University, we should expect the elliptical machine to overestimate the amount of calories burnt by about a 100 kcal per 30 minutes of each exercise. We at Fitnacle believe that the best way to actually make the most of your cardio is to time your heart rate. When doing cardio, your heart rate should be kept within 160-180 bpm. Maintain the heart rate within that range for a minimum of 10 minutes. This enables our muscles to increase absorption, increase thermogenesis and boost our metabolism.
(5) Sports Drinks Are Good For You
We see their advertisements everywhere we go! They always promote that these drinks are amazing for your body after exercising. Well, that’s simply not true. Each of these drinks are loaded with sugar. For instance, your standard 515ml of Gatorade (one bottle) has approximately 34 grams of sugar. On the contrary, some experts do say that drinks like these contain a good amount of electrolytes which will help in recovery. Here’s the thing though, once our body doesn’t need the electrolytes, then, we will just be adding extra sugar into our body and we all know what that does to you in the long run. Therefore, we might as well just stay away from them. Better safe than sorry!
This brings us to the end of our Common Workout Myths (Part 2). We hope this helps you improve your lifestyle and workout mindset! Stay tuned for Common Workout Myths (Part 3) to improve your knowledge and Create the Best Version Of Yourself!