We live in an exciting time where we can work out anytime and anywhere and have convenient and affordable tools that allow us to stay motivated and reach our goals.
Virtual walking races and fitness challenges are just part of the versatile options that anyone can incorporate into their fitness routine. But with this being said, there are some fitness lies and myths that have been debunked.
1. Strength Training Makes You Bulky.
Strength training or lifting weights, even heavy ones, will not magically help you build muscle or make you bulky.
To get big muscles, one would have to train until failure, which most people do not practice. Also known as resistance exercise, these types of exercises can improve your overall look as muscle increases and fat decreases.
If you want to sculpt your body, include strength training as part of an all-around fitness regimen.
2. Cardio Training is the Best Exercise to Burn Fat.
This is not necessarily true. While cardio, or aerobic training can help you burn fat, building muscle will burn more fat in the long run because the extra muscle increases your metabolism.
And the low-level calorie burn will mostly burn fat, as long as you consume a healthy diet with enough protein to keep your muscles fed.
3. Yoga is Only for Stretching.
This is simply not true. Yoga is a beneficial exercise for anyone and can help calm your mind as you strengthen and stretch your muscles all at the same time.
The movements are poses called asanas in which some muscles are contracted to increase strength and improve muscle tone, while other muscles are lengthened to improve flexibility.
4. Exercise Every Day.
In reality, exercise is best when done for 4-6 days a week with at least one rest day. During rest, your body has time to repair muscles, which results in stronger muscles.
Proper rest will allow you to enjoy more benefits from your exercise in less time.
5. Walking Will Not Help with Weight Loss.
This claim is far from true.
Walking is actually one of the best exercises for weight loss. It is easily adaptable to all skill levels and can greatly improve your blood oxygen levels, resulting in more energy.
As you progress, you can easily walk faster to ensure your heart rate remains at a level that is healthy for you while being beneficial for weight loss.
6. Exercise is Hard Work.
Not necessarily…
While some exercise is hard work, it can be fun. Incorporating fitness apps like Yes.Fit allow you to participate in virtual walking races, running races, or even biking
They can take your imagination to interesting places like Machu Picchu or Apo Island. So, while you can choose to intensify your exercise time, you can also choose to enjoy it.
7. Gym Workouts are More Effective.
Many people enjoy the gym because of the classes or convenience of exercise machines.
But this doesn’t make the gym better and in fact, a gym may be a deterrent for some.
Working out at home or outside is trending because people are enjoying benefits like no commuting, no need to worry about crowds, and virtual workouts can be enjoyed any time.
8. Health is Based on Weight.
A lower weight is not always healthy and a heavier weight does not necessarily mean one is overweight.
Body weight is a combination of fat and muscle, and some muscle is denser than others. This means that a very fit person might weigh 20 pounds more than an unfit person of the same gender and height.
Strive for balance and fitness, and the weight will work itself out.
9. No Pain, No Gain.
This old bodybuilding saying is not wise for the average person, as most people are not training to failure to build muscle for an upcoming competition.
Training to reach goals in a slow and steady fashion is a safer attitude that will put you at less risk for injuries.
Using a fitness app like Yes.Fit that helps you monitor your progress can make this easy while you gain benefits like weight loss and improved health.
10. Fitness Challenges are Too Simplistic.
This is not true for virtual fitness races and other challenges, when done correctly. When we choose to do a fitness challenge,, we are competing against ourselves. That means the ultimate goal is self-improvement. To do so, we must pay attention to our current level of fitness and strive to become better each workout, which is easy to do when we record our progress.
No challenge is a waste of time as long as we strive for our own personal best.
