Myth I Can Spot-Reduce My Problem Areas
TRUTH: Spot-reduction is not possible unless you go for liposuction. Without such surgery, your body will draw fat from different regions at different rates depending on your genetic makeup.
If spot reduction was possible by training and diet, you'd seldom see women with lower-body fat deposits or men with big guts.
Myth A Protein Bar Is A Good Substitution For A Meal
TRUTH: Nope. Protein are highly processed, unless you make them yourself. Highly processed food requires fewer calories to digest, so that benefit is diminished. Eat them as treats to be eaten instead of, say, a Snickers bar.
Myth Muscle Definition Comes From Lifting Light Weight For Many Reps
TRUTH: Leanness and muscle definition come from having muscle mass and low body fat. If you train with light weights only, you just won't build muscle. If you don't have any muscle mass, you won't burn much fat. If you have low body fat coupled with small muscles, you'll have nothing to show off!
Myth Carbs Are Found Only In Bread And Noodles
TRUTH: Wrong. You also find carbs in grains, starches, fruit, vegetables, dairy, nuts, and seeds.
Myth If You Want To Compete, Your Diet Must Consist Only Of Chicken And Broccoli
TRUTH: This is an old school bodybuilding mentality that came about due to lack of knowledge about nutrients and what they do for you. If you eat only 2-3 sources of food, you'll end up nutrient deficient. Plus who wants to eat chicken and broccoli all day?
Myth You Can't Gain Muscle After 40
TRUTH: Age does bring wear and tear, but at 40 you're still a training baby unless you've been a competitive professional athlete since you were a teenager. You can gain muscle despite hormonal deficiencies—it just may be a tad harder.
If you are over 40, you might want to go check your blood and run some saliva tests to rule out deficiencies. If you're deficient in some hormones, you may want to look into replacement therapy so you aren't at risk for heart disease or osteoporosis.
Myth The More You Sweat, The More Fat You Lose
TRUTH: Sweat has nothing to do with intensity; it's your body's way of getting rid of heat. Fat is oxidized inside your body, and it is not going to vaporize because you're sweating!
Myth Fruit Is A Healthy Snack That Can't Make You Fat
TRUTH: Humans eat food because it gives us nutrients and fuel, but any kind of food, no matter how healthy, can make you gain weight. Fruit has a lot of easily accessible carbs. When you provide your body with easily accessible carbs, you're basically telling it to stop burning body fat for fuel.
Myth Doing Cardio Before Weights Will Help You Get Shredded Faster
TRUTH: If you run on a treadmill before you hit the weights, you'll be too fatigued to train as heavy as you can. You need muscle, not miles to burn fat.
Myth Caffeine Has Only Negative Effects On The Body
TRUTH: The problems with caffeine occur mostly because of overconsumption. But with moderate use, caffeine has many benefits beyond that of energy for athletic performance.
Myth High-Protein Diets Are Bad For Your Kidneys
TRUTH: Protein taxes the kidneys because they have to work harder to process it. Healthy people without a preexisting kidney condition are fine to eat a lot of protein as long as they drink a lot of water too.
Myth Cleanse Products Will Only Enhance Your Results
TRUTH: Medically, there's no reason to do a cleanse. Your body has natural ways of detoxifying. If you eat a healthy diet that includes a lot of vegetables. A cleanse is a waste of money.
Myth All Protein Powder Is The Same, So It Doesn't Matter Which One I Use
TRUTH: There are many different types of protein: soy caesin egg and whey (to name a few). Each of these protein powder types work a little differently, and each kind of protein has a different amount of carbs, fat, Cholestrol, and calories.Protein taste also varies depending on brand and type. Choose a protein that's right for your goals and price point.
Myth The Only Way To Lose Weight Is By Cutting Out All Carbs
TRUTH: The only way to lose the right amount of weight is by adopting a diet than supports your goal, training with weights, and doing some cardio. Your program should include all of these aspects long enough to see a difference. Diet, weights, and cardio—the holy trinity of fitness!
Myth All Vegetables Are Created The Same, So I Can Swap Any Veggies I Don't Like For Ones That I Love
TRUTH: Vegetables contain different amounts of calories. Some have 12 grams per 100 calories, others have 80 calories. You cannot swap broccoli for turnips without having to recalculate your calories.
Myth if You Want To Get In Shape, You Have To Run For Long Distances
TRUTH: Your fitness success depends upon your goal. If you want to be able to run 10 miles without breaking a sweat, then yes, you'll have to run.
If your goal is fat loss or muscle gain, running for miles and miles may not be the best way to lose pounds. The more efficient your body becomes at running, the fewer calories you'll burn.
Myth Yoga Will Get You Ripped
TRUTH: Unless you're doing hot yoga, yoga doesn't burn many calories because it doesn't require much oxygen. It also doesn't stimulate muscle growth in the same way that weight training does. Most buff and ripped yoga bunnies weight train and practice yoga.
Myth Big Muscles Are Strong Muscles
Myth Big Muscles Are Strong Muscles
TRUTH: There's a difference between training your muscles to be big and training your muscles to be strong. For physique athletes, size and shape—not strength—is the ultimate goal. For athletes, strength for maximum effort is most important.
I'm not saying that big muscles aren't strong, but put a bodybuilder and an Olympic lifter in front of a loaded barbell and see who can clean the most weight. Either person is capable of being strong or built—it's all a matter of training for a specific goal.