Workout Myths

Working out is, for some, a source of stress. The gym might be a new environment with some new people, some new machines, a change in your routine, etc. What makes it even more confusing is that there is a lot of misconceptions or myths about working out that are somewhat believable and can steer people away from the gym/working out. I will be going through some myth and clarifying whether there is some truth or not about them.

Myth #1: The gym is a jungle; people are crazy in there…

Ha ! The notion that people going to the gym are animals making all these weird sounds. For real though, the image of a gym we see in movies, YouTube videos, etc. are often over exaggerated. I’m talking big muscular guys or girls, grunting every time they lift something, yelling, hitting their chest like a gorilla, etc. In reality, a gym is usually pretty quiet in term of social interaction. You might hear the occasional CLINK!! CLANK!! sound of someone dropping a weight or lowering the weight too quickly on a machine, but most of the time all you hear is the music playing in the gym, some friends might be talking to each other, you might be asked by someone if you are done with some gym equipments. Most people go to the gym, do their own program and leave when they are done. This scenarioof 10+ people going to the gym together acting like gangsters that we see in movies is so farfetched. I have never seen a group of over 5 going to the gym together, mainly because the bigger the group, the longer the workout session is going to be, since they need to wait to use the same machine, same weights, etc. The groups are usually smaller and as for individual people, they are doing their own program.

Myth #2: Workout everyday

You need to work out every, single, day! I don’t hear that myth often, but from time to time I get that comment from some clients. While it is possible to work out every single day, a day of rest or two a week is recommended. By training every day, you need to split your workout session to make sure you don’t overtrain your muscle. A good rule of thumb is 2 days of rest after working out a muscle group. By that I mean, if you trained your biceps on Monday, you shouldn’t train your biceps again before Wednesday/Thursday, but you can train your other muscle group that you didn’t train on Monday. Remember that resting is important.

Myth #3: Doing cardio is the best way to lose weight.

It is true that doing cardio can help lose weight, but being the best way is a false statement. Your diet will affect weight loss more than cardio. Cardio can help with burning calories and get you into calorie deficit for the day (when your calorie outtake is higher than your calorie intake). A better way to lose weight would be to do some cardio and to do a workout also thus increasing our metabolism. That way we are burning more calories while we are at rest, compared to only burn calories while we are doing our cardio exercises. Please note that you might gain some weight that way since muscle is heavier than fat, but you will have less body fat, looking leaner. It’s important to remember that a good diet is #1 when it comes to weight loss.

Myth #4: Telemarketers and influencers

I was 13-14 years old when I started to notice telemarketers selling these items to help you gain abs while doing nothing or selling some gym equipment that will make you look lean faster than anything else on the market. I’m 31 years old now and I still see similar products being advertised. I guess that mean people are still buying these products, since they are not out of business it seems. While some equipment they are selling could be good products, the message they tell in their advertisement is false. The reality is working out takes time, eating well can be a challenge and changing our habits can be a headache. They are selling the idea that their product can achieve all that, quick, inexpensive and without changing your habits much which isn’t true. It takes some effort, dedication and self-discipline. The same is said with all the yo-yo diets, that’s why the fitness and nutrition industry is considered one if not the worst fraud. Now with social media, influencers are doing the same thing,claiming you can follow their workout for abs guaranteed in 60 days. Again, it is possible, but not for everyone. Someone who is overweight might not be able to lose all the weight and gain abs in 60 days, it might take longer. My recommendation would be a personalised program from a personal trainer or kinesiologist and a personalised diet made by a dietician. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it might be.

This concludes my blog about myths about working out. If you enjoyed reading these I recommend our Instagram page where I did a post a few weeks ago about some other common mythsabout working out and fitness. If you ever read or hear something that seems out of place about dieting or fitness tips, you can reach out to us and book a free 15min consultation with either a physiotherapist, kinesiologist or dietician.

-Patrick, Kinesiologist

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