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Busted Seven Fitness Training Myths
No Pain, No GainMaybe this one took on a life of its own because it rhymes and is so easy to remember. Forget it. If an exercise causes pain, you’re either doing it wrong (a session or two with a personal trainer can set you straight) or you’ve already managed to hurt yourself. Be sure to separate pain from muscle soreness, which comes on after you tax a lax muscle and will wear off in a few days. Actual pain can mean that you’ve exhausted a muscle or torn a ligament. If what you’re doing really hurts, stop. Stretching Before ExerciseWhile stretching does promote flexibility (something you should strive for as an element of overall fitness), a study published in British Medical Journal found no scientific evidence to back up the notion that stretching before a workout reduces injuries or that stretching before and after can prevent muscle soreness. Exercise Speeds Metabolism for HoursWhile partly true--your metabolism does amp up during exercise and for a few hours afterward--the truth can be a big disappointment: the number of calories you can expect to lose only 20 extra for the whole day according to one study. But (a big “but”) you may be able to set your metabolism on high for hours after your workout if you can exercise intensely enough to reach the top of your VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in during exercise) and continue at that high level for 45 minutes. A tough prescription, but if you can manage that, you could burn as many as 190 extra calories in the hours after exercise. Crunches Lead to Sixpack AbsSure they will as long as you also get rid of any belly fat that obscures your abdominal muscles. While crunches strengthen muscles, they won’t burn off the fat in your belly. To flaunt your newly crunched abs you’ve got to trim the fat via diet, cardiovascular exercise and resistance training. And, of course, for crunches to work, you’ve got to learn to do them right. Running on a Treadmill is Easier on the KneesSorry, but it is the running itself that stresses the knees, not the surface you’re pounding. To ease the impact on your knees, experts advise varying your aerobic activities: mix running with riding a stationary bike or using the elliptical machine at the gym. Ice Eases Muscle PainApplying ice to a sore muscle can numb it so it feels better, but a new review of evidence from 36 earlier studies concluded that icing doesn’t help heal muscle tears and can actually reduce muscle strength and power temporarily. The researchers suggested that it is okay to ice sore muscles provided you don’t go right back to exercising. And they noted that more study is needed to learn more about the effects of icing. Using Exercise Machines is SaferIf you know what you’re doing, using machines at the gym can help you get the most out of your workout. But first the machines have to be correctly adjusted for your height and weight by a savvy coach or trainer. Otherwise, you’re as vulnerable to injury and as you would be if you were doing the same type of exercise with free weights or without any devices. Nor is an expensive gym membership essential to get in shape, since jogging gives you a great cardio workout, while investing a pair of dumbbells to use at home helps with strength training. |
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