Busting Common Fitness Myths - Forbes Article

I stumbled on a very important article from Forbes.com about fitness myths. I thought I would add my 2 cents based on my experience boosting my fitness levels.

See what you think about these myths:

Myth #1  Exercise Can Erase A Bad Diet
This is a no-brainer. A bad diet is just not conducive to personal fitness, just as smoking is the antithesis of good health. If you think you can erase the effects of those 3 morning doughnuts with some afternoon cardio, think again!

Myth #2  You Just Need To Tone
There is no such thing as toning. Challenge your muscles with strength training if you want to look better.

Myth #3  Men And Women Need To Exercise Differently
Why? Muscles are muscles regardless of whether you're male or female. Men can grow them much bigger than women because of the hormonal differences.

Myth #4  Women Should Do Low Weights, High Reps
Smell the Roses, Ladies! Barbie Weights accomplish absolutely nothing!

Myth #5  Always Stretch Before Exercising
According to the Forbes article, "While this is the traditional advice, (personal trainer) Wiedenbach says stretching before a workout weakens the muscles and may increase the risk of injury." Alwyn Cosgrove's workouts (New Rules of Lifting for Women and New Rules of Lifting for Life) start with warmups and finish with stretching and foam-rolling exercises.

Myth #6  You Can Spot Reduce Fat
Just as it is impossible to tone your body, spot reducing will not work.

Myth #7  You'll Burn Only Fat At Your Target Heart Rate
The best exercise to burn fat is interval training. For example, you maintain a high stationary bicycle speed for 20 seconds and slow down to a low speed to recover for 40 seconds to complete an interval. You can work up to 10 intervals for a solid fat-burning session.

Myth #8  You'll Burn More Fat On An Empty Stomach
Without energy, it makes sense that you'll burn fat. But Wiedenbach claims that you'll also burn muscle, something you do not want to lose.

Myth #9  Shakes Are Great For Weight Loss
Protein shakes are perfect for expediting muscle repair (building muscle) after a strength training workout, not losing weight.

Myth #10 Eat Only The Egg Whites
This only applies if you happen to be allergic to egg yolks!