When it comes to getting fit and healthy, everyone it seems, is an expert. One person will swear blind that the best way to lose weight is to cut out carbs, whereas another will tell you that the secret is high carbs. So, who do you believe? Well, that’s the question of the ages, who do you believe? The problem with health and fitness is that nothing is black and white, because different people respond to certain things in different ways. Some respond well to resistance training, whereas others respond better to cardio. Knowing what is, and is not, true in the fitness world however, can be very important, which is why we’re here. Below we’ll be looking at several common fitness myths and will be busting them once and for all, providing you with the cold, hard facts instead. Check them out and see if any sound familiar to you.
Cutting out carbs after 5pm will make you skinny – This is one of the most common myths doing the rounds at the moment, and we’re here to tell you that it’s absolute nonsense. Yes, there is evidence to suggest that reducing your carbohydrate intake can help promote fat loss, but when you do and do not consume your carbs has nothing to do with this whatsoever. By that logic, you could eat as many carbs as you like before 5pm, but once the clock strikes 5 then that would be it. In reality, timing has nothing to do with it, as it all boils down to quantities. Reducing your carbohydrate intakes could positively influence your weight loss, but not eating any after 5pm will not matter a thing if you’ve already taken in more than your recommended daily intake.
Lifting weights will turn fat into muscle – Have you heard people in the past, mention how they plan on lifting weights in the gym so that they can turn fat into muscle? If so, unfortunately they were mistaken because it is simply not possible. Fat will always be fat, and muscle will always be muscle. You can’t magically alter the molecular structure of fat by lifting weights, thereby transforming it into muscle, in the same way that you can’t transform peanut butter into gold. You can replace fat with muscle by lifting weights, but you can’t turn fat into muscle by lifting weights, as that is just not possible.
The key to abs is 1000 crunches per day – If you want a six-pack set of abs, then stomach crunches are indeed very effective exercises for working your abdominal muscles. However, if you ever hear people talking about how you need to perform 1000 crunches a day to build a six-pack, well, then quite frankly you should ignore them completely, or perhaps set them straight. To start with, you ideally need to be sitting at around 12% bodyfat in order for your abs to be visible, so if your body fat percentages are significantly higher than that then your abs are not going to be visible anytime soon. To reveal your abs, you will need to lose the fat through healthy diet and exercise. You should still work your abs, but work them like any other muscle. You don’t perform 1000 bicep curls per day to build your biceps, so apply the same principle with your abs. Training abs 2 or 3 times per week, with 2 or 3 exercises per session, with sets of 3 – 4 is more than sufficient if you’re seeking a washboard stomach.