7 Fitness Myths Busted

By Shandon Thompson, DC, CCSP

Staying fit and healthy is challenging enough-don't make it tougher by buying into misconceptions that divert your attention from achieving your goals.

MYTH You need to exercise 30 minutes straight to get fit.

TRUTH For cardiovascular conditioning, three 10-minute cardio stints offer the same healthy payback as a single 30-minute one. Short on time? Consider ratcheting up the intensity of your workout.

MYTH Yoga can help with all sorts of back pain.

TRUTH The truth is that yoga can help, but it's not equally good for all types. If your back pain is muscle-related, then yes, some yoga stretches can help. But if your back problems are related to other problems, it may actually irritate your back and cause you more pain. If you do have back pain, get your doctor's okay before starting any type of exercise program.

MYTH If you are experiencing joint pains, you shouldn't exercise.

TRUTH Not necessarily. People with joint pains and osteoarthritis can improve their condition by keeping joints mobile and active. Fitness training will also help keep bones dense and strong, increase blood circulation, relieve stress, increase immunity and protect the heart and other muscles from atrophy. A good exercise to try might be swimming. Because the water supports your weight, exercising in water allows you to get strong without putting stress on arthritic joints. But once again, get the okay from your doctor first.

MYTH You can use spot training to take weight off of specific body parts.

TRUTH Don't believe everything you hear on those infomercials. Doing sit-ups will strengthen your abs but will not take the fat off of your stomach. For example, running burns fat all over your body, not just your legs. You can, however, compliment a healthy diet with a selection of weight training exercises to gradually lose weight and tone the body.

MYTH Overweight people have a sluggish metabolism.

TRUTH Though some folks do have metabolic disorders that slow their metabolism, fewer than 10 percent of overweight people suffer from them. In fact, the more you weigh, the more calories you'll burn during exercise at the same relative workload as a slimmer person. If you notice the scale climbing higher, worry about your activity level and your calorie consumption first it's usually not your metabolism.

MYTH Lifting heavy weights makes women bulk up.

TRUTH Women usually don't have enough of the muscle-building hormone testosterone to get bulky, even using heavy weights. The truth is, some people gain muscle faster than they lose fat, so they may look bigger until they shed some of the flab and reveal the slim, toned muscles underneath.

MYTH For you guys “big” muscles eventually turn into fat.

TRUTH It's physiologically impossible to turn one into the other. If you stop exercising, your muscles atrophy, so you lose the tone you worked so hard to create. And if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain fat.