5 MYTHS ABOUT FITNESS YOU THOUGHT WERE TRUE!

• Stretching before workout is good for me.

According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine Stretching before exercise does not prevent you from getting injuries. According to this  article, read it HERE, stretching before exercise can actually lead to more susceptibility of getting injured.

According to The American Journal of Sports Medicine see HERE, warming up is of benefit in preventing muscular injury by increasing the length of failure and elasticity of the muscle-tendon unit. 

So, just refrain from stretching before workouts and work upon warming up slightly before doing any strenuous activity. I normally warm up for 3-5 minutes before a workout to warm my muscles. Stretching after a workout is highly recommended to avoid soreness and injury.

stretching before a workout should be avoided to prevent injury.

A 5 minute warm up is quite effective in  preventing muscular injury.

• Doing sit-ups/ crunches will make me lose belly fat.

Spot reducing is impossible, meaning you can not pick one place on your body to lose fat from. Instead as you exercise you melt fat from your entire body. Sit-ups help to tone the muscles of your stomach, but completing hundreds of sit ups won't actually melt fat. A combination of cardio training and sit ups help to reduce your belly. According to Jillian Michaels, world reknown fitness trainer sit-ups and crunches just strengthens your core. She recommends doing 8-12 repetitions in three sets for abdominal strength but not burning fats.

To look superb with tight abs, incorporate cardio, weights and abs exercises.

If you only do sit-ups to lose the belly fat, reconsider your workout plan.

• Squats hurt my knees often and i better stop them altogether.

Squats are known as compound exercises  as they deal with large muscles of the body. Squats are magical (especially for women) as they reveal that curvy, tight round butt that every woman adores, its achieved easily and are quite effective when done correctly and consistently.

Every woman's dream of getting a round shape is valid with squats in correct form

According to Kevin Yates, a functional training coach, see HERE If your knees hurt when squatting it doesn't mean that squats are a bad exercise. In fact, squats and lunges have gotten such a bad reputation for causing knee, hip and lower back problems.The truth is that the squat is a poorly understood exercise.

Squats are an excellent exercise for strengthening the hips and knees but, unfortunately, most people do not perform them correctly even though think they do. click here to see the correct form and understand the benefits of squats for you and why you should squat more often.

• No Pain no Gain

Most people believe they must feel pain, and must feel like they are bleeding internally before stopping an exercise. Truth is that, pain is an indication from your body screaming "hey stop that, you are actually dying right now, and I don't like that!

But most of us, toil through the pain and hurt more. If you feel pain in lets say, a joint, when exercising, you are actually supposed to stop that exercise until you recover and then proceed with working out later on.

The discomfort is understandable if it comes from burning muscles, elevated heart beat and heavy breathing.

Anatomy of the knee joint with bone on bone pain and a normal knee

Avoid working out injured joints.

• You must workout in a gym to lose weight.

To most people, working out needs a gym and all the equipment s it has to offer. The truth is that, you don't need to drive all those kilometers to the gym whereas you have a chair, a wall and your phone's timer to work out. You can even use your nearest public park with a few friends and work out  from there. Yoga is a wonderful exercise and can be done in your bedroom any day any time and its effective.

working out in groups is much more fun, and cheaper compared to a gym.

 I remember once when i was in college and my gym membership had expired and had me use a bag full of books on my back when doing sit ups and press ups working as weights. Empty water bottles can be refilled with sand and work as dumbbells and are quite effective in toning. I have a close friend who has lost 6 kgs in less than 2 months by the help of home workout DVDs.

Yoga exercises are effective, need a lesser space and help strengthen the back.

I have uploaded a video on the 15 top fitness myths you thought were true.. Enjoy watching the video and feel free to comment on the article above and also throw some questions.

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