‘It’s best to exercise in the morning.’ ‘Don’t eat before exercising, it’ll help you lose weight quickly.’ ‘Crunches make you lose belly fat.’ Or, the classic, ‘pain is the reflection of a good workout.’ If you are someone starting with working out, or you do work out, the aforementioned are some of the advice you might have across. And, why not? When it comes to health and wellness, everyone has something to add. Now, exercise is crucial for good health, but are these pieces of advice correct? Does pain reflect a good workout? Or do crunches make you lose that stubborn belly fat? Taking to social media, Dr Manan Vora, who is a sports medicine doctor, has quashed such myths one Instagram post at a time.
Myth 1: ‘No Pain, No Gain’
Reality: A common misconception in the fitness world, people assume that pain is a reflection of a good workout. “Yes, you should feel a slight, sometimes prominent ache,” said Dr Vora in a video he posted on his Instagram page. “But, it should never be painful,” he went on to add. Pain during a workout can be due to several reasons, such as:
- A pulled muscle
- Strain, or something equally worrying.
‘No pain, no gain’ can be an excellent fitness motivation quote. But medically, you don’t have to feel any pain to get the intended gain, the doctor said.
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Myth 2: ‘Strength Training Makes Women Bulky’
Reality: This is another piece of advice we hear quite often. But is there any truth to it? “Absolutely not,” the doctor said in another social media post. In fact, the truth is that women have lesser bone and muscle mass than men, he added. “It’s unfortunate that a lot of women do not lift weights. And the small percentage that does, lift very little weight,” he said. This is the reason why more women suffer from osteoporosis, which is a serious medical condition in which bones become brittle due to the loss of tissue than men. Hence, doing strength training is as crucial for them as it is for men. And, it’ll not make you bulky, because you don’t have testosterone, which makes men large and bulky.
Also read: How Does Physical Fitness Improve Mental Health? Here Are 5 Daily Exercises That You Can Do
Myth 3: ‘Sit-ups & Crunches Make You Lose Belly Fat’
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Reality: We can all agree that fat around your belly is probably the toughest to shed. There can be multiple reasons behind it, such as stress, eating too much sugar, genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalance, etc, as per a leading lifestyle website. Doing exercises such as sit-ups and crunches is great for strengthening your abdominal muscles, but they don’t make you lose that stubborn belly fat. To shed that, you need to do the following:
- Make an entire exercise routine to help you build lean muscle mass
- Be regular when it comes to exercising
- Include resistance training in your workout
- And go on a calorie deficit diet
By doing these, you can see your belly fat swiftly vanishing.
Myth 4: ‘The More You Sweat, The More Fat Your Body Burns’
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Reality: Now this is a common one. And if it had any truth to it, then those from tropical nations like India would be the leanest people on the planet. And we know this isn’t true and so is the misconception that ‘the more you sweat, the more fat your body burns’. So what is the truth?
According to Dr Vora, the amount is sweat is indicative of your body’s ability to maintain a normal body temperature. You can understand it this way: when your body stores heat, you perspire, and when that sweat evaporates, your body cools down. This is one of the ways your body maintains a normal body temperature. It’s nowhere indicative of the amount of fat your body burns.
Also read: Do These 9 Stretching Exercises First Thing In Morning For That Boost Of Energy
Myth 5: ‘Exercise during a particular time of the day’
Reality: Exercise first thing in the morning, many of us have heard of this. Or, you get the best benefits when you exercise in the evening. One can go on and on. This is again far from the truth. You can “exercise at any time of the day or night, or whenever you want,” Dr Vora said in another video. There is no research into what time of the day is best for exercising. However, research does suggest that if you stick to a certain time of the day and do it regularly, it gives you more benefits. Hence, pick any time of the day you want for exercising and be regular with it.
Hence, as you saw, when it comes to exercise, any time of the day is good. And if you perspire more while exercising, it’s just reflecting your body’s ability to maintain the normal body temperature Again, sit-ups and crunches will not make you lose that abdominal fat. You need to do much more than that, like chalking out a whole exercise routine and going on a calorie deficit diet. Strength training doesn’t make a woman bulky and you don’t have to bear intense pain for a good workout. These are mere myths, and it’s better to steer clear of them.
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