5 Fitness Myths That Are Hurting Your Workouts

The amount of fitness controversy in the media is enough to make your head spin, sometimes.  To make things worse, most of the information you come across in TV and magazines isn't coming from degreed exercise physiologists, but from fitness enthusiasts without a collegiate health background.

We surveyed five top Perfect Personal Trainers to ask them what they thought were the most destructive fitness myths in the media today that are actually impeding weight loss efforts as opposed to improving them.  You might be surprised to read what they had to say!

Myth #1:  Eating After 6pm Leads to Bodyfat Gain
"This is one of the biggest fitness and weight-loss myths, and it's creating some awful effects on peoples' metabolism," explains Val Fiott, Director of Operations and Client Services for Perfect Personal Training.  "Studies have demonstrated repeatedly that any weight gain associated with eating in the evening or late-night has to do only with the food selection and quantity, and not with the actual time of night.  People tend to make less healthy food choices when they are eating later in the day, but this should not be misconstrued to mean that eating at night is a bad move.  Eating every three hours that a person is awake is an excellent idea for maintaining or growing muscle, and it is a proven fact that the more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism is.  For healthy individuals, eating at night is a good thing, as long as you're eating within your meal plan for the proper number of fats, proteins, and carbs that your body requires." 

Myth #2:  Ideal Bodyweight is Based On Height
"It is a myth that everyone fits into a standard height-to-weight table," explains Yvonne Ferguson-Hardin, a Perfect Personal Trainer who creates and coaches personalized exercise for clients in their homes throughout Perfect Personal Training's Philadelphia market.  "There is no true table that [explains ideal numbers for] the petite Korean, the muscular African, and the more robust big-boned Hawaiian.  Everyone is unique, and the size and weight that is [healthy] for one may not be for another."

Myth #3:  Training with Weights Leads to Arthritis
"Of all fitness fallacies, this one may be the most damaging to the mindset of the health-conscious, progressive-thinking person, " begins Brian Walters, Director of Staff Management and exercise physiologist for Perfect Personal Training.  "Resistive conditioning, be it with free weights or otherwise, is an extraordinary way to actually prevent arthritis.  It is sometimes likened to causing arthritis only because the exercising person often over-exercises a joint by using incorrect form or a resistance that is too high.  Conversely, under-exercising a joint with a resistance that is too light to produce results will allow for the joints to decondition just as they would in a person who is not exercising, which would also result in arthritis symptoms, over time."

Myth #4:  30-Minute Workouts Are As Effective As Longer Workouts
"This is a funny one," says Aaron Dunn, exercise physiologist and scheduling manager for Perfect Personal Training.  "We actually burn MORE bodyfat per minute after around the 50th minute of exercise than we do in the first 50 minutes.  Therefore, the only reason to end your fat-burning workout after only 30 minutes would be because you don't have time for more.  Ending at 30 minutes is definitely not conducive to more rapid weight loss."

Myth #5:  Exercising a Body Part Burns Fat on That Body Part
"It's sad that people have been so misled", began Jeff Rio, Perfect Personal Trainer since 2010.  "When someone exercises their buttocks muscles, for example, they aren't programming their body to actually burn fat around the buttocks.  What is happening is that they are programming the muscles of the buttocks to get stronger and to have more endurance.  Essentially, the muscles get more toned there.  But, this does not have to equate to fat loss around the muscles of the buttocks.  That is a whole separate issue involving nutrition, caloric values, and a fat-burning strategy through cardiovascular work and other exercise.  Butt training does not necessarily equate to specific butt fat loss."

Have a question involving your own personal fat loss or fitness goals?  We'd love to help!  Call (877)698-3648 or visit us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/perfectpersonaltraining) to ask us anything that is on your mind.  We are here to help!