By: Coach Maranatha Chapman Recently, I asked my coaches about the most common misconceptions that they have come across when it comes to the subject of working out and the quest to be healthy and fit. Their answers illuminated several common misconceptions that people tend to buy into. If believed, these things will only derail our fitness and goals. False beliefs can sabotage our growth in an instant if we aren’t mindful of it.
Here are 9 Common Misconceptions About Health and Fitness:
* “You must trash yourself and feel dead to really get a good workout.” —- This is unscientific and many times based on hype! In fact, completely killing yourself in the gym everyday can decrease energy levels and cause fatigue. A good program doesn’t destroy you everyday.
* “Recovery and rest are for Sissies” —- Actually, proper rest and recovery are essential and allows the body to replenish energy and repair tissues. In addition, the Central Nervous System must have time to reset and recuperate. It’s part of it and can’t be skipped!
* “Strength training will make you huge, super-jacked, and extremely muscular. So stick to lots of cardio if you don’t want to look that way!” —- Many women worry about this. They think that if they pick up weights that they will look like a bronzed-up body builder. Even if you wanted to, looking extremely muscular takes an incredible amount of work in the gym and perfect nutrition. Rest assured, that physique does not come by accident. Every single person will benefit from strength training of some kind. Not only does it increase your physical work capacity, it also improves your ability to perform activities in daily life. It also improves bone density and promotes fat loss.
* “More weight on the bar will give you a better work out.” —- In all honesty, not only is this illogical but can also be dangerous. Proper weight and appropriate weight for a specific stimulus according to your abilities is the best route to go when working out. Many times adding more weight will just slow you down, encourage bad form or not recruit the right muscle groups for the movement.
* “Pushing the intensity level will break down good form but that’s OK because we are athletes.” —- Increased intensity in speed, volume, or weight is awesome when mechanics are solid. It’s never good to compromise good movement for a fast score. Sacrificing proper movement risks injury, tends to break things down in a negative way, and ultimately shortcuts your fitness goals. Always use the correct muscles in the correct timing and order the proper way!
* “Varied workouts mean throwing random movements put together to see what happens.” —- Varied workouts have to be built on how the body works and be put together intentionally and effectively! Randomly putting workouts together inevitably produces too much of a certain motion too many days in a row or missing entire areas that the body needs to move. A solid program is not random or a bunch of different movements thrown together.
* “If “they” can do it, I “should” be able to as well.” — Comparing ourselves to others is always a bad idea and will ultimately limit us. Stay focused on what you are able to do, what you know how to do, and what you are looking to gain from your workout program. There is no “should.” Make your fitness YOURS and don’t borrow other’s goals or let what someone else does dictate what you do or even what you want to do!
* “If I put the hours in the gym I can drink and eat more and my body won’t be affected.” or “If I eat clean all week then I can eat whatever I want on weekends.” — This is a hard reality but if you are serious about weight loss, muscle gain, improved health or your performance in the gym, you MUST eat well! Our bodies cannot be properly fueled by crap! Nutrition is important but is also the foundation for good health.
* “I can’t do what I see everybody else is doing. I’m not that (fill-in-the-blank: flexible, strong, fit, young, small, big, fast, athletic) —- The truth is you aren’t a different species. You have a body and so you start wherever your abilities are and go from there. Ability and flexibility come by working on it. And no matter what age you are, that is something incredibly important for daily life. Certain skills come through lots of practice. Strength, power, speed come through training and putting the work in! And depending on your goals you might never do you some of the tricky stuff you might see or use the same weight as someone you admire but that’s absolutely not the point. Everyone can be fit and everyone has goals of some type of healthy way of living and every single person can enjoy that life!