The American Council on Exercises says it best, “Fitness myths have always and will likely continue to plague the industry and confuse even the most experienced fitness fan. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Myth 1: Wearing a waist trainer or plastic suit helps you lose weight.

While waist trainers can temporarily slim the waist, they don’t cause permanent changes or lead to meaningful weight loss. Any weight loss may be due to sweating out fluids instead of fat or because the trainer compresses your stomach and makes you eat less. This is not a viable, sustainable way to lose weight. Waist trainers can also cause breathing difficulties, digestion issues, and organ damage if worn long-term. However, Harvard Health says that waist trainers can be helpful if a doctor recommends temporary use after certain surgeries to help rebuild core muscles.

According to Boxing Science, wearing a sauna suit won’t increase your metabolism, especially while resting. When you wear a sauna suit you will sweat to maintain your body temperature and possibly lose water weight, but you won’t burn any more fat than without it.

FACT: Waist trainers/sauna suits will make you sweat, but they do not help you lose fat.

Myth 2: Lifting heavy weights makes you bulky.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Research confirms that women can and should lift weights (including heavy ones) without fearing becoming more than healthy, toned and strong.”

Women have lower testosterone levels than men, making it harder to build muscle mass. The key is to focus on lifting heavy weights with low reps. This type of lifting activates muscle growth without triggering the release of excess testosterone. Unlike cardio, building strength and lean muscle mass increases your metabolic rate at rest, your body’s ability to burn more calories.

Fact: Lifting heavy weight does increase muscle mass, strength, and size. However, excessive body fat is to blame for men’s and women’s “bulky” looks. Heavy weight training helps build muscle, increase metabolism, and lose body fat.

Myth 3: Crunches/Sit-ups (or spot training/targeted workouts) help you lose belly fat.

As much as we want to believe it, you cannot target fat loss in specific areas of your body. When you lose weight, you lose it from all over your body, not just one specific area. Exercises targeting a specific area, such as crunches for abs, can help strengthen and tone that part of your core, but it will not necessarily reduce fat in that area.

There’s a saying: Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. It’s simply impossible to “burn off” fat in one body part by exercising.

If you want to reveal hidden abs, your best bet is to reduce your body fat percentage through sustainable healthy eating habits and a strength training exercise routine. You will have to do various exercises that target muscles around your entire trunk, including in your core, abdominals, and back.

FACT: Crunches are a popular exercise for strengthening your core, but they are not the best way to get those fab abs. Doing too many crunches can lead to back pain and poor posture.

Myth 4: Muscle weighs more than fat.

Lean tissue weighs more than fat tissue is a common misstatement. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1 lb of lean muscle tissue weighs 16 oz, as does 1 lb of fat tissue.

FACT: Muscle tissue is dense; fat tissue takes up more space or volume than muscle, but their weight is the same.

Myth 5: My muscle turns to fat if I stop working out.

Nope. Muscles do not turn fat when you stop exercising. Simply put, muscle and fat cells are entirely different tissues. More specifically, muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue and functions differently in the body.

The National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) helps clarify this common misconception. “Without consistent regular strength training and proper nutrition to build muscle, there is a much greater chance of body fat increasing. This is not because your muscles turned to fat. It’s because the ideal environment was created for fat stores to grow and the worst opportunity for the muscle to develop.”

FACT: When you stop exercising, your muscles can shrink and weaken (atrophy), leaving room for fat tissue to replace them. It can cause a shift of fat-to-muscle ratio in your body, but the muscle does not become fat.

Myth#6: Early morning is the best time to work out.

This myth that early morning exercise is the gold standard is compelling. But if you’re more of a night owl than an early bird, having the energy output for an effective morning may not be best for you.

The most important part of developing an effective exercise routine is to find a time of day that works for you and stick to it.

The NIH explains that consistent exercise timing, especially morning exercise, may facilitate greater exercise intensity, help to protect your exercise time, make planning easier, and foster good exercise habits.

While few studies definitively prove that exercising in the morning increases your metabolism more than other times of the day, some people choose to start the day with a workout for the myriad health benefits: body & mind, elevate their mood, reach step goals or because it just makes them feel great for the rest of the day.

FACT: The best time to work out is the time that works for you.

Myth 7: Squats are bad for the knees.

Squats are highly effective at strengthening the knee joint and surrounding muscles when executed with proper form and without pain. Lower body strength can help prevent and recover from common knee injuries.

However, squats can be painful and irritating for people with conditions like a runner’s knee, osteoarthritis, or meniscus tears. Poor execution can also increase the strain on your knees and lead to injury.

NASM breaks it down for us. “Although many variations of the squat exist, some truths will always prevail – maintain your knee/foot alignment, ensure hinging and timing of forward knee translation, facilitate adequate ankle mobility to avoid dysfunction, maintain a rigid pelvis (sacrum, thoracic spine, and head) and aim to achieve parallel alignment between your tibia and trunk.”

Finding the best squat for you is what’s important. Consider gradual progression from seated squats to ball or wall squats to develop the strength required to perform the stand-alone version.

FACT: Squats are not bad for your knees. Improper squat form is bad for your knees.

Myth 8: Running will make you fit.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines health-related physical fitness as a set of attributes people have or achieve that allow them to perform physical activity. It also includes the ability to perform daily activities with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with enough energy to enjoy leisure activities and handle emergencies.

Running is an excellent way to improve cardiovascular health and burn calories efficiently, but just running won’t necessarily make you fit.

Not only that, running is not for everyone and not the only way to achieve whatever your definition of being fit may be.

FACT: Running or other cardiovascular activities combined with strength training and a proper nutrition plan create a well-rounded fitness routine for optimal fitness.

Myth 9: Stretching before a workout will prevent injuries and soreness.

Are you surprised? It turns out that stretching a healthy muscle before exercise does not prevent injury or soreness. Harvard researchers found no evidence that static stretching before or after a workout prevented injuries or sped recovery (or did anything useful).

Theoretically, stretching before exercises should make the muscles more pliable and less likely to tear. However, studies that compared injury or muscle soreness rates in people who stretch before exercise and those who don’t found little benefit to stretching. Studies suggest stretching a cold, tight muscle could lead to injury.

FACT: The most effective type of stretching before a workout is a dynamic series of exercises involving the whole body, large muscles, and multiple joints. The goal is to activate the muscles you will use during the workout. It is worth mentioning that there is no evidence that static stretching at the end of the workout, during the cool-down portion, does any harm.

Myth 10: Longer workouts are more effective than short ones.

The quality of a workout is more important than its length. Pushing yourself to do longer workouts can lead to overtraining, which can cause injuries, imbalances, and a loss of motivation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a combination of vigorous and moderate aerobic activity and two or more muscle-strengthening workouts weekly.

FACT: A consistent, balanced approach to fitness that includes strength training, cardio, rest, and recovery is critical to achieving your personal fitness goal.

The post Stop Believing These 10 Exercise Myths appeared first on Black Health Matters.

That means much of the weight loss rhetoric we’ve been fed in high doses hasn’t only been confusing and misguided. Still, it has also been expensive, driving Americans to spend billions on gym memberships and exercise equipment guaranteed to help us lose weight.

We Are Following Some Outdated Advice

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, Associate Professor of Medicine, Mass General Hospital, Pediatrician, and Obesity Medicine Physician Scientist, urges us to forget everything we think we know about losing weight, specifically what she calls an oversimplified idea suggesting to lose weight, we must burn more calories than we consume.

In an article on the Harvard Health website, she insists, “This idea of ‘a calorie in, a calorie out’ when it comes to weight loss is not only antiquated, it’s just wrong.” The archaic claim seems to ignore that how effectively the body burns calories depends on its metabolic rate, gut health, and the quality of food intake. Now that makes sense.

The Mayo Clinic reports, “Sometimes the effectiveness of exercise for weight loss is oversold, and people may overestimate how effective it will be toward their goal of losing weight. And for most people, conflicting theories like this that contradict everything they’ve ever been told about how to lose weight is extremely difficult just to accept.”

Curious about how others might react to this information, we reached out to Andrea Farquharson, who has lost weight, burning loads of calories with exercise in the past, to find out where she is on her weight loss journey. “I just celebrated my 50th and have minimal motivation to work out, especially dealing with bursitis in my left hip,” she laments. She works out four days weekly with trainers, seeing no results. We know she’s not alone.

What Do Doctors, Nutritionists, and Psychologists Have to Say?

To shed some light on the dichotomy of exercise vs weight loss, I turned to medical doctors, registered dietician nutritionists, and psychologists to hear their take on what exercise Can & Can’t do for weight loss. If exercise doesn’t significantly impact weight loss, then what does? Dr. William D. Stanley, MD, FASAM, who specializes in internal medicine & addiction, tells us that as a primary care physician, he takes the responsibility of seriously conveying to patients the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. He says, “It is just as important as exercise is to prevent weight gain. Practicing healthy, balanced eating habits may matter more.” Dr. Cody Stanford agrees that improving the quality of foods and making sustainable lifestyle improvements are crucial to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

We now know that eating well is important more important than ever, resulting in weight loss as a symptom of intentional lifestyle changes.

Researchers at NIH & CDC agree that exercise can have profound effects on preventing chronic disease, reducing cancer risk, improving mobility and quality of life, preventing injuries, improving sleep, and increasing longevity. Exercise may delay and, in some cases, prevent mental and physical impairment, like Alzheimer’s and dementia, supporting the ultimate goal of living a happier, healthier life in mind, body, and soul. Exercise cannot compensate for an unhealthy diet, lifestyle choices, or a toxic relationship with food. It can’t effectively treat eating disorders.

Katrice Mayo, MS, RDN, CLT, is passionate about developing healthy lifestyle changes with her clients over time that nourish and fuel the body and build muscle while prioritizing adequate rest and reducing stress. She says, “Chronic stress and the stress response will (negatively) impact what you choose to eat, why and how you’re eating.”

Rather than focusing on the number on the scale, Mayo maintains that an essential part of sustainable weight loss is eating more quality whole foods and less processed food with trans fat and little or no nutritional value. She cautions people to choose real food for energy and to think twice before choosing processed protein or energy bars or protein bars over nutrient-dense, whole food.

Experts, we hear you. Weight loss is unique for all of us.” Embracing exercise and learning how to nourish the body—paying attention to hunger cues, learning to stop eating when you’re full, and frequently evaluating when and why will help you learn more about your nutritional needs and help with maintaining your weight loss.

Where Should You Begin?

Dr. Radisha Brown, Psychologist and CEO of IThrive Therapy believes, “On any weight loss journey, the most important relationship is the relationship with ourselves. This dynamic sets the tone for all other relationships, including our connection to exercise & food.

If you want to lose weight, ask yourself if you’re ready. Be honest about what you’re willing to start changing. Seek counseling if you think you need emotional support around food, and get support and create your community.

The post Should You Focus On Exercise When You Want to Lose Weight? appeared first on Black Health Matters.

RE-THINK EXERCISE  & GET CREATIVE

Clean up. Yes, cleaning counts as a workout! Play upbeat holiday hits and get to work! Engage your core to protect your lower back. Activate your total body using broad strokes to vacuum or mop. Move swiftly to the next tasks. Take breaks, then get back to it.

Dance like no one (or everyone) is watching! Shake your groove thang to five of your favorite feel-good tracks, get into the holiday spirit and celebrate your body’s ability to move!!

MAKE EVERY MINUTE COUNT

Combining strength training & heart pumping cardio for most workouts is a great way to spike your heart rate, increase mobility, and feel the burn.

Try a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout at home. Set a timer for 30-45 seconds; go at your own pace and keep moving until the time is up. Rest, hydrate, and begin the next exercise (HIIT workout below).

Prefer the gym? Steer clear of distractions to focus on your workout. Consider leaving your phone in the locker or silence alerts until your workout is complete. Incorporate 15-30-second sprints during cardio and lift enough weight that your last two reps are challenging.

GET OUTDOORS

There’s nothing like a brisk walk (or run) outside to jumpstart your day! Breathe in fresh air and soak up some vitamin D multiple times daily. The holidays are about connecting with friends and family. Invite them to celebrate the season with fitness & fellowship.

GEAR UP

Have your workout wear styled out, laced up, and ready to go. Stay prepared for exercise! Charge your fitness tracker and gather your gear ahead of time. Searching for your favorite sports bra can be stressful and delay or cut short your workout.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Avoid setting unrealistic goals or stressing about scheduling a workout. Enjoy some downtime this holiday break. Early workouts are only for some. When you find yourself with ENERGY, USE IT! Don’t overthink; move- to the gym, the park, or to a workout DVD/YouTube video you’ve been meaning to try and haven’t! The benefits of exercise are cumulative. So, get 10-15 minute workouts in throughout the day— those minutes add up!

PRIORITIZE SLEEP

You may already know that consistent quality sleep is crucial in supporting our immune system and regulating metabolism. Healthy sleep hygiene reduces stress, allows your body to recover, and promotes the energy and mental clarity you need to spread love and joy.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOURSELF

In your (gratitude) journal or cell phone, write a quick note (or text) acknowledging yourself for getting your workout in!  Express gratitude for the ability to move and honor that you made time to strengthen your mind, body, and spirit. Use powerful self-affirmations and declare, ‘Tis the season for self-care!

HIIT Workout

Set a 30-45 sec timer and perform these exercises, hydrating and resting 15-20 secs between each move.

Jumping Jacks (modification-step & reach, alt sides)

Squat Kicks  (modification-standing high kicks alt L/R legs)

Any style push-ups (modification-wall push-ups: place hands on the wall at chest level, step back 2-3 ft from the wall, maintain a neutral spine and bring the chest to the wall, then push back to starting position)

Squat to oblique crunches, alternating L/R knee-ups (modification-Standing oblique crunches)

Squat jumps, landing with knees bent, hips back, weight in heels (modification -Squat then elevate to balls of your feet, lower hips back down, weight in heels, repeat).

HYDRATE, REST, REPEAT SEQUENCE 1-2X

Optional: Use light to medium free weights in each hand when performing the exercises in the next round(s), except for the pushups.

Nicole Brewer has been a Brooklyn-based personal trainer & group fitness instructor for 15 years. A deejay at heart with a passion for fashion, she makes fitness accessible for every body at every age. 

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