1. Weight Training Equals Big

Look at any man who consistently weight trains and you can see that they are huge. You might think that you will go the same way, but this is one of the myths of diet and fitness as people often forget that men and women are physiologically different. Women’s testosterone levels are 33% below that of men’s, on average. If you weight train then you are going to get muscles but not bulk (unless you are specifically targeting to become an female bodybuilder).

2. Working Girl

Fitness fanatics might tell you that unless you are training five or six days a week, then you are wasting your time. That couldn’t be more wrong. Tests have shown that those who work out three days a week intensively will experience the same results. The body needs time to heal, so don’t listen to fitness myths like this!

3. Targeted Weight Loss

If your hips are fat and everything else is fine then you can’t just lose the fat from your hips without surgery. Diet and exercise will take the fat from ALL the areas of your body. And it really is true that the first place you gain any fat, is the last place you lose it!

4. Stretching and Injuries

The truths about myths of diet and fitness often come from the most surprising of places. Staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrated that stretching does absolutely nothing to prevent injuries. It still helps to strengthen your muscles and increase flexibility, so don’t eliminate it, but also, don’t fret if you forget to stretch before exercise.

5. Weight before Exercise

One of the most destructive diet myths is that fat should be lost before exercise. It’s something that puts thousands of women off diet and exercise completely because they find that it doesn’t work. Diet and fitness must go hand in hand. Losing weight is all about using more calories than you are taking in and as well as reducing the amount of calories you need to be burning up more.

6. Lifting Slow Gets You More

Fitness myths such as ‘lifting slow is a good thing’ are the leading cause of injuries whilst exercising. Lifting slowly is essentially leading to a loss of control on the part of the weight lifter. Studies by the University of Alabama demonstrated that those who lifted faster, burned more calories and gained more muscle, than those who lifted slower. Intensity through speed, leads to a faster heart rate and encourages the body to burn more calories.

7. Crash Diets

Diet myths like the crash diet have been extremely damaging to the health of womankind. This belief that eating significantly less is safe and healthy is dangerous as you might be losing fat, but you’re also losing protein and carbohydrates along with it. You need a balanced diet to keep all of your functions running at their optimal levels. Avoid the crash diet if you don’t want to…crash!

8. Crunches Eliminate the Belly

You can increase the amount of muscle you have in a specific location. The fat is still going to be there, though. In fact, doing all of those crunches will only lead to bigger bellies as now the new muscle is crammed under the fat. Cardio must go alongside it, and that means fat has to be lost from everywhere to lose it in one location.

These myths about diet and fitness can be hazardous to your health if they are believed, but these tips have demonstrated that many common diet myths and fitness myths are just that; myths. Through a balanced diet and a well-planned exercise regime you can get the body you want and deserve. Have you ever struggled with any of these fitness and diet myths before?

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