Workout Myths Busted

Workout practices happen to come out from everywhere, but not everything is effective. There are those that make us counterproductive instead. It is a fact that exercise is such a hard work. Wasting your energy on something that doesn’t bring results can frustrate you and make you give up on your dream of having a perfectly fit body. Read the rest of this article to know the workout myths that you shouldn’t be doing anymore.

1.       Walking or running a mile burns the same amount of calories. If you are just a new recruit to the fitness bandwagon, then you may be confused with the myth just stated. While walking is good for the physical fitness of the body, it doesn’t do much compared with running. Running requires 40% more energy than walking; thus doing the former will allow you to burn more calories by going through the same distance. Get out there and run while listening to upbeat music through your mobile earphones to keep up the pace and stimulate your mood.

2.       Morning exercises burn more fat. Studies have found out that morning exercises don’t increase the body’s metabolism any more than exercises during the rest of the day. So working out during mornings isn’t that advisable at all; the effects are just the same. Do it according to your convenience. Anyway, the most important thing is that you did your workout no matter what time it’s done.

3.       Exercising allows you to eat whatever you want. If one of your reasons for working out is to make you less guilty in satisfying your high-calorie cravings, then I am certain that you won’t be meeting the real objective of your endeavour. You may tell yourself that you burned this much calories in your workout session, but you reward yourself twice as much as the amount you burned. What you’re doing is like equipping yourself with a replacement battery for the energy you lost working out. The best thing to do is to monitor your caloric intake to make sure that exercises have an effect on your figure.

4.       Crunches will give you washboard abs. Crunches target the abdomen and surrounding areas causing the muscles to bulk up. You may have hard and well-formed abdominal muscles as a result of months of doing crunches, but they won’t appear if they are hidden under a layer of fat. What a waste of effort. To flaunt your abs, be mindful of your diet. Stick to healthy, fresh foods. Take note, crunches alone isn’t sufficient for having washboard abs that show.

5.       Cardio is the best way to lose weight. A lot of people who only want to shed off those extra pounds hit the gym just for the cardio. If you’re not adding strength training, such as weightlifting, then that practice won’t be effective at all. Strength training is an important part of any exercise routine. The more muscle mass a person has, the higher his resting metabolic rate will be; hence burning more fat.

6.       Stretching before a workout. Back in your formative years, you were taught to stretch before going for a strenuous activity. Stretching before a workout doesn’t make you perform better. It will only be the same even without stretching. In fact, stretching before working out has been shown to only waste time. Instead, why don’t you use the time saved from stretching to start with your workout sessions.

With the ineffective practices put aside, you’re sure to have that perfectly fit body in no time.