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 Fitness Fact, or Fiction? By Kelly James-Enger
You'll burn more fat if you work out at a slower pace. . . . Leg lifts are the most effective way to trim your thighs. . . . With so many theories and claims about exercise out there, it's sometimes hard to separate fitness fact from fiction. We've rounded up nine common fitness myths—and uncovered the truth behind them. Work It Out You burn more calories exercising on an empty stomach. While you may have heard this, it's false. You expend the same number of calories during activity whether you've eaten or not. In fact, exercising on an empty stomach can actually sabotage your workout—you may run out of energy before you finish, says personal trainer Cindi Olson of Germantown, Maryland. "You have to have food in your stomach so that there's something there to burn," she explains. "A carbohydrate and protein light meal [like cheese and crackers or chicken salad on whole wheat bread] about an hour and a half to two hours before your workout will give you the optimum amount of energy." If you work out first thing in the morning, try fruit juice and toast before you exercise—or if you can't face food that early, have a snack before bed. If you don't exercise regularly, muscle turns to fat. Muscle is muscle, and fat is fat—you can't turn one into the other, says ACSM Certified Exercise Specialist Sharon Spalding, a professor at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. The reason for this misconception is that over time, under-exercised muscles will shrink and lose tone, so they look flabby. And if you were formerly active and are still eating more calories than you're expending, you'll store the excess as additional fat. Lifting weights bulks you up. While some women avoid weight training because they believe it will make them too muscular, their fears are unfounded. "Women do have some testosterone but not to the extent that men do," explains Spalding. "So getting those big bulky muscles isn't something that's going to happen to women." Female body builders spend hours every day isolating and training individual muscle groups, and adhere to stringent, high-protein, low-fat diets to develop their eye-popping physiques. The average woman who weight trains, on the other hand, will merely improve her overall muscle tone and look sleeker and firmer. You must exercise for at least 30 minutes to receive health benefits. This is the biggest exercise myth to dispel, says Sheila Reynolds, a health educator at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas. According to Reynolds, you can reap significant health benefits such as lowered blood pressure and lowered cholesterol from as little as 10 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, such as walking at a comfortable pace or doing yard work. Breaking down your workout into five- or 10-minute chunks throughout the day also makes it easier to fit it into your schedule. (If your primary goal is weight loss, however, it's more effective to exercise for longer periods of time instead.) Crunches flatten your stomach. Leg lifts are the key to slender thighs, crunches the way to flatten tummy, right? Wrong! This type of exercise (also called "spot reduction") strengthens muscles but doesn't do much else. While crunches can make your stomach muscles as hard as a washboard, you won't see much difference if there's fat covering them up. In other words, you can't selectively eliminate fat from particular parts of your body—you have to lose it all over by reducing your caloric intake and upping your activity. You should stretch prior to working out. It's actually better to warm up a little before you stretch. The reason? Warm muscles stretch better, which reduces your chance of injury. For example, if you're going to walk, warm up for five minutes by strolling at an easy pace, then stop and stretch before continuing your workout. Don't forget to perform some gentle, sustained stretches post-exercise as well. They'll help you get rid of lactic acid, which makes muscles feel sore, and maintain flexibility. You'll burn more fat if you exercise at a slower pace. This is a tricky one. Your body burns a mixture of fat and carbohydrates when you exercise. Working out at an easy pace, you'll burn a higher percentage of fat than if you exercise more intensely—but you'll also expend fewer total calories overall. "Think about the amount of time you have versus how much you're going to burn," says Olson. "If you have only 30 minutes to exercise and you do it slowly, you're going to burn fewer calories in 30 minutes than if you do 20 minutes at a faster pace because you're burning more calories per minute." Keep in mind, though that you may not be able to maintain high intensity activity for very long. While a 143-pound woman will burn 182 calories walking at 3.5 miles per hour for 40 minutes, and about the same (176 calories) jogging for only 20 minutes, you're better off taking the extra time to walk if jogging's no fun for you. If you work out, you don't have to watch your calories. You exercised today? That's great. It's not, however, carte blanche to polish off seconds at dinner. "The average person burns only 200 to 300 calories per session," says Spalding. "If you think of something equivalent, food-wise, it's not a whole lot. It's like a candy bar, or even half a candy bar." Now you know that you can't simply write off that hot fudge sundae, but don't let an eating binge sidetrack you, either. "Moderation is the key to all of this, whether it's exercise or eating. If you miss a day you're not doomed. If you overdo it at an office party and eat a lot, try to eat healthfully the next day," says Spalding. "Eat more fruits and vegetables, consume more fiber, and try to get back to your healthy patterns." Don't forget to drink plenty of water as well. Morning is the best time to exercise. For health benefits, it makes no difference if you exercise in the morning, afternoon, or evening. While studies have suggested that morning exercisers stick with it longer than those who work out later in the day, not everyone enjoys working out in the morning. "The best time to exercise is the best time for you," says Reynolds. "The bottom line is if it's not the best time for you, you're not going to stick with it. . .and if you're not going to do it, you're not going to get any benefits from it!" There's Hope! If you've noticed that you're gaining weight, especially around your middle, take a look at your lifestyle to see if it could be the culprit. Maybe you just need to watch your diet, or work out more—or maybe it's time to slow down. Remember that while stress can in fact make you fat, it doesn't have to. Develop effective ways of coping with the stress and you'll not only stay fitter, you'll feel much better as well. Sources of Additional Help: Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent, Fitness for Dummies (Indianapolis: IDG Books, 1999). Ellie Krieger, R.D., and Kelly James-Enger, Small Change, Big results (New York: Clarkson Potter, 2005). ______________________________ Kelly James-Enger is a speaker, author, and freelance journalist who has written for more than 50 national magazines, including Redbook, Health, Self, Family Circle, and Continental. She specializes in health, fitness and nutrition subjects and is the coauthor of Small Changes, Big Results. All rights reserved © 2010 AnswersForMe.org. Click here for content usage information. Reprinted with permission. Touch Points Friend to Friend, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Health—Fitness #2306, ISBN 0-8280-2223-2 |
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