Common Fitness Ideas That Are Simply Wrong – and what’s right
Fitness is full of misconceptions, wrong information, and fake claims. These are some fitness ideas that are simply wrong and untrue. Learning some claims are false can help you make better, healthier choices on your fitness journey.
Keep reading to find out the most common fitness ideas that are simply wrong and untrue! Clear up these misconceptions and learn what you should be doing and focusing on instead for a healthier, happier life.
Fitness Ideas That Are Wrong
Here are some fitness ideas that are wrong and untrue. These misconceptions can be harmful in that they impede progress and reduce our wellness. Find out what they are and what we should be doing and thinking instead in order to make healthy progress on our fitness journey.
You Shouldn’t Be Happy Where You Are.
A common fitness idea that is simply wrong and incorrect is that you shouldn’t be content where you are. There’s this misconception that you are less likely to make more progress if you are happy with where you are. Many fitness influencers and individuals believe that we should be dissatisfied with our current strength, fitness, etc.
This is simply untrue. It’s essential to track your progress and celebrate milestones. For example, if you could not do a single push-up, and now you can do four, that is brilliant and should be celebrated! This does not mean you quit training your arms and chest, but it gives you a new goal to look forward to. The next step, doing 10 push-ups, 20 push-ups, or more.
In fact, ignoring your progress may lead to dissatisfaction with fitness in general. It takes a while for the body to show the results of training, so taking note of your small progress and giving yourself a pat on the back is actually a good way to motivate you to continue.
You Need to Eat Clean.
It is a huge trend to eat clean. You have to eat clean almost all the time to make any progress on your fitness journey. Eating junk food is only going to harm you.
I am a big fan of whole foods, cooking from scratch, and eating clean. However, taken to the extreme, people start to cut out all sorts of things from their diet, from bread to bacon to vegetables. This sort of mentality towards fitness nutrition is completely harmful and wrong. Entire food groups should not be cut out to eat clean. A slice of bacon is not going to harm your fitness gains. Carbs in the form of bread are a great source of energy and should also not be excluded from a healthy diet. Everything can be consumed in moderation.
Plus, while things that are considered to be junk food aren’t the best sources of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, they still have a place in our diet. Restricting something you love to eat like cookies will only lead to binging a bunch on a so-called cheat day. Therefore it’s important to learn how to consume food we enjoy in moderation. For example, if you’re craving your favorite cereal, eat it, but you can add other things that make it a healthier snack. Add fruit for fiber, nuts for healthy fats, milk or yogurt for a boost of protein, and make a junk food snack into a healthy addition easily.
Protein is Protein.
A common fitness idea that is simply untrue is that protein is protein, and however you hit your protein goals doesn’t matter, just do it. This is not true as all protein is not created equally. Some sources are better for you, some proteins that are complete or incomplete, and a variety of options for quality.
Here is one thing clean eating gets right. Grass-fed meat sources are simply better than regular meat sources. They usually contain more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients than cheaper sources of protein. Plus, egg quality also matters. Pasture-raised eggs tend to have more omega-3 and vitamin E than other types of eggs like cage-free or regular ones.
Plus, protein takes longer to digest, but only if it’s found in whole foods such as meat products, eggs, dairy, legumes, etc. If you’re getting your protein from whey powder, you are not gaining the benefits of feeling fuller for longer.
Fasted Workouts Burn More Fat.
Fasted workouts mean you exercise when you have not eaten, typically for longer than 8 hours. This means people will hit the gym without eating breakfast as soon as they wake up. Some claim that working out while fasting helps you burn more body fat since the body needs a source of energy and has no food to digest and process.
Even I have worked out in a fasted state. I’ve gone on early morning runs, tried to hit up the gym, and to be honest, I hated it. I felt like I could not perform as well as usual. Luckily, science has come through for us. This study compared people who worked out in a fasted state versus people who worked out an hour or two after a meal. The results were that the fasted State group did not burn more fat than the group who ate a meal. This means that you don’t have to do a fasted workout. It will not help you burn more body fat, and you may even feel weaker and perform at a lower level than usual.
You Need to Do 8 Rep Sets
The common idea is that you need to be doing sets with eight repetitions or even less. Fewer reps with higher weight are absolutely essential when you are strength training, allegedly. If not, then you aren’t working out well and you will not be gaining muscle or strength. This is a common fitness idea that is simply wrong and incorrect.
Your sets can have 10 or even 12 repetitions. Even if it is higher in repetitions, you will still be able to gain strength in your workouts. This is especially true if you are feeling tired in rep 10 11 or 12. You do not need to overload with extremely heavy weight.
As long as you are feeling the slight strain at the end of your set, you are doing the correct amount of weight. I am even a fan of drop sets, where I start off heavy and do three or four repetitions, then finish the set with lower weights. This allows me to challenge myself, but not risk injuring myself by not being able to complete a rep. This is particularly important when you are increasing weight.
The Takeaway
Fitness is all about the journey, not the destination. Some common fitness ideas turn out to be false, misconceptions, or myths. It is important to distinguish fact from fiction in order to progress on our fitness journey to the best of our abilities in a healthy way. By trading in wrong ideas for correct mentalities, we can enjoy more benefits and health as we work towards our goals. As we work towards our goals.
Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutritious food, exercise when you can, and take care of your mental health. Daily habits become the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. Take care of your gut health too! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
