When it comes to doing exercises at home or the gym, you might hear a lot of people speaking about a lot of things related to it. Maybe, you may have read some weird information about it on the Internet too. Now, who’s to say whether that’s true or not? 

More often than not, whatever you hear or speak about exercises may be misleading. Therefore, it is essential to fact-check the information and apply the facts whenever you decide to have a workout routine. 

So, to make your work easier, here are some commonly believed myths about exercise and weight loss that you should do away with as soon as you can. Believing them may only hinder your progress and prevent you from reaching your body weight goals. 

Also Read: Fitness Myths About Men 

7 Commonly Believed Myths About Exercise

Here are some myths about exercise:

1. Cardio workouts will help you to lose weight faster

This is one of the most commonly believed myths about exercise and weight loss. If you think that you will lose weight by running or doing as many cardio workouts as you can, you are wrong. Weight loss is only possible when you combine different workouts with a healthy nutritious diet. Know more about the ideal diet that can escalate your weight loss process here.

The best combination of workouts to lose weight is to combine a H.I.I.T workout with strength training.

2. Strength training will get you buffed

Since the topic of strength training has already been broached in the previous point, it is best to debunk another myth associated with it. A normal strength training routine will not get you buffed up. As mentioned earlier, strength training will help you lose more weight rather than gaining. 

Again, if you want to bulk up, you will have to combine different sorts of workouts, include weights in your workout routine for sure, and adopt a highly nutritious diet that is rich in protein and healthy fats. 

3. A full body stretch before exercises will prevent injuries

A full-body stretch is necessary to warm up your jammed limbs and joints. It is also necessary to ensure flexibility. However, many people believe that doing some basic full-body stretching exercises will prevent them from getting injuries, which is incorrect. 

Research suggests that doing a full-body stretch before exercise might harm your muscles. One reason can be the stretched muscles do not exert much force while you are exercising.

The best way to loosen up your jammed muscles is to do a full-body warm-up which is similar to a mild cardio workout. It is better to avoid static stretching such as bending your arms so that they can touch your feet. This type of static exercise works after exercise. 

So, make sure that you do them for approximately 30 to 40 seconds each and end your workout routine. 

4. Using a heart rate monitor during exercise

More often than not, many gyms have display charts reflecting the target heart rate while exercising. However, as these targets are based on your maximum heart rate (MHR), it is difficult to measure the ideal heart rate while exercising. 

To counter this problem, many people subtract their age from 220, but then again, you will not get concrete results. A heart rate monitor is beneficial only for people suffering from medical conditions. If you are completely healthy, you can just rate yourself from 1 to 10 based on how your body feels after working out. One means that you do not feel anything whereas 10 feels that you have done some intensive workout.

5. Holding weights while you walk

Many people often carry weights or wear wrist weights while walking to target their upper bodies and arms. This is one of the biggest workout myths that need to be debunked. Here’s the thing. 

If you are carrying light weights while walking, you are not burning significant calories. You might as well just do a full-body workout for that. On the other hand, if you are carrying heavyweights, you are increasing your increased risk of getting an injury and also altering your natural arm swing. In addition, weights put pressure on your joints and arms.

The best alternative is Nordic walking, which is walking with poles. When you walk with a pole, your abdominal muscles, your upper body including your shoulders, arms, and backs are getting toned, without increasing any sort of risk. Not only that, but when you walk with poles, you can walk faster and burn extra calories. Unlike weights, poles do not stress any part of your body. It takes extra pressure off the lower body. 

6. You need to feel sore post workout

Most of the time, people believe that their body needs to feel sore after a good workout. Otherwise, it was not a good workout at all. If you feel sore, sometimes it can be ascribed to an intense workout session. But it does not necessarily have to be like this all the time. It can also mean that you put too much stress on the tissue where you may not be able to exercise for a few days.

The best way to cure the potential soreness your body may feel after an intensive workout is to stay hydrated and get enough sleep after you are done working out. 

7. Exercising on an empty stomach will burn more fat

‘Fasted cardio’ or cardio workouts done on an empty stomach are mainly done to burn fat as much as you can because your body does not have any carbs to burn. However, the research regarding burning more fat on an empty stomach is not concrete and may render unexpected for some people.

Many also speculate that working out on an empty stomach and otherwise, helps you lose the same amount of fat and weight. However, you need to keep one thing in mind. If you are a trained athlete or are used to doing some intense workouts every day, then doing them on an empty stomach is not advisable for you. Your energy will take a dip and prevent you from going through the rest of the day.

These are some of the popular myths about exercise and weight loss that need to be exterminated as soon as possible. Believing any of them to be true can prove to be counterproductive for you. 

Also Read: Myths About Yoga