Very frequently we find millions of experts on the Internet offering advice on diet and fitness. The problem is: How do you know which one to believe?
What if the information you hold as true is actually a misconception?
That probably explains the recent American Council on Exercise survey in which 1,500 ACE-certified fitness professionals were asked to list the most common exercise myths their clients believed in. Here are the top few.

Exercise Myths

Women, beware of weights! They will bulk you up

ACE says women are genetically not conditioned to develop muscles. Muscles bulk up when there is the right amount of hormone and testosterone. And women just don’t have enough of that! If you have seen women with muscle definition, it is thanks to the power of steroids and artificial methods.
If you are still worried about a little muscle development, do light weights. You don’t need to power lift. Using dumbbells on the treadmill, or when doing step aerobics is a great way to tone your arms. But do it only when you have reached a certain fitness level. Consult your instructor before you do this.

You can achieve reduction in a particular spot

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. ACE says the idea stems from the belief that you can burn fat from one part of the body by exercising only that area.
Technically, you cannot ‘burn fat.’ You only burn calories. You can work at sculpting your body through aerobics, yoga, even gymming. But reducing from a part of your body in a trice is ridiculous.

If it doesn’t hurt, it isn’t effective!

If you wear yourself down to an injury, how can you work out and lose weight? You will be in bed, recovering!
More seriously, you need a practical exercise programme. It could be uncomfortable, yes, but pain is really not something you should aim at for getting the desired results.
Any exercise must test the cardio-respiratory and musculo-skeletal systems and whip up their function, says ACE. Injuring yourself? Never.
A bit of pain is good. It shows you are working your body and working muscles that haven’t been used!

I have no time to exercise. Exercise means a lot of time!

ACE has news for slackers and excuse-givers: It doesn’t matter how long you exercise. What matters is the quality of the exercise.
If it is regular, any amount of exercise is good for you. Most experts recommend 20 minutes of cardiovascular activity followed by 10 to 15 minutes of stretches, floor workout or weight training.
If you can’t spare the time for your body, how do you hope to be healthy? Why then do you complain of illness and aches and pains?
If you can’t join a gym or sign up for aerobics classes, at least make sure you walk your way to fitness. Take the stairs, walk up and down every 15 minutes at work, banish the remote control and go to your television set to change channels. There are so many little ways in which you can achieve fitness.

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