Exercising is good but exercising effectively is better. Fitness is important but to actually get fitter after all the trouble you take, is more important. This is because we sometimes spent countless hours working out and yet, rarely get to see the results. And the reason for this is often due to our going in the wrong direction with our fitness tips.
An example of this is the belief that stomach crunches will help get rid of the belly. It is widely believed that 10, 20 and more crunches will gradually bring forth the six-pack hidden inside! But, according to fitness experts, spot reduction is not true. It is not possible that exercising one part of your body will help make it leaner. The key to a flat, attractive stomach is to lose overall body fat by incorporating proper nutrition, resistance training and moderate aerobic exercise. This is because when training gets rid of the excess calories, it is from the entire body and not a portion of it.
Another misconception among those who exercise is that just because they are exercising then it means they can eat anything they want! This is again a wrong notion, according to fitness trainers, because even though you may be training regularly, a change in eating habits is necessary if you want to maintain this weight loss. A lot of us tend to think that since we are losing weight on a regular basis, eating junk or deep fried food will not matter and will not make us put on those extra fat. But this is untrue because exercise will only expend the energy which comes from the food you eat. So if you eat fatty food, then the body is busy getting rid of this extra new fat rather than concentrating on the existing fat. And vice versa, if you do not eat proper nutrition, then your body will break down precious muscle tissue and slow down your metabolism.
Again, when training you sweat a lot and the more you sweat the more convinced you are that all those troublesome extra calories are being burnt! But no, say experts. Sweating is only a defense mechanism to cool the body down when its core temperature becomes elevated due to the environment or when you exercise. It is an indication of the loss of fluid and not calories. And this fluid that is lost must be replaced by drinking loads of water.
These are examples of a few myths related to exercise. If you know of any, do share with this forum.