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- You must drink sports drink after every workout. Although companies want you to think this is the truth, many times you may be doing your workout more harm than good by drinking a sports drink afterwards. Many experts have said that there is no benefit in drinking a sports drink unless the workout is over an hour long.
- You can shrink particular body parts through spot training. Many people think if they want to lose weight in a certain area, they should just exercise that one part. However, fat loss will occur all around the body, not just in one concentrated area. Lose 20 pounds and you’ll find your face, arms, back and feet are smaller!
- Lifting weights makes women become bulky. Many women are afraid to lift weights because they don’t want to look like a body builder. Good news! It is close to impossible for an average woman to put on this type of muscle because muscle growth is based on the amount of testosterone in the body. Women would have to go out of their way and adopt a very aggressive weight-lifting and muscle building nutrition plan for that to happen. Instead, weight-training will give most women firm, curvy muscles and lower body fat.
- Your body burns tons extra calories for hours after a workout. Although your keeps burning some calories after a workout this number is not as large as others may have you believe. This is especially true when you are in better shape where, according to the Journal of Applied Physiology, the extra calories burned could be as low as 1% with the average being around 4.8%. This means if you burned 1000 calories during a workout, the extra amount burned could be as low as 10!
- Cardio is counterproductive to muscle growth. Some people skip the treadmill because they are scared to lose the muscle they have worked so hard to build. Instead of making you lose muscle, running can actual help add to lean muscle mass in the lower body.
- You must stretch before a workout. Recent research has shown that static stretching may not provide any benefit for increased range of motion, and can even be harmful to your workout. Some studies have said static stretching can reduce your power by as much as 30% during a workout. To increase your range of motion once you’ve warmed up, it is much better to include dynamic stretching that gets your whole body engaged in activity.
- You can crunch your way to a six-pack. Doing hundreds of crunches will give you a very strong core, but it’s not guaranteed to give you a visible six-pack. In order to see the muscles that you have worked so hard to build, you must eliminate the excess body fat your amazing abs are hiding underneath!
- No pain, no gain. You should push yourself as hard as you can after every workout, but how much your body hurts does not tell you how much work you did. Working out until you are in pain just puts you at a higher risk for injury. Push your limits a little bit every workout, but know when it’s time to take it easy.
