In recent years, jogging has sparked a fitness trend in the country. Maintaining a regular exercise habit can indeed help burn fat, improve stress resistance, and enhance memory. It seems that the benefits of exercise are numerous. However, some people have heard many myths about exercise and use them as excuses to stop working out. What are these exercise myths that could ruin our health plans?
Myth 1: Exercise must make you sweat profusely to be effective?
Does working out until you're drenched in sweat mean you're losing weight? The answer is no! Sweat contains salt and helps with waste metabolism, but fat doesn't get expelled with sweat. You might notice a drop in weight after sweating a lot, but that's due to dehydration, not fat loss. Therefore, you don't need to be drenched in sweat to lose weight through exercise.
Myth 2: Eating a lot after exercising makes you gain weight more easily?
Many people feel hungry after exercising, but Australian research has found that those who engage in intense exercise have a lower appetite compared to those who do moderate exercise. Additionally, people who maintain a long-term exercise habit have a higher basal metabolic rate. Even if they consume 2200 calories, it won't exceed the 2600 calories they can burn in a day. So, don't misunderstand that exercise makes you eat too much and gain weight.
Myth 3: Building muscle through exercise will prevent weight loss?
Don't believe this myth! Muscle burns more calories per unit than fat, so it's definitely worth working on building some muscle. If you're overweight, it's recommended to start with aerobic exercises to burn fat and then gradually incorporate anaerobic strength training to increase muscle mass, which will improve your body shape.
Myth 4: Running will make your calves bigger?
This is a common concern among many women. In reality, running primarily uses the muscles in your thighs, buttocks, and abdomen. As long as you stretch and massage properly, maintain correct posture, and train your core muscles, your calves will only play a supporting role and won't bulk up. Unless you're training all day like an athlete and consuming high-protein supplements, you don't need to worry about developing bulky muscles.
Myth 5: Doing more sit-ups will reduce belly fat?
Many people naively believe that doing lots of sit-ups will get rid of belly fat. Wake up! There's no such thing as spot reduction. American research shows that walking is more effective at reducing belly fat than doing sit-ups. To eliminate body fat, you need to rely on full-body aerobic exercise.
Myth 6: Stopping exercise will turn muscle into fat?
This is absolutely a misconception! Fat and muscle are two completely different tissues and cannot convert into each other. If you stop exercising and don't control your diet, you'll easily gain weight. The increase in fat will cover your muscles, leading to the misunderstanding that your muscles have turned into fat.
(This article was originally published on Run, and the author has authorized its reproduction.)