- You can target fat
Whilst you can train specific muscle groups you can’t lose fat from a specific area, you can however reduce body fat overall which will in turn help you reduce fat in that target area.
2. No pain, No gain
The idea that if you don’t have DOMs the next day you didn’t work hard enough can be detrimental. DOMs will typcially be felt when the muscles are reacting to a new stimulus (so you’re doing something different or increasing intensity) so you shouldn’t really be feeling them every single time you train. Moreover, as long as you are feeling good and a bit sweaty / fatigued at the end of a sesison you’re all good, don’t feel like every sessions needs to be a killer.
3. Never miss a Monday
The sentiment here is start your week well, but what if Monday isn’t convenient? Does that mean the rest of your weorkouts will be ineffective and your week a write off? Of course not. This harks back to the idea that a diet should ‘start Monday’ and can be a negative way of thinking, restricting your outlook. If Monday works for you – train, if not, it’s not a better day than any other so worry not.
4. Weights will make you bulky
I don’t want to lift heavy because I don’t want to gte bulky. Those of us who have been lifting for years WISH it was as easy as just lifting weights to get ‘bulky’. What lifting will do is help you get the kind of definition that won’t make you look ‘big and bulky’ but will help you look leaner and feel good. You’ll also feel strong as fuck.
- Body part splits are the best way to train
Tradionally if you are a serious ‘lifter’ you’ll train body parts- leg day, arm day, shoulder, back. That’s fine if you want to go down that route, for many though focusing on compound lifts (deadlifts, sqauts, rows) and taking a more roudned approach to each session will allow for more results in less time.
- You should never train when ill
If th symptoms are above the neck (a blocked up nose for instance) and you feel ok to train then do (just take it easy). Ultimately you need to be sensible here and listen to your own body.
- Sweating is a sign of being out of shape
Some people sweat more than others and often the fitter someone is the quicker they start to sweat into a workout so don’t worry sweating is not a sign of being unfit.
- Sit ups will give you abs
Crunches will help strengthen your core (along with many other core based exercises) but ultimately your body fat needs to be low enough for your abs to be visible so sit ups alone with not give you a six pack. What may be more beneficial in terms of your core is to think about strengthen it for functional reasons, to help you feel stronger, move better and reduce the risk of injuries.
- Running beats walking
Running is more efficient in term sof covring distance and will increase your heart rate more but in terms of movement and muscles worked the two are very similar, so if you have the time and want to hike instead of run go for it.
- Options in classes are always easier / less effective
This perception can make people feel bad or like they are getting less of a workout, which is simply not true. You may take an option because you can’t yet do a particular move sure, but maybe your injured or tired or maybe you want to work on a different focus. A well performed option may be far more effective than a fatigued poorly performed rep of something else. Equally sometimes an instructor will give advanced options to progress a move, or sometimes in class I’ll give various options depending on what you want to focus on that day (maybe speed or strength) – neither is easier it just depends on what you want. The upshot is listen to the instructor and don’t assume one option is every superior to another.
Heather Sherwood Fitness 