Myths & Facts About Fitness & Exercise

Women who lift weights will get bulky muscles. Women don't have enough testosterone to develop large, bulky muscles. Strength training will not cause women to build muscles, but will promote improved muscle tone. 

Spot reducing is possible. It's simply not possible to "burn off" fat in one specific body part by exercising that area. Numerous studies have tried to refute this claim. But only regular exercise -- aerobic exercise and strengthening exercises -- and a sensible diet can reduce body fat. 

No pain, no gain. Exercising to the point of pain can harm you, not help. It's OK to push yourself a bit, to tax your heart, lungs, muscles and bones -- but be reasonable. Don't risk an injury. 

If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want. A healthy diet goes hand-in-hand with a sound exercise regimen. For weight loss, eat more fruits and veggies, far fewer sugary foods, and simply EAT LESS via portion control.

Exercise requires a hefty time commitment. As little as 30 minutes a day works when you're in health-and-fitness maintenance mode, and 60 minutes a day will help you lose weight. 

There's a magic bullet out there. There is no quick fix. Dietary and nutritional supplements often use deceptive, misleading or fraudulent advertising.

Muscle weighs more than fat. In simple terms, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat.  The difference is that muscle tissue is much more dense than body fat. Therefore, a pound of muscle will take up much less room in your body than a pound of fat. Another benefit of muscle…it is significantly more vascular (has a better blood supply) than body fat and will cause you to burn more calories at rest.

Exercising at low intensity burns more fat. Many people believe that lower intensity training is in the fat-burning zone. But in reality, you're burning a greater percentage of total calories -- including fat calories -- when you exercise at a higher intensity.  High intensity training will also boost your metabolism long after the workout is done. This does not happen with low intensity training. The basic idea when you're trying to lose fat is to create a caloric deficit. The type of training does not matter so much as creating that deficit. High Intensity training just creates the deficit more efficiently than low Intensity training.