Fitness Myths that Need to Die

When you're first getting started on your fitness journey (or even during it), it can sometimes be hard to navigate between different diet fads, fitness gurus, and fitness myths. 

So today, I want to correct and KILL the following fitness myths...

Myth: You have to do cardio to be in shape and healthy 

Truth: There is not a singular modality that is required to be considered in shape or even healthy.

Fit looks different depending on your personal goals

General movement outside of a workout such as walking is great for overall wellness as a living human...that is not cardio

My page is all about strength training because I teach and work with clients who are interested in strength training so that's what I talk most about. 

However swimming, running, and yoga are all fitness modalities that can help you get in your own version of "in shape" and healthy

I do strongly believe though strength training can help you improve all of those! 

Myth: Lifting heavy makes you bulk 

Truth: It's really really really hard to build muscle. You can't just lift heavy weights for a year and look like the hulk. It requires lots of food and years of training and even then we are limited by genetics

The feeling of bulk often comes from excess body fat

Myth: Soreness= a good workout 

Truth: Stop chasing soreness...it's NOT an indication that you "crushed it" or on the other hand did not work hard enough. Soreness does not make you fitter, stronger, or tougher

Chasing leg crippling workouts is a recipe for injury...its time to train smarter

Soreness is normal for newbie lifters, an inc in volume or adding in new movement.

Myth: Lighter weights with higher reps "tone" muscle 

I wish we could erase the word TONE from our dictionary because it's poorly referenced as a goal.

Truth: Tone is a "Look" not an action. You cannot tone a muscle. You can only build a muscle and then if you lose body fat, that muscle will appear hence a toned look.

Reps and weight have ZERO correlation to this ....you should lift with heavy loads, moderate loads, and sometimes lighter loads for overall strength, muscle growth, and stability.

Myth: Muscle weighs more than fat 

Truth: 1lb of muscle is the same as 1lb of fat. However, because muscle takes up less space than fat you can lose inches without losing as much scale weight comparatively. But there is no difference in actual weight of the mass

Any other fitness myths you would like me to take on and debunk (or confirm) let me know in the comments of this blog post! 

And which one above is new to you or have you believed before!?

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