0 Top 6 Fitness Facts

Think you know the facts about getting fit? You will be surprised to learn how many are really fiction.

Myth #1: Strength training tends to give women a bulky, masculine physique.

It's very hard for women to build large muscles as women have comparatively very low level of testosterone, which influences muscle gain. “Picking weights improves the bone density, muscle mass and sculpts your body,” suggests ace physical instructor Yashmeen Manak.

Myth #2: When you stop exercising you put on weight.

It’s one of the reasons people don’t take up exercising. When you stop exercising there is no expenditure of calories but the input is the same and you are bound to gain weight. Once you stop exercising, then you need to alter your diet as you are not burning the calories like before.

Myth #3: Slimming gadgets for weight loss. 

“There are no shortcuts for weight loss,” informs Wanita Ashok, a certified Aerobic Instructor.

There is no machine, no special diet and no special pill that will allow you to lose weight safely.

Passive exercise offered by machines does not work until and unless you are exercising your muscles. “The key to weight loss is about making lifestyle choices and adopting healthy habits,” adds Ashok.

Myth #4:  Sweat indicates the calories burnt.

People believe that the more you sweat during exercise, the more fat you lose. How much you sweat does not necessarily reflect on how hard you are working out.
"Sweat is merely a cooling system of the body. When we exercise, heat is generated by the body and to dissipate the heat the body sweats. It is the body’s way of regulating temperature," adds Manak.

Myth #5:  When you stop exercising, your muscles turn to fat.

One must understand that muscles and fat are totally two different types of tissues.

The muscle does not turn to fat or vice versa. Fat has to be burnt and muscles have to be built. Keep in mind that the approach through exercising is totally different for both. However, lack of exercise does make the muscles shrink, reducing the body's calorie-burning rate.

Myth #6:  Spot reduction

The place where the body stores fat is predetermined. 100 crunches or endless number of abs exercises will not burn the fat in your stomach. Working on a specific area will strengthen and tone the muscles in that area.

A 40 minute of cardio workout will put the body in a fat burning stage and thus the weight loss will take place, confirms Ashok.