Many people, just starting to do fitness, decide to learn more about it and, as a result, are influenced by myths that have become established in the public consciousness. It happens that in the network of these misconceptions not only beginners come across, but even regular guests of gyms.

1. After training, muscle pain should be felt.

Many believe that the training was effective if muscles ache after it. In fact, pain indicates microtrauma of muscle fibers obtained as a result of:
– excessive load
– incorrectly performed exercises, that is, if the correct technique was not followed
– insufficient warm-up before training
It is important to remember that if after training the muscles do not hurt, then this does not mean that there will be no result from work in the gym. “They hurt – it means they grow” – the opinion is erroneous!

2. Stretching Can Reduce Muscle Pain

Stretching exercises are performed at the end of each workout. But this is not done at all in order to reduce muscle pain (if they received microtraumas, stretching cannot eliminate them). Stretching after the main unit in fitness is needed to relax the muscles and give them elasticity.

3. The longer the training, the more effective it is

The duration of the training, of course, affects the effect obtained from it. However, there are conditional boundaries – doing fitness costs no more than 1.5 hours (this includes warm-up and stretching).
No need to overload yourself with an exhausting amount of exercise – it’s better to try to get the most out of your workout. People who believe in this myth spend 3-4 hours in the hall, thereby loading their body in excess of the norm. As a result, a state of overtraining may occur.

4. You need to train as often as possible

There is a misconception that a busy schedule of fitness classes will provide the best result. In fact, it is proved that it takes 2-3 days to restore muscles after intense exercises. Otherwise, if the body is given little time to rest, it may be overloaded and react negatively. This is especially true for beginners who are just starting classes – it is recommended to adapt to the new regime gradually. There are times when a person abandoned fitness only because he trained too often.

5. Strength training will turn a woman into a bodybuilder

Believing in this myth, girls are afraid of strength training, like fire, and prefer aerobic and cardio loads to them. The main fear is to acquire large relief parts of the body.
However, it is worth considering that strength training for men and women acts differently due to the varying amount of hormone produced, which is responsible for muscle growth. In the female body, it is produced in very small volumes. Therefore, the body of a girl engaged in strength exercises, looks just fit and aesthetically beautiful, but not pumped to large sizes. Of course, if at the same time the woman does not use special steroid drugs.
In addition, with this myth, side by side there is a misconception that a woman needs to train her upper body rarely, focusing on the lower one. But what will be the figure then? Unevenly trained. Therefore, you need to find a middle ground in drawing up your fitness program.

6. Local weight loss is possible

Starting to fitness exercises in order to lose weight, many beginners mistakenly believe that it is enough to perform exercises only for “problem” zones. In fact, during training, fats are burned from everywhere, and at first those parts of the body that the person wasn’t configured to reduce (face, neck, arms, decollete) lose weight. But problem areas lose weight, as a rule, in the last turn, so you need to be patient.
Another important point is to lose weight gradually! Otherwise, the body will begin to accumulate fat even more intensively, and precisely in those places where it is most undesirable.
From the same series of myths there is such a misconception that for the appearance of “cubes” you just need to download the press. It is important to remember that while there is a fat layer in the abdomen, the “cubes” will not be visible.

7. If there is training, then the way of eating is unimportant

Misconception about the insignificant role of nutrition prevents many in achieving their goals of playing sports. They think that if a large amount of energy is spent, then you can eat everything and lose weight. But you can’t hope only for training! Proper and balanced nutrition must be respected, otherwise the desired result can not be achieved.
Firstly, there is a risk of exceeding the upper recommended threshold of calories consumed, thinking that so much has been burned.
Secondly, the balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates plays an important role (it is calculated individually based on personal parameters and the goals pursued).
In addition, it is unlikely that eating high-calorie and unhealthy foods after exercise (such as fast food and alcohol) will increase your level of health.

8. Thanks to the “greenhouse effect” classes will be more fruitful

There are misconceptions that neoprene suits, thermal underwear and even polyethylene help burn fat during exercise.
When using such things, only evaporation of moisture occurs due to excessive sweating. And this, in turn, can lead to dehydration, the results of which are deplorable (up to loss of consciousness). Therefore, the “greenhouse effect” not only does not help to achieve a result, but can also harm health.

9. You need to evaluate the result according to the readings of the scales

The mistake of people seeking to lose weight or, conversely, gain weight, is to evaluate the results of weighing.
However, these indicators do not reflect the true picture: it is better to use measurements of body parts with an ordinary centimeter tape. Another way is to calculate muscle and fat masses according to certain developed methods.
Why not believe the scales? For example, a person who wants to lose extra pounds, regularly trained and eat right, but the number on the device did not budge (or even increased). This does not mean that the process of losing weight has not begun. The fact is that the muscles are much heavier than fat, so when you burn the second and increase the first, weight gain can occur.

The considered myths about fitness, most likely, will not completely disappear from people’s consciousness for a long time and will be widespread. But a preliminary study of the correct information and a thoughtful approach to training is the key to success!