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Compilation and debunking of some of the most persistent fitness myths.
MYTH
Body weight is the most important fitness parameter
FACT
Body weight should be used with great caution as a criterion for fitness. And this is more valid for really fit people.
A much more important index is the body fat percentage which represents the ratio: total fat/weight.
There are many people classified by the unreliable BMI (Body Mass Index) as normal in terms of weight.
Notwithstanding, they are notoriously unfit and their body fat percentage is quite high, more than 25% for men and 30% for women, numbers which demarcate obesity.
Based on this criterion, all men whose body fat percentage is less than 16-17% should be classified as fit(the corresponding percentage is 23-24% for women).
People with a better body composition (lower fat percentages) can fit into tighter jeans when compared with others of exactly the same weight.
Let your jeans size and mirror be your judges, friends and companions in your endeavour to reach high fitness levels.
Forget about the misleading BMI.Forget about body weight: give your scale for recycling!!
MYTH
With 1000 crunches on a daily basis I will have my abs ripped.
TRUTH
The fallacy emanating from the above statement is absolutely obvious, at least to those that possess a certain level of knowledge on fitness.
Though, I am obliged to mention this because unluckily there are a lot of people out there who lack this elementary knowledge.
The result: they fall easy prey to the misleading and unrealistic promises of the various charlatans and vultures of the fitness industry.
There is no way for anybody to lose local fat. This is the human physiology!
Can you imagine how an onion peels off?
This is the way in which fat leaves our body!
If you repeat endless crunches on a daily basis, you are prone to overtraining. But I will leave this factor out for the moment.
I will just observe that your abs will be very well trained.
But is this all you want?
Definitely not!
You want to exhibit them!
You want to boast about them!
You want to show off!
You want the others to see how perfect and ripped they are!
The only way to accomplish this is by getting rid of the fat layer which dooms them to obscurity.
Otherwise they will be you invisible heroes!
You can attain this with a combination of:
– proper, selective nutrition
– aerobic activity with an emphasis on sprinting or generally HIIT
– resistance training (mainly with free weights).
MYTH
The more you exercise the better!
TRUTH
A sure recipe for overtraining and disaster! A lot of fitness junkies meet the end of their fitness careers prematurely due to overtraining.
Our bodies have finite capabilities, but many Herculean descendants fail to admit this!
Our body strengthens and gets fitter only during the rest periods between hard training sessions.
Thus, it needs the necessary time for relaxation and regeneration. Ignore this and you will relapse into decline, not only physically but mentally as well.
It’s unallowable and illogical to fight fiercely, only to find that this fight turns against you.
Chris Strogilis
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Source by Chris Strogilis
