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In my last blog I covered a few of the more common fitness myths that pervade society. In the true spirit of the adage, “Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see!” here are three more exercise myths that come up again and again.

MYTH 1: You should perform cardio in your “fat burning zone.”

TRUTH: Step into any gym and you’ll hear personal trainers preaching that the best way to lose weight is by exercising in your “fat burning zone.” While this might sound good in theory, the “fat burning zone” is actually based on faulty interpretation of research showing activities performed at a low intensity (60 to 80 percent of max heart rate) burn a greater percentage of fat calories than higher intensity activities.

Fact is burning a greater percentage of fat doesn’t equate to burning more total fat calories. High-intensity exercise burns more fat calories on an absolute basis than lower intensity activities, making it the preferred choice for those looking to optimize fat loss.

One of the best fat-burning forms of cardio is interval training, where you intersperse periods of high-intensity exercise with periods of low-intensity exercise. This not only maximizes fat burning during the activity, but also increases a phenomenon called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) — the amount of calories burned once the activity is finished — which helps keep your metabolism elevated long after you’ve stopped working out.

MYTH 2: Sweat is a good indicator of exercise intensity.

TRUTH: You’ve no doubt heard fitness pros utter the phrase, “Ya gotta sweat.” Many people adopt this as an exercise mantra, believing it’s the key to a successful workout. Not!

While sweat tends to be associated with rigorous exercise, it is by no means essential to achieving results. If it was, you’d get buff lounging in a sauna!

Fact is sweat is an indicator that your body temperature is rising, not necessarily that you are exercising at an intense level. Your body regulates its temperature by activating your sweat glands, which then pores as a cooling mechanism.

Rather than focusing on how much you sweat, the best way to monitor exercise intensity is by using a rating of perceived exertion (RPE). This is a subjective scale that estimates how difficult an activity is to perform. I like to keep it simple and use a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being complete inactivity and 10 being all-out effort. If you want to exercise intensely, maintain a level of an 8 or more on the RPE scale.

MYTH 3: If you stop lifting weights, your muscle will turn to fat.

TRUTH: Some people refuse to lift weights for fear that their hard-earned muscle will simply morph into fat if they stop working out. Nonsense! Muscle and fat are two separate and distinct properties that have completely different molecular structures.

Muscle is a protein-based tissue comprised of filaments called actin and myosin. Body fat, on the other hand, consists of stored triglycerides, which are made up of a carbohydrate (glycerol) and three fatty acids. Hence, the possibility of muscle turning into fat (or vice versa) is akin to an apple becoming an orange: There’s simply no mechanism for it to happen.

Bottom line: don’t let the “muscle-to-fat myth” deter you from lifting weights. The only thing that happens when you stop weight training is that you ultimately lose the muscle that you’d developed.

On the plus side, muscle has “memory” so it’s easier to get back that muscle when you re-start your routine!

Nowhere are these words of wisdom more apt than in the fitness field. Fact is, anyone can hang a shingle on their door and call themselves a personal trainer or fitness expert. No knowledge of exercise required.The upshot: There are a lot of people out there perpetrating fitness myths that are at best misleading and at worst potentially dangerous. Here are three of the most common.

MYTH 1. You shouldn’t lift weights until you get down to your ideal body weight.

TRUTH: This myth is based on the premise that adding muscle if you’re overweight will make you look even fatter. This has resulted in a legion of people who try to diet their way to fat loss and just focus on cardio. Bad idea.

Fact is weight training helps to promote fat loss. Muscle mass increases your metabolic rate, which directly aids in the burning of fat as fuel. Studies have shown that for each pound of muscle added to your body, you burn an additional 30 to 50 calories a day at rest. Avoid weight training and your body actually cannibalizes its own muscle, suppressing metabolism and ultimately leading to a rebound effect.

Bottom line: If you want to lose weight and keep it off, lift weights! It’s essential to sustaining fat loss and even more important than cardiovascular exercise for long-term weight maintenance.

MYTH 2. Performing abdominal exercises will give you a flat stomach.

TRUTH: Watch late night TV and you’re bound to see an infomercial for some new ab blasting device that claims to whittle away your gut. Wishful thinking.

Fact is the body can’t selectively target fat on any part of your body, including the midsection. The only way to get a flat stomach is to strip away abdominal fat. This is accomplished by having a proper nutritional regimen, performing cardiovascular exercise to help burn calories, and increasing lean muscle to increase metabolism (see Myth 1).

Bottom line: Ab training will help to develop the abdominal muscles, but you’ll never see that “six pack” unless the fat in this area is stripped away.

MYTH 3. You should train your abdominals every day to get a “six pack”.

TRUTH: This fallacy goes hand-in-hand with Myth 2. It is widely believed that the abdominals exercises can and should be trained on a daily basis to achieve maximum results.

The fact is abdominals can be over-trained just like any other muscle group. Muscle tissue is actually broken down during training, and therefore needs adequate rest and recuperation in order to regenerate. When your abs are trained too frequently, the recovery process is shortchanged, resulting in diminished muscular development.

What’s more, your abdominals are worked indirectly while training other muscle groups. They are stabilizers for virtually every movement you perform. In effect, you get an ab workout every time you train with weights!

Bottom line: Considering these facts, you need only train your abs a maximum two or three times per week. Allow at least 48 hours between ab workouts. If you do not see proper results, train more intensely and/or use weighted abdominal exercises. Remember, it’s the quality of training -— not the quantity of training -— that produces results!

Brad

Just wanted to let everyone know I’ll be lecturing Thursday, December 4, 2008 at the Athletic Business Conference. It’s being held at the San Antonio Convention Center. The topic is “Facts and Fallacies of Fitness.” Hope you stop by if your registered…

Stay Fit!

Brad