The Truth is Finally Out of the MYTHballs!

Unless exceptional circumstances arise, nobody would second-guess their plumber or electrician in case of misfortune. However, in the fitness world, everyone seems ready to put in their grain of salt, qualified or not. It is possible that those who proclaim themselves experts could really be what they say, but with all the false information circulating on the web or through the broken telephone effect, it must be acknowledged that the freedom taken by some can negatively affect the quality of the information. So let’s put some order in all of this, if you like.

To burn fat, we must perform low-intensity training
The calories we burn come essentially from fats and sugars. While it is true that fat is the main source of fuel when walking, it doesn’t mean that walking is better than running to lose weight. What we are looking for, ultimately, is the activity that will enable us to burn a maximum of calories, and this, regardless of the source. With this in mind, for an equal length of time, always aim for the highest possible intensity.

It is important to stretch properly before training
Before a workout, our goal is to become active in order to warm-up. Static stretching has the effect of relaxing the muscles, so this is a bad way to start! Instead, you should use 5-10 minutes of your time to warm-up on the stationary bike or treadmill.

You must work your abs to get a 6-pack
To have a 6-pack, one must first avoid any excess fat in the abdominal region. However, we do not lose fat by building up the abdominal muscles. You should know that fat cells are not absorbed by the abdominal muscles to provide the energy required for contraction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way! Therefore, you are not spending your energy in the right place if your want this mythical chocolate bar to show up.

Muscle can turn into fat
Along the same lines, some believe that their muscles can turn into fat if they stop training. Without falling into techno babble, simply remember that the molecules necessary to the creation of proteins are not the same as those required for fatty acids, and thus, such a hypothesis cannot be considered seriously.

Strength-training hinders flexibility
Very muscular people can be very flexible, while poorly-muscled people can be very “stiff”. In reality, active people are said to be more flexible than inactive people. By the way, adopting the sitting position for several consecutive hours is said to be one of the causes for the lack of flexibility of many people, since it keeps the hamstrings (the muscle behind the thighs) in a shortened position, and the hip flexors (muscles at the front of the hips) flexed.

For more details or information, do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a great workout!

By Xavier Jutras

The Truth is Finally Out of the MYTHballs! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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