Fitness myths

I recently read an article on reuters.com, dealing with some of the fitness myths. When I read the article, I was very surprised to realize that these myths were still prevalent in the public! Also, it made me think on the importance of our, personal trainers and other fitness professionals, roles as educators. So, I'm repeating what the personal trainers talked about in the article, in the hope that these myths will never waylaid the public ever again.

Myth 1: Weight training creates big and bulky muscles.
Fact 1: This is FALSE! It takes extra 3500 kcal along with weight training that involves almost daily, dedicated, and focused strength exercises to build one pound of muscle.

Myth 2: Cardio is the only way to lose weight.
Fact 2: This is not true. When strength training is combined with aerobic exercises, you burn off more calories than before not doing any strength training because our muscles require more energy than our fats. More muscles mean greater caloric expenditure. For more info, refer back to my previous posts on weight loss/management.

Myth 3: Lower intensity exercises are better than high-intensity exercises at burning fat.
Fact 3: High-intensity exercises require more glucose and ATP mobilization, which means greater energy expenditure than lower intensity for the same duration. To efficiently burn fat, it is recommended that you change your workout plans every 6-8 weeks or even as early as 4 weeks. This means mixture of exercises, both low and high intensity, is the best route.

Myth 4: Muscle turns into fat if you don't use it.
Fact 4: Muscle cells differ completely from fat cells. However, when people stop exercising, they still tend to eat the same amount of calories but not burning it off, therefore weight gain. Also, these people's muscles get smaller due to lack of stimuli.