The 5 most ridiculous health myths that people love to believe
By: Axel Ross-Hall

So over the years, there have been some pretty insane things that have been said by my clients, friends, gym junkies and even colleagues in the health and fitness business....

People love to believe the strange and weird, especially if it’s half-way believable and coming from a source that has a minimum of 3 months more exercise experience than them.

I’ve created a list of the 5 most common, wacky, totally untrue rumours that circulate around that are hurting the misinformed and the entire fitness business.

1.       “Muscle Turns In to Fat.”

This is one that I hear nearly every day that I’m at work. The reason people believe this is seeing pictures of old body builders (Arnie is a good example) and wondering why their muscle is now fat. Well the truth is that muscle can’t be turned into fat, period. Muscly people don’t stay muscly forever. When you stop lifting weights, your muscles atrophy (shrink), and with the big diet that Arnie might have, the fat intake starts to outweigh all the exercise that is missing, causing those abs to turn into flabs

2.       “I have a slow metabolism”

Ok, so it is true that in some cases this might actually be the reason why someone is overweight, but is an extremely RARE condition. Believe it or not, someone who is obese actually has a faster metabolism than someone who is underweight. The greater intake of food you have, the more your body is telling itself “Ok, lets work faster to get this processed”. That’s why eating lots of little amounts of food helps.  The reason for your consistent increase in bodyweight is the fact that you are eating more calories than your body is able to process.

3.       “But my nutrition is fine”

Not so much a myth as it is being stuck in a bubble. If you are overweight, and exercise just doesn’t solve all your weight problems, it’s time to re-program your eating habits. One client of mine claimed their nutrition was fine, but on my way out of her house one evening I was greeted by a pizza delivery man. WOW! Next time you’re at a restaurant, look around and see the size of dish that people have ordered and compare it to your own. Start keeping track of your calorie intake: www.calorieking.com.au. You should be aiming for less than 2000 a day.

4.       “Sit ups help lose stomach fat”

This is called a Spot-Reduction technique, and is bogus. Doing sit ups will only increase the size of your waist by building your core muscles, it doesn’t reduce the fat that is sitting on top. To really get a flat stomach and chiselled abs, you need to decrease your body fat percentage, meaning getting into a solid cardio routine and eating healthy. THEN you can work on increasing the size of your abs, but try to vary the ab exercises you do. Use youtube for some great ideas.

5.       “Lifting weights will make me bulky”

While this is true if done with the right program, it’s not true in a lot of cases. I hear this from most of my female clients, but they always comply when I explain the approach and benefits. It’s near impossible for women to reach that huge muscly figure without testosterone supplements and a twice daily body building program. What weights WILL do for you is develop the natural curvy shape of your body. Your metabolism will also rise, meaning you will melt fat faster! This is because your muscles are hungrier and will eat those extra calories up.

Next time you hear someone informing you of their great wisdom, you can quote me and consequently mark yourself as the fitness professional

Until next time!