Fitness Scams, Misconceptions and Lies. What To Look Out For!
This industry can be a confusing place if you’re new to it. If you’ve just decided to lose weight, or start taking supplements, it’s easy to become confused and overwhelmed by the plethora of information (and misinformation) out there!
No matter who you are, it’s likely that you’re confronted by messages from the health and fitness industry on a regular basis. This could include TV ads for the latest abdominal machine, something someone at the gym said, the marketing on a tub of protein or even a website that you managed to come across.
Many of these messages you receive on a regular basis contain misleading, or completely incorrect information. As a professional within the industry, I find that I spend a lot of time explaining to customers and clients that a belief they hold may be holding them back from their true potential.
There are a few beliefs that pop up continually, all of which I have written about from time to time in the past. Within this particular article, I really want to go through the top five misconceptions based on my experience in the industry. Let’s start from number 5:
#5 Supplements will Replace a Balanced Lifestyle
If something is too good to be true then it probably is. Nothing could be more appropriate within the supplementation industry. To be frank, there is so much crap out there on supplement labels that it’s no wonder uninformed people often concede that they will never move toward their physique goals after seeing that the guy on the tub of protein gained 25 lbs of muscle in a matter of weeks! And that was just by using this single supplement alone!
Supplements are a very effective tool and this is precisely why we have a supplement store with a range of high quality products. But supplements are most effective when they are balanced out with an effective approach to your health and fitness goals. For example, eating garbage all day long and then having a multivitamin is not going to undo all that harm you’ve inflicted on your body through your poor nutritional habits. You need to ensure that your entire lifestyle is going to assist you toward your goals. So this means to train, sleep, eat, rest and of course supplement effectively – all are as important as each other!
#4 Weights are for Muscle Gain, Cardio is for Fat Loss
There seems to be this misconception that weights are for gaining muscle while cardiovascular training is for losing weight (or improving ones fitness). This is simply not true. According to the research, the most effective way to lose weight is to combine an effective diet, cardio and weight training together.
Weight training can be extremely effective for fat metabolism, not only by increasing your metabolic rate, but also through energy expenditure. Meanwhile, cardiovascular training can enhance muscle gains by improving growth hormone secretion, fitness and lactate threshold. I’ve written about this in the past and you may wish to read this particular article on muscle gain, Cardio & BodyBuilding – Good for Muscle Growth? or search around this blog for other pieces on weights for fat loss.
#3 There is a “Best” Way to Train for a Specific Goal
Some people believe that there is a “best” way to train for one particular goal, whether that be fat loss, muscle gain, fitness or whatever. In other words, a one-size-fits-all approach that will work for everyone. I’ve seen this suggested by people in gyms, to advertisements on television suggesting that “This is the answer to everyone’s physique problems.”.
There is a flaw in this thinking and it does not account for differences in peoples goals, lifestyles, preferences, injuries, body types, genetic makeups and so on. An approach that may suit one person may not necessary be the most suitable approach for another person, simply because the other person is a completely different person. This goes for both training, supplementation and diet – both will vary greatly upon the individual and I strongly recommend you seek the advice of a professional who can tailor something up specifically for you.
#2 Women Shouldn’t Lift Weights
We’ve tackled this issue a few times, but there is an ongoing misconception that women should not lift weights for fear of bulking up. For women with normal hormonal levels, this should not be a concern, as due to lowered testosterone levels (and higher estrogen levels), muscle gain is greatly limited. Women, if you lift heavy and intensely, you’re not going to bulk up – you’re going to tone up and encourage weight loss. Such an approach to weight training can be very effective for many, but of course it’s important to consider your training experience, age and injuries.
#1 Spot Reduction
This is probably the most common issue that keeps popping up. I am personally continually asked about ways to lose fat from a particular area. Advertisements on the television “imply” that it is possible to lose fat from the waist exclusively, or around the butt and thigh area only. There is absolutely no evidence to support that this is possible – it is a myth that is abused my marketing companies time and time again.
While you can target a specific muscle to develop, your cannot consciously choose a specific region to metabolise fat tissue through diet and exercise. The only way I know that this is possible is to have invasive (and expensive) surgery, which is often not everyones first choice. Toning a specific area often requires fat loss (a result of a calorie deficit) and building the muscles in that particular area to provide some “shape” and definition.
We’ve written extensively on all of the above topics and I’d recommend that you read through those articles for further insights into these areas. However I hope this article is of use and helps to shed some light on these issues.
