Home / Columns / Be Healthy / Be Healthy: Fitness myths

Be Healthy: Fitness myths

Three Fitness Myths

 

There are tons of fitness and health myths floating around that mislead those who are trying to live a healthy lifestyle. It is important to be properly educated and not fall victim to false myths that can hinder your from your fitness goals. Here are three myths that are commonly believed, but are not true.

 

1) You must spend hours in the gym every day in order to see results from your workout.

This is not true. There is such a thing as over doing it when it comes to your workout. Although the standard recommendation is at least 30 minutes of exercise three days a week, those serious about their fitness usually workout 40- 60 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. The motto to an effective workout is the higher your intensity the lower your duration. This means by increasing the intensity of your workout, you will burn more calories and/or build more muscle in a shorter workout session. For example, by performing short burst sprinting intervals, you will burn more calories than your normal 30 minute jog.

 

2) Sports drinks are healthy.

Sports drinks such as Powerade and Gatorade are made to replenish the body with electrolytes that have been lost through sweat. These sports drinks were made with athletes in mind who habitually participate in vigorous physical activity. A 20 oz bottle of Powerade has about 28 grams of sugar, so if you are not working out regularly and sweating hard the sugar you are consuming from drinking sports drinks will only be converted into fat.

 

3) Don’t eat carbs!

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rep since the invention of the South Beach. Many people cut out carbs completely from their daily diet in efforts to lose weight, but by doing this you only put your health at risk because the body uses carbs as its primary energy source. The misconception is that carbs cause you to gain weight, but the truth is the types of carbs and more importantly how much of a certain carbohydrate you consume will lead to weight gain. The majority of your carbs should be complex carbs instead of simple carbs. An example of this is eating a sweet potato instead of a white potato, or whole grain breads instead of white breads.

Check Also

VPD creates summer program for area young people

The Valdosta Police Department (VPD) has announced a new youth program. Stand Against Youth Violence ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *