Carbs, cardio and crunches - there are a lot of fitness myths out there that Rushe Fitness gym owner Emmet Rushe wants to dispel.

There are many myths that circulate around the fitness world.

You will hear them in the gym, in the office, talking with friends, on social media and even in blogs.

Whenever I do a live Q&A for my Rushe Fitness members, a few will crop up and I’ll dispel them and give alternatives that the members can use instead.
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Some have been around so long though, that it’s hard for people to let go of them. So, today I’m going to dispel 5 of them for you.

SIT UPS BURN BELLY FAT

It would be easy to believe that if you are exercising an area of the body more, you would inevitably burn more fat in that area.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.

You can’t pick an area and decide that you want to lose fat from only there.

While sit ups will make the area look better, as you are training the muscle, when we lose body fat, it will come from all over our body and our most stubborn areas will usually be the hardest to shift.

To lose body fat, we also need to be in a calorie deficit.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

This one has been floating around for decades. While you may feel some discomfort after a training session, you shouldn’t feel pain.

Yes, when you first dipped your toe into training, your first week may have been awful. But that should have subsided and your level of discomfort should be much more manageable.

Actual pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong and you should stop.

STRETCHING PREVENTS INJURIES

Stretching is very important for anyone who trains.

But, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.

It is recommended that you should use mobility work/Dynamic stretching before training sessions to warm up and mobilise your joints and muscles.

Static stretching is recommended for after your session to loosen the muscles and improve flexibility.

For those who tend to use static stretching, while cold before your training sessions. There is a chance that you are doing more harm than good and could cause an injury.

HIGHER PROTEIN AND LOW CARB = LEAN MUSCLE

Protein has become more and more popular over the past 10 years. It seems that everything we eat and drink has a protein version of it now.

While increasing your protein is a good thing when trying to drop bodyfat and get lean, you don’t need to add it to everything you eat and drink.

Carbs on the otherhand have been vilified over the past 10 years and people now tend to avoid them with the fear of gaining weight.

Carbs are your muscles preferred fuel source. So, if looking lean and toned is what you are after, you will need a certain amount of them in your diet.

The biggest issue with carbs, is people put bread, pasta and rice in the same category as pizza, doughnuts and chips.

While they have carbs, they also have a lot of fat and therefore a lot of calories. Good whole food sources of carbs don’t need to be avoided.

ALL YOU NEED IS CARDIO AND WEIGHTS

Fitness has 5 components.

Strength, speed, agility, endurance and flexibility.

If you only focus on two of them, you are missing out on 3 important components. this is especially important if you are an athlete.

But, for health and longevity, you can add in some of the other 3 throughout the week and this will improve your overall training and results.

Hopefully that will shed some light onto these and why they aren’t exactly what they may seem to be.

Did you believe any of them?
Let me know in the comments.
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