The 5 Fitness Myths that just refuse to die

Within the fitness industry there are a lot of myths that seem to be all pervasive and refuse to die regardless of how many times they are shouted down.

Broscience has a lot to answer for, but also quite a few otherwise sensible people tend to fall for the same nonsense.

In this post I will debunk the 5 fitness myths that refuse to die

1. You can spot reduce fat

90% of my personal training clients have at some point used the classic phrase “I just want to lose some fat from here” while grabbing some offending part of their body.
I have to continually break the bad news that this isn't really possible.

Why not? Well first we have to understand what fat is.
Body fat is, in essence, a storage system for energy. Excess energy (calories) are converted into fat to 'save for later'. If we understand this as our body's 'battery' we can begin to understand why it would be impossible to spot reduce fat.

Would it be possible for you to choose which section of a battery to use power from?

2. Sit ups give you a six pack

Once we define a six pack as what it really is, it will become apparent why a sit up alone cannot give you a six pack.
A 'six pack' the visible musculature of the abdominal region, it is defined by lines or 'cuts' that delineate individual sections within the muscle sheet. The lines within this muscle sheet are created by repetitive movements causing the muscle to hypertrophy in those areas.
Also muscular definition is less visible through layers of subcutaneous body fat.
So if you continually do sit ups, moving your body through one range of motion, you will only create limited muscular hypertrophy and if you don't reduce your levels of body fat even this limited 'two pack' will not be visible.

3. Eating fat makes you fat

There is a grain of truth to this myth, but that grain of truth is attached to the calories found in fat.
Dietary fat contains 9 calories per gram compared to protein or carbohydrates that contain 4 calories per gram.
Body fat is created by the body for storing excess calories as a convenient form of energy, the more calories you consume and the less you expend the more that will be stored as fat.
So while eating more dietary fat will increase the calorific density of your meals it will not necessarily lead to an increase in body fat, especially if a calorie controlled diet is followed alongside an active lifestyle.

4. Muscle can turn into fat and vice versa

Muscle and fat are two different types of body tissue, there is no biological way for one tissue type to metamorphose into another. Expecting muscle to turn into fat or vice versa is as ludicrous as expecting hair to turn into skin.
The main reason this myth persists is that people see other people who used to engage in regular exercise begin to put on weight once they stop, or they see previously fat people start training and develop muscles.
The erroneous logic is that one is the cause and effect of the other, the truth is simpler.
Appetite and muscle atrophy, when you train hard your appetite increases so that your body can gain the nutrients to repair and grow. Once you stop training the appetite is still there, extra calories are turned to fat. At the same time this is happening the lack of stimulus is causing your muscles to atrophy.
So your muscles shrink and your fat increases, one does not 'turn' into the other.

5. Weights make women bulky

Two factors influence this myth, massive bodybuilders and a failure to understand the human body's endocrine system.
The most potent muscle building hormone in the human body is Testosterone, this hormone aids in muscle building and without it muscle growth is incredibly difficult.
Women do not have enough testosterone available in their bodies to create the level of muscle growth equivalent to men, regardless of the training regime.
The bulky physiques of female body builders that have inspired much of this myth are predominantly down to testosterone abuse (either steroids or other PED's) and in some cases hyperandrogenism.

There are many more fitness myths but these are the most persistent and pervasive and like nearly all myths they derive from a lack of understanding, in this case of the bodies systems, and the false attribution of observable facts.

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