FitSugar

Fitness Myths: Fact or Fiction

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:30:51 -0700

Swimsuit season is in full swing, and if you're trying to tone up for an upcoming beach vacation, you want to make sure you can separate out fitness facts from fiction. Take this quiz and see what's up with your workout.

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Fact or Fiction: Not Eating Breakfast Before Exercise

FitSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0700

I think it is safe to say that we all want the most out of our morning workouts. For many of us that means firing up our metabolism and burning fat, which are two benefits of getting the heart rate up. Is it beneficial to run on an empty stomach? Does it burn more fat and fire up the metabolism to skip breakfast? Take this one question quiz to see if this is a piece of fiction or a fitness fact.

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Fitness Myth: Spinning Makes Legs Bulky

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:45:00 -0700

I was talking to a friend recently about ways to rev up her cardio routine as she was getting bored with her elliptical/treadmill rotation. I suggested she take a spinning class but she rapidly replied, "Oh no way, I don't want my legs to get all big and bulky."

I completely understand why anyone would feel that spinning will make their legs bulk up since you are primarily working your legs the whole time, but the truth is it won't. Spinning is all about increasing and decreasing resistance while increasing and decreasing speed - there is no component of it that is geared at bulking up your legs. In fact it's quite the contrary, since the quick rotations will leave your thighs and calves lean and sculpted. Don't believe me? Next time you pass an avid biker on the road check out her (or his) legs. I'd be willing to bet they're lean and toned.

If you want to try it out, be sure to look for a free spinning class near you.

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Fitness Myth Busted: Cardio and Extended Calorie Burn

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:30:00 -0700

Do you work under the assumption that your aerobic workout boosts your metabolism for hours after you stop working out?
This statement is actually true -- but the calorie burn is probably not nearly as much as you think!

According to coach Eric Harr, author of The Portable Personal Trainer, your metabolism will continue to burn at a slightly higher rate after you finish an aerobic workout. Unfortunately, the amount is not statistically significant. In fact, it allows you to burn only about 20 extra calories for the day. Harr says there is a little bit more of a metabolic boost after strength training, but still he says it is marginal.

Moral of the story: Just because you are working out doesn't mean you can consume all the calories you want.

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Fitness Myth Busted: Empty Stomach, Exercise, and Fat Burned

FitSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

It may seem somewhat logical that your body would burn more fat as fuel when you exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. In fact, it just isn't true. The body needs fuel to work out, and that fuel is glucose, which comes from carbs.

After a full night's rest, your muscles' supply of glycogen, which is stored glucose, is greatly depleted. Not only do your muscles run on glucose, but so does your brain. Working out on an empty stomach can impair both muscle function and some brain function as well, and exercising with a fuzzy head in the early morning can lead to injuries.

The simplest way to fuel your body and feed your muscles before hitting the road, elliptical, or weights is a light carb snack. Try an easily digestible banana, or just half of the fruit and save the other half for your post-workout smoothie. Another good pre-workout snack would be some yogurt or a small amount of cereal with milk. I have found a simple rice cake works wonders before a 6 a.m. spin class.

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Fittingly Mad: The Myth of Work/Life Balance

FitSugar — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:30:00 -0700

I have a full time job. I have two young daughters. I have a husband who I actually enjoy hanging out with, not that I see him much one-on-one. I have hobbies - well, "hobbies" might be a slight exaggeration. There are many activities I enjoy: running, pushing my girls on the swing at the park, baking cakes and pies, studying Spanish, learning how to dance salsa, learning how to sew...but I am finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to fulfill all my obligations and do the things I want to do. I just can't seem to find the elusive balance between life and work.

Magazine covers are filled with the promise that I can have it all: career, family and "me" time. I can be sexy, successful and maternal all with the blink of an eye, or the flip of a glossy page. For me though, there is no equilibrium, and I feel like I am falling short on all fronts. I always think the problem, the chronic feelings of dissatisfaction and failure, is me. The reason I feel unbalanced is that I haven't tried hard enough to figure it all out.

After trying to find balance for years, I have decided to give up the chase. First off, this idea of perfect balance is a myth. There really is no "balance," although there may be tipping points - but I digress. There really are too many things to do than there are hours in the day. I can make lists and strategize and then beat myself up for not meeting my expectations, but that really seems the opposite of balance.

In all honesty, I have been wasting time searching for the mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There is no gold and there is no perfect balance between life and work. All the details of my life ebb and flow, I am going to try and ride the waves of activity that run through my life. I am going to give up the eternal search for balance. Yep, I am going to take stock in what I have and what is going on. It is a 360 degree perspective, not a this-or-that.

Am I the only one out here that feels this? I'd love to hear about your battle with the life / work balance. Tell me all about it in the comments section below.

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Exercise, Weight Loss, and the Fat Burning Zone

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:50:01 -0800

Much has been made of late about exercise and its relation to weight loss. There was the Time cover story The Myth About Weight Loss and a recent article on the topic in the New York Times, which recommended working out in the fat burning zone.

You see the phrase on all types of cardio machines: the fat burning zone, aka the "weight loss zone," means working out at a lower intensity to burn fat as fuel. But these workouts also burn considerably fewer calories. I was confused about how we should all be spending our cardio time, so I took my questions to exercise physiologist Jason Karp, who also happens to be an avid runner.

When I asked him if we should all be scaling our workouts back and aiming for the fat burning zone, Karp explained that it's not the type of fuel your body is burning, but the overall calories that count. "It doesn't matter if you're using fat or carbohydrates. In order to lose fat from your waistline you don't have to be using fat as fuel during workout," he said. He offered up the example of sprinters; they don't train in the fat burning zone, but they're mighty trim in the torso. Losing weight comes down to math - you want to be in a calorie deficit to shed pounds and body fat. Higher intensity exercise puts you at a higher burn rate. To burn the most calories in a cardio workout, skip past the fat burning zone and work out with more intensity. To really burn up calories, Karp recommends intervals. To learn why, read more.

Essentially, interval workouts give you the most bang for your sweat buck. Karp explains that with "intense exercise you're pushing your body more out of homeostasis," that is, the equilibrium of energy the body prefers to maintain. During the few hours after an interval workout, the body must go through a recovery period, and a lot needs to happen to return to the body to pre-exercise levels. "You've got to drop the heart rate, synthesize glycogen for the muscles, remove lactate from muscle and take it to the liver," says Karp. All these actions require energy, which raises the metabolic rate for many hours after exercising. Thirty minutes of exercise at a low intensity doesn't place nearly as much stress on the body as intervals, so you burn fewer calories both during and after the workout.

Before you hit the track and start running intervals, Karp recommends building a strong cardiovascular fitness base and working with a trainer for guidance. Even if you're not ready for sprints, play with your speed during your next cardio session. Slow and steady might win the race, but intervals will burn more calories.

Source: Flickr User pistoldrawn

Sexy Quiz: What's Going on Between the Sheets?

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:30:56 -0700

Besides feeling good, sex also has a lot of health benefits - do you know which are fact and which are fiction? Take my true or false quiz and find out.

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Fact or Fiction: Health Myths

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:50:39 -0700

Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? And do you need all that water? With myths and old wives' tales sounding more like bona fide medical advice, knowing how to take care of yourself can be plain confusing. Do you know which of these accepted words of wisdom make real health sense? Take my quiz to find out.

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Fact or Fiction: Fitness Myths

FitSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:30:00 -0800

There are many myths floating around out there about fitness and weight loss. With many of you making New Year's resolutions to get in shape, take this little quiz to get the facts straight.

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