FitSugar

Fitness Myths: Fact or Fiction

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:30:51 PDT

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 PDT

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.

Source

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Fitness Myth: Spinning Makes Legs Bulky

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:45:00 PDT

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.

Source

Fitness Myth Busted: Cardio and Extended Calorie Burn

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:30:00 PDT

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.

Source

Lil Links: 5 Things to Know Before Swim Season Begins

Rebecca M Gruber — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:32:58 PDT

Five dangerous myths about kids and swimming - BabyCenter Blog
Breastfeeding isn't porn; it's food! - HuffPost Parents
A photo journal of what life with kids really looks like - The Stir
Katherine Heigl names her daughter Adalaide - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Zutano launches a collaboration with Target - Momtastic
Jennifer Connelly says her kids never fight! - Celebrity Baby Blog
A no-time, no-excuses prenatal workout - FitPregnancy
Übercreative ways to announce your pregnancy - Parenting
Can a child be considered a psychopath? - Yahoo! Shine
Ten ways to make spelling practice fun - Circle of Moms
Are British women having babies so they can take a year off from work? - LearnVest
Paul Frank launches an exclusive collection for Babies"R"Us – Child Mode

Source: Flickr user albertopveiga

5 Fitness Myths That Mess With Results

Prevention — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:31:20 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

By Jenna Bergen, Prevention

With so many people offering advice on weight loss, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. All too often I’ve overheard a hardworking gym-goer sharing a well-meaning but ill-informed tip with another exerciser. And I’m not the only one who’s heard fitness folklore being swapped on the training room floor. I spoke to top experts in the field to find out the common fitness myths they hear from clients. From the pseudo miracles of the "fat-burning" zone to the misguided magic of working out on an empty stomach, these fitness falsehoods should never be followed.

Nine Exercise Moves You're Doing Wrong

Myth No. One: Keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone

If you've been exercising at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate in order to shed flab faster, you could be slowing your slim down. "The fat-burning zone is a complete myth," says Wayne Westcott, PhD, Prevention advisory board member and fitness research director at Quincy College. "While it's true that you burn a higher percentage of fat calories when exercising at a moderate pace, you burn fewer calories overall." For instance, if you get on a treadmill and walk at a 3.5 mph pace for 30 minutes, you might burn 250 calories. If you raise the speed to seven miles per hour, you’d burn 500. Bottom line? "It’s much better to go at the faster speed." Prefer the elliptical trainer? Make sure you're not making one of the top 10 elliptical trainer mistakes.

Myth No. Two: Boosting cardio is the best way to bypass a plateau

"The most effective way to lose weight is to include both cardio and weights in your routine," says Jari Love, star of the Get Extremely Ripped: 1000 Hardcore DVD. "One study found that when individuals cycled for 30 minutes a day, they lost three pounds of fat and gained a half pound of muscle in eight weeks. But individuals who cycled for 15 minutes and weight trained for 15 minutes a day lost 10 pounds of fat and gained two pounds of calorie-burning muscle."

Try This Workout to Drop Two Sizes by Summer!

Keep reading! We bust three more myths after the break.

The Final Say in the Light Weights vs. Heavy Weights Debate

Shape — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:47:20 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

You've always heard that when it comes to building muscle mass, heavy weights are preferred over lighter weights. But a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology has found that isn't always the case. In fact, you can build just as much muscle by lifting lighter weights. If you do it right...

10 Health and Fitness Myths You Still Believe

The key is working the muscle to total failure or exhaustion, says Michele S. Olson, professor of exercise science at the Human Performance Laboratory of Auburn University Montgomery and the star of the workout DVD Perfect Legs, Glutes and Abs.

8 Reasons Why You Should Lift Heavier Weights

"Failure, in this sense, is a success," Olson says. "If you work your muscles, on each set, until you cannot execute another repetition with appropriate form, the heaviness of the weight becomes less important."

Find out exactly what a "light" weight is after the break!

Healthy Dose Link Time: Discover Your Metabolism Type to Pick Your Best Diet

Michele Foley — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:51:46 PDT

Reach your weight-loss goals by discovering your true metabolism type - Prevention
Skin cancer on the rise in young women; here's how to prevent it - Self
Enough already! 10 fitness myths women continue to buy into - Shape
7 things you can do now to fight osteoporosis later - Blisstree
Buck tradition with these 10 crunch variations - The Fitnessista
How to turn your yoga studio into a successful business - Mind Body Green
How Beyoncé dropped her Blue Ivy baby weight - Fit Celeb
Find out if a juice cleanse makes sense for your lifestyle - Real Simple

13 Health Gimmicks You Can Stop Wasting Money On

Business Insider — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:15:21 PDT

Consumers have a tendency of falling for the next big health gimmick. Save your money on health duds with these Business Insider tips.

No matter how many times we're told otherwise, Americans' obsession with get-healthy-quick schemes will likely never die. Too bad most of these fads aren't worth their weight in salt - or your hard-earned dollars. We've put together a list of some of the worst budget-sucking health trends that still persist today.

Coconut Water

Coconut water may be nature's version of Gatorade but some brands have already caught fire for over-hyping its nutrient content. Vita Coco agreed to settle a $10 million class action lawsuit over an independent study that showed the drinks didn't pack near as many electrolytes as advertisements implied. Some coconut waters are also loaded with added sugar, which will do nothing to help your waistline.

Alternative: Pick up your own young green coconuts on the cheap from an Asian produce market. Just crack them open with a cleaver and pop in a straw.

"All-Natural" Foods

30 percent of Americans bought more natural foods in 2011, according to a Rodale study. But what are we really paying more for? There's no clear cut regulation on what makes food "natural," which means just about any company can slap that label on its packages, add a fancy green theme and jack up the price.

Says Andrew Schrage of MoneyCrashers: "Before buying any food that is touted as being 'all natural,' take a look at the ingredient list before you check out. Keep in mind that butter and salt are indeed natural ingredients. So stocking up on natural foods may not achieve anything other than increasing your grocery bill."

Read on for more.

Sweat, Sit-Ups, and Soreness: 3 Fitness Myths Debunked

Michele Foley — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:00:45 PDT

You know, there's a lot of mumbo- jumbo health advice out there that's easy to write off - don't eat carbs, but eat ALL the bacon you want! But somewhere between the crackpot ideas and sound advice, there's also stuff that sounds pretty believable. To help you wade through the murk, we've deflated three popular fitness myths.

No pain, no gain. This catchphrase was born sometime in the '80s, probably around the time aerobics instructors began chanting, "Feel the burn - doesn't it feel so good?!" Uh, no. Pain isn't pretty, people! It's your body's way of saying, "Hey can we stop for a minute or pick up where we left off tomorrow?" And while a little soreness after a workout is OK, pay attention to your body. Overdoing it means you could be out for days - even weeks. If you hurt during a workout, make sure you're doing the exercise correctly, take a break, or call it a day.
A six-pack is only 100 sit-ups away. The downside: fat doesn't turn into muscle, so doing crunches 'til you're red in the face won't get you a flat belly. The upside: cardio does wonders for the midsection. To make belly fat melt away, do high-intensity cardio workouts like spinning or interval training. But, hey, don't stop with the crunches; strong abs are part of a strong core, which is exponentially beneficial. And when that jiggle in the middle is gone, a toned, tight tummy will be waiting for you.
The more sweat, the better the workout. Sweating is pretty synonymous with working out, but it isn't necessarily a measure of how effective your workout is. Yes, sweating is the body's way of cooling off (and we can all attest to getting a little overheated during our workouts), but some people just sweat more than others. If you want a good indicator of your workout, measure your heart rate and calories burned.