10 Exercise myths - HRM users beware!!
mom111997
Posts: 101 Member
I thought this article on CNN was interesting -- especially since I see people talking about their HRMs a lot on here!!
(CNN) -- We're all looking to maximize results while minimizing time and effort in the gym. That search for shortcuts has translated into a lot of myths about exercise.
CNN.com asked exercise physiologists, trainers and nutritionists about their most hated exercise myths.
Consider these the 10 persistent myths of fitness.
10) Your cardio machine is counting the calories you're burning.
"It doesn't mean anything," said Mark Macdonald, personal trainer and author of "Body Confidence" about the calorie numbers spit out by the cardio machine.
Some machines don't even ask for your weight or sex.
"It's not asking your body composition," he said. "If you're at 18% body fat, you're going to burn a lot more than if you're female at 35% body fat."
And how many people know their body fat percentage?
The number calculated by your machine is likely not accurate.
9) Women shouldn't lift weights because it'll make them bulky.
This one drives Alice Burron, a former female bodybuilder, crazy. She would spend four to five hours a day when she competed, trying to build muscles.
"You really have to overload those muscles to create bulk," said Burron. "It's very, very difficult."
Women have too much estrogen to build large amounts of bulk. Guys build muscles faster because they have testosterone.
So ladies, don't fear the barbells. Strength training helps decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently.
The government's 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommended muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least three days of the week for kids and two or more for adults.
8) Heart rate monitors will let you know how hard you're working.
Heart rate monitoring is a flawed science.
The better detector of how hard you're working is not the newest, gee-whiz tech device, but your own body.
"The perceived exertion, your own sense of how hard you're working is a much more reliable of exercise intensity," said Matt Fitzgerald, senior editor of Competitor group.
Perceived exertion means it's your estimation of how hard you are working out and surprisingly, it's very accurate, he said.
"Your perception of your limit can change over time. So yeah, even your own perception isn't perfect. It's still better than heart rate monitor," Fitzgerald said.
Heart rates could falter depending on what kind of exercise you're doing.
The talk test can measure how intensely you're working out depending on whether you can talk in full sentences, short phrases or if you're barely able to muster a few words.
"It's best to learn to recognize your body's signals and get a better control of your effort," said Alex Hutchinson, author of "Which Comes First: Cardio or Weights."
7) Your weight is the end all, be all.
Newbies hit the gym, and then weigh themselves every day on the scale.
Week-after-week, they see nodownward trend on the scale and get impatient.
People starting saying, "I haven't lost any weight. This is pointless, I'm not accomplishing anything," said Hutchinson.
After a few months of increased exercise, they are healthier because they've reduced risk factors such as blood sugar levels. Even though a person may not be losing weight, his health has improved in ways that might not be measured.
"They're stuck in this paradigm that weight is the ultimate barometer for fitness. They don't realize the progress they've made and give up."
6) Low-intensity exercise burns more fat.
In general, low intensity exercise has its place -- it's less stressful on joints.
The myth is that if you exercise too intensely, you end up burning carbohydrates instead of fat.
It's the most dangerous type of myth because there's a kernel of truth in it, Hutchinson said.
The more intensely you exercise, the higher proportion of carbs you burn. You may burn less fat, but the total amount of calories burned is higher and that is the bigger picture.
When your body has burned up all the carbs, it starts burning fat.
"You can ignore zones and pay attention to how many calories you burn, which ultimately determines how much body fat you're going to lose," Fitzgerald said.
5) Chug a protein shake after workout.
"It's eating another meal," said Macdonald, a personal trainer who helped TV host Chelsea Handler get in shape.
Protein shakes, powders and bars are good for emergencies, but "they're the lowest quality food."
"You're better off eating real food," he said.
The products are more processed. The best way to get protein is through foods such as a turkey sandwich, Greek yogurt with nuts and fruit.
Martin Gibala, chairman of the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, agrees. "Protein sources in real food are Number 1. Cheaper and real food may provide other benefits, vitamins and minerals. And some of the components in food may act synergistically in ways we don't understand."
"When we isolate the compound we think works, it's not as good as the real foods."
4) You can spot reduce for tight abs or toned arms.
You may have crunched in vain.
You won't see muscle definition or a nice six-pack despite how many crunches you do, because of the layer of fat resting on top of your muscles.
"Don't focus on a body part. Try to get them all," said Burron, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. "You might have beautiful triceps -- it may not be flopping all over the place. Until the fat is gone, most people wouldn't know it's there."
3) As long as I go to the gym 30-45 minutes, that gives me a pass to do what I want for rest of the day.
The gym doesn't negate a bad diet.
Also, emerging research suggests that if you're sedentary most of the day, it may not matter how hard or often you exercise.
People who spend more time sitting during their leisure time have an increased risk of death, regardless of daily exercise.
Sitting for hours can shave years off life
In a study of more than 123,000 healthy people, the American Cancer Society found that women who spent more than six hours a day sitting were 40 percent more likely to die sooner than women who sat less. Men who sat more had 20 percent increased risk of death.
Essentially, those who sit less, live a longer life than those who don't.
2) No pain, no gain.
"The ongoing perception is that people need to feel pain through the entirety of their workout or they're not getting the benefit -- that one's very frustrating to me," said Burron, a personal trainer. "You shouldn't be exercising at a level of pain ever."
Feeling discomfort during a workout is OK.
"If it's so intense you're thinking of passing out, you can't continue this session for longer, then it's too difficult and you're at increased risk for injuries or burnout," Burron said.
"You want to exercise smarter, not harder," she added. "That's the premise. You don't have to kill yourself. You just have to be smart about it."
1) Stretching will help prevent injuries.
A growing number of studies challenge the entrenched assumption that stretching helps prevent injuries.
"The way we were taught to stretch, to try to touch your toes -- there's little evidence it prevents injuries," Hutchinson said.
A review published in 2007 of 10 randomized studies about stretching after or before physical activity found that "muscle stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness in young healthy adults."
Static stretching is when you stay in place, bend over to touch your toes, or try to pull your ankles towards your hips.
A study presented this year at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that such static stretching before a run neither prevents nor causes injury.
Then a study published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that static stretches that last longer than a minute could be detrimental to performance.
Athletes often swing their arms and warm up before a game. That type of dynamic stretching such as high knee jogs, walking lunges can help move your muscles through different ranges of motions.
This type of dynamic stretching is different from clutching your limbs, because it focuses on movement.
A study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found professional soccer players who practiced dynamic stretching had higher range of motion than when they practiced only static stretches.
While toe-touches and extra flexibility might be required in gymnastics or figure skating, it's irrelevant for more everyday activities like basketball or weightlifting.
(CNN) -- We're all looking to maximize results while minimizing time and effort in the gym. That search for shortcuts has translated into a lot of myths about exercise.
CNN.com asked exercise physiologists, trainers and nutritionists about their most hated exercise myths.
Consider these the 10 persistent myths of fitness.
10) Your cardio machine is counting the calories you're burning.
"It doesn't mean anything," said Mark Macdonald, personal trainer and author of "Body Confidence" about the calorie numbers spit out by the cardio machine.
Some machines don't even ask for your weight or sex.
"It's not asking your body composition," he said. "If you're at 18% body fat, you're going to burn a lot more than if you're female at 35% body fat."
And how many people know their body fat percentage?
The number calculated by your machine is likely not accurate.
9) Women shouldn't lift weights because it'll make them bulky.
This one drives Alice Burron, a former female bodybuilder, crazy. She would spend four to five hours a day when she competed, trying to build muscles.
"You really have to overload those muscles to create bulk," said Burron. "It's very, very difficult."
Women have too much estrogen to build large amounts of bulk. Guys build muscles faster because they have testosterone.
So ladies, don't fear the barbells. Strength training helps decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently.
The government's 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommended muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least three days of the week for kids and two or more for adults.
8) Heart rate monitors will let you know how hard you're working.
Heart rate monitoring is a flawed science.
The better detector of how hard you're working is not the newest, gee-whiz tech device, but your own body.
"The perceived exertion, your own sense of how hard you're working is a much more reliable of exercise intensity," said Matt Fitzgerald, senior editor of Competitor group.
Perceived exertion means it's your estimation of how hard you are working out and surprisingly, it's very accurate, he said.
"Your perception of your limit can change over time. So yeah, even your own perception isn't perfect. It's still better than heart rate monitor," Fitzgerald said.
Heart rates could falter depending on what kind of exercise you're doing.
The talk test can measure how intensely you're working out depending on whether you can talk in full sentences, short phrases or if you're barely able to muster a few words.
"It's best to learn to recognize your body's signals and get a better control of your effort," said Alex Hutchinson, author of "Which Comes First: Cardio or Weights."
7) Your weight is the end all, be all.
Newbies hit the gym, and then weigh themselves every day on the scale.
Week-after-week, they see nodownward trend on the scale and get impatient.
People starting saying, "I haven't lost any weight. This is pointless, I'm not accomplishing anything," said Hutchinson.
After a few months of increased exercise, they are healthier because they've reduced risk factors such as blood sugar levels. Even though a person may not be losing weight, his health has improved in ways that might not be measured.
"They're stuck in this paradigm that weight is the ultimate barometer for fitness. They don't realize the progress they've made and give up."
6) Low-intensity exercise burns more fat.
In general, low intensity exercise has its place -- it's less stressful on joints.
The myth is that if you exercise too intensely, you end up burning carbohydrates instead of fat.
It's the most dangerous type of myth because there's a kernel of truth in it, Hutchinson said.
The more intensely you exercise, the higher proportion of carbs you burn. You may burn less fat, but the total amount of calories burned is higher and that is the bigger picture.
When your body has burned up all the carbs, it starts burning fat.
"You can ignore zones and pay attention to how many calories you burn, which ultimately determines how much body fat you're going to lose," Fitzgerald said.
5) Chug a protein shake after workout.
"It's eating another meal," said Macdonald, a personal trainer who helped TV host Chelsea Handler get in shape.
Protein shakes, powders and bars are good for emergencies, but "they're the lowest quality food."
"You're better off eating real food," he said.
The products are more processed. The best way to get protein is through foods such as a turkey sandwich, Greek yogurt with nuts and fruit.
Martin Gibala, chairman of the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, agrees. "Protein sources in real food are Number 1. Cheaper and real food may provide other benefits, vitamins and minerals. And some of the components in food may act synergistically in ways we don't understand."
"When we isolate the compound we think works, it's not as good as the real foods."
4) You can spot reduce for tight abs or toned arms.
You may have crunched in vain.
You won't see muscle definition or a nice six-pack despite how many crunches you do, because of the layer of fat resting on top of your muscles.
"Don't focus on a body part. Try to get them all," said Burron, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. "You might have beautiful triceps -- it may not be flopping all over the place. Until the fat is gone, most people wouldn't know it's there."
3) As long as I go to the gym 30-45 minutes, that gives me a pass to do what I want for rest of the day.
The gym doesn't negate a bad diet.
Also, emerging research suggests that if you're sedentary most of the day, it may not matter how hard or often you exercise.
People who spend more time sitting during their leisure time have an increased risk of death, regardless of daily exercise.
Sitting for hours can shave years off life
In a study of more than 123,000 healthy people, the American Cancer Society found that women who spent more than six hours a day sitting were 40 percent more likely to die sooner than women who sat less. Men who sat more had 20 percent increased risk of death.
Essentially, those who sit less, live a longer life than those who don't.
2) No pain, no gain.
"The ongoing perception is that people need to feel pain through the entirety of their workout or they're not getting the benefit -- that one's very frustrating to me," said Burron, a personal trainer. "You shouldn't be exercising at a level of pain ever."
Feeling discomfort during a workout is OK.
"If it's so intense you're thinking of passing out, you can't continue this session for longer, then it's too difficult and you're at increased risk for injuries or burnout," Burron said.
"You want to exercise smarter, not harder," she added. "That's the premise. You don't have to kill yourself. You just have to be smart about it."
1) Stretching will help prevent injuries.
A growing number of studies challenge the entrenched assumption that stretching helps prevent injuries.
"The way we were taught to stretch, to try to touch your toes -- there's little evidence it prevents injuries," Hutchinson said.
A review published in 2007 of 10 randomized studies about stretching after or before physical activity found that "muscle stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness in young healthy adults."
Static stretching is when you stay in place, bend over to touch your toes, or try to pull your ankles towards your hips.
A study presented this year at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that such static stretching before a run neither prevents nor causes injury.
Then a study published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that static stretches that last longer than a minute could be detrimental to performance.
Athletes often swing their arms and warm up before a game. That type of dynamic stretching such as high knee jogs, walking lunges can help move your muscles through different ranges of motions.
This type of dynamic stretching is different from clutching your limbs, because it focuses on movement.
A study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found professional soccer players who practiced dynamic stretching had higher range of motion than when they practiced only static stretches.
While toe-touches and extra flexibility might be required in gymnastics or figure skating, it's irrelevant for more everyday activities like basketball or weightlifting.
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Replies
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another reason why i dont eat my exercise calories. even with an HRM, calories burned is an estimation! i'd rather be safe than sorry! great article! thanks!!0
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Yes about HR, but over 70% of total calories burned can be attributed to the info you put in your HRM and total it spits out draws from that info and is within 1-10% of being accurate. So no HR doesn't tell the whole story but combined with age, gender, height, weight, it tells over 70% and the rest is estimated. If you have a HRM that takes V02 Max and you know your V02 Max that increased the accuracy, and the amount that it would then account for is over 80% with the rest being estimated, and again is very accurate compared to any other estimation.0
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I read that this morning also and it made me rethink the HRM investment. The last time I went down this path, I did it with no tools. Just eating right and walking. So I can probably do it again that way.0
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I LOVE YOUR PICTURE TOO!!0
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I saw that article, too! Lots of good stuff. My favorites were:
3) As long as I go to the gym 30-45 minutes, that gives me a pass to do what I want for rest of the day.
4) You can spot reduce for tight abs or toned arms.
Personally, I've had really good luck using my HRM to track calories burned. I also use perceived exertion models, and I find my HRM is almost always in line with how I feel.
I eat about half my exercise calories back, and have been losing two pounds a week (even though I have MFP set to only a half a pound a week)0 -
another reason why i dont eat my exercise calories. even with an HRM, calories burned is an estimation! i'd rather be safe than sorry! great article! thanks!!
That isn't really a good excuse maybe just eat 95% of them instead of all 100%, see my other reply that breaks down how much of your calorie burn can be attributed to the info you enter into your HRM.0 -
I can uderstand how HRM are not perfect, but they are as close as most people can get.0
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another reason why i dont eat my exercise calories. even with an HRM, calories burned is an estimation! i'd rather be safe than sorry! great article! thanks!!
Same here. I don't eat my exercise calories, my dietician told me not to. And the contestants on the Biggest Loser don't either.
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Thanks for sharing!0
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thanks....0
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another reason why i dont eat my exercise calories. even with an HRM, calories burned is an estimation! i'd rather be safe than sorry! great article! thanks!!
Same here. I don't eat my exercise calories, my dietician told me not to. And the contestants on the Biggest Loser don't either.
Yes but on BL they are monitored daily by doctors.
Most likely your caloric deficit isn't that large if a dietitian told you not to eat them, or you didn't tell them how MFP works. Most nutritionist knowing you workout would give you 1600 or so calories to lose weight, whereas MFP gives you 1200-1300 and tells you to eat back you exercise calories. Now if you burn 400 calories 5 days/week and eat 1300 for the week you would eat 11,100, whereas if you ate 1600 everyday you would get 11,200 for the week, almost identical. the difference MFP allows you to lose your goal amount of weight whether you workout or not whereas the other program you must workout or your loss will be less than your weekly goal.0 -
Same here. I don't eat my exercise calories, my dietician told me not to. And the contestants on the Biggest Loser don't either.
yep. i get that some people do and its helped them, its working for them and thats great...but my doctor and multiple trainers that i have talked to both said it doesnt make sense to eat them back. it is kind of the same as not exercising at all as for me personally it takes a while to build muscle and tone (unlike some people who apparently build muscle very quickly) and i have shown them everything on this site and the information about why eating them back is a good idea and everything else and was told....
"EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT" *shock* lol
though i would agree that a HRM is a much better estimate than a machine or even the mfp database...i just wouldnt rely so heavily on them. again, my personal OPINION as i am not an expert...and what works for me, wont work for everyone!0 -
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.0
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Same here. I don't eat my exercise calories, my dietician told me not to. And the contestants on the Biggest Loser don't either.
yep. i get that some people do and its helped them, its working for them and thats great...but my doctor and multiple trainers that i have talked to both said it doesnt make sense to eat them back. it is kind of the same as not exercising at all as for me personally it takes a while to build muscle and tone (unlike some people who apparently build muscle very quickly) and i have shown them everything on this site and the information about why eating them back is a good idea and everything else and was told....
"EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT" *shock* lol
See my post above yours, your trainers and doctors would not put you on a 1200-1300 calorie diet if they know your workout. They probably don't know how MFP works and gives you a defciit to lose your goal amount of weight without exercise. Yes everyone is different but a 500 calorie deficit is a 500 calorie deficit and MFP uses the deficit method and the math works for everyone that does not have a metabolism issue i.e. hypothyroidism.0 -
I enjoyed the note about how the actual pounds on the scale don't indicate all of the benefits. I've been bummed here and there over my slug-like pound loss, but I have lost inches and have seen improvements in my strength and cardio endurance. And of course, the better eating is great.0
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Great info, thanks for sharing0
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It makes a ton of sense. I like this article. Thanks for sharing! :flowerforyou:0
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I think this is the 3rd time this has been posted today lol0
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@erickirb
Explaining to people why they should eat back their exercise calories is like slamming you head into a wall. I'd save your sanity and let them figure it out. They might get it when they hit a massive plateau and wonder why.0 -
See my post above yours, your trainers and doctors would not put you on a 1200-1300 calorie diet if they know your workout. They probably don't know how MFP works and gives you a defciit to lose your goal amount of weight without exercise. Yes everyone is different but a 500 calorie deficit is a 500 calorie deficit and MFP uses the deficit method and the math works for everyone that does not have a metabolism issue i.e. hypothyroidism.
i get what youre saying and i respect all of the info you share with us, because it is very insiteful. all im saying is that when i first started on here, i read the forums and the info sections and i ate my exercise calories. i am also regularly going to a doctor to monitor my progress. after about 6 weeks or not losing anything and gaining, my doctor advised me to stop eating them and stick to 1200-1300 daily. he checks for bmi and fat percentage and all that fun stuff and i literally pull up my MFP account and show him what i have and have not been doing. (which im not always proud of) and so yes, he does know how it works. and like i said...i tried it, it didnt work for me. doesnt mean it doesnt work for you or for NikkiTaber. if it works for you guys, GREAT!! thats very exciting. i will continue to do what works for me. if i hit a plateau (which i havent yet) then i will go from there.0
This discussion has been closed.
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