FITNESS MYTHS and EXCUSES YOU CAN'T STAND!!!

2) I actually heard this: "I can't squat because I have bad knees.... besides, it's not like i use that in my everyday life."

WHAAT?! No. You have bad knees BECAUSE you don't squat.

This is so wrong. There may be perhaps SOME cases this may be true but people, believe it or not, can actually have problems with their knees where it is astounding they can walk and someone just telling them 'it is BECAUSE you don't squat' is clearly not the answer.

Excuses 'I am trying my hardest but I keep messing up' ... then no, you aren't trying your hardest.

Knee injuries can certainly keep a person from some types of exercises. My husband injured his knee years ago, and while he can ride a bike 12+ hours a day (for work), he can't do lunges. It's not an excuse. It's reality.

As for "Not trying your hardest," no. You wouldn't tell a turtle he's not trying his hardest to fly because he's not succeeded yet, would you? There are some types of exercise I literally cannot do no matter how hard I try -- anything dance-related, for example. I just can't. I can do all kinds of other things -- and do, wholeheartedly -- but I can't do anything that requires rhythm because I'm a putz. *shrug* It's not because I'm not trying hard. But I won't keep trying to do something I can't do when there are other workouts that I CAN do and get a better workout doing them -- things I enjoy and that don't make me feel like a putz. I'm not a failure. I'm a realist.

Wow, this is the most judgemental posting zone I've seen here in a long time! Did this turn into MyFitnessTroll?

Perhaps it would be a little more helpful to those who are starting/struggling/not quite got their shxt together on the fitness bandwagon if people would share the myths and excuses THEY PERSONALLY relied on and HOW THEY OVERCAME THEM!

Complaining because someone else says they "don't have the time" only makes those of us who are currently struggling feel more on the outside --- like theres a river between us and I can't find the bridge.

I haven't always been obese. I spent the first 40 years of my struggling because I was Under-Weight. I wasn't a gym rat but I was athletic and heathy. I put on a few "happiness pounds" in my early forties and then surgical menopause trashed my body in 18 mos.

I am 60 pounds overweight despite eating at or slightly below my target calorie goal for months (I have not neither gained nor lost more than 5 pounds in the last 2 years). I am not a junk-food junkie --- most of my meals are homecooked from fresh ingredients. I choose to drink water at meals so that my calories are saved for nutrition. My major indulgence is a large diet soda with breakfast. I choose to eat healthy whether I'm at home or traveling for work. I'm not a big veggie eater but I try to hide veggies in my food as often as I can.

As for exercize......it's a two-edged sword......I would feel better if I exercized more AND I would exercize more if I could feel better.

I wake at 5:30am every morning to get ready for work --- 30 minute commute and at work at 7:00am. I put in a full day (unfortunately mostly at a desk), eating soup or healthy leftovers for lunch. I am out of the office between 4:00pm and 5:00pm and drive to the grocery store to plan dinner for my family. Dinner is usually on the table around 6:30pm and I sit with my family and we eat for about 45min. (I have teenagers.....they need the time). After dinner, I clear the table, clean up the cooking mess, and then it's off to bed.
I am so exhausted by normal activity that I go to bed by 8:00pm. There is no "watching tv, playing on the internet, or talking on the phone." Weekends are a repeat of the above except when I'm not at a school function or volunteer activity, I'm trying to clean my house. Carrying all this extra weight has made the normal activities of life miserable and overwhelming.

I have tried going to the gym at 5:30am (when the gym opens) ---- I feel like crap the rest of the day and my boss complains.
I have tried going to the gym at 5:30pm (right after work) --- we end up eating dinner out and my husband complains.
I don't have a "lunch hour" in which I can go workout --- I eat at my desk and they don't care if I complain.

Fourteen months ago I did the gym 5 days a week (including two zumba classes); an unexplained change in health status took that away from me ---- I can barely do 30 minutes of light walking on the treadmill now. I've been to the doctors who just say, "you're fine, you just need to eat less and move more". I don't want a diet pill. I don't want surgery. I don't expect a quick fix. What I'm trying to find is a way to get things moving in the right direction so that I can lose enough weight that I can work out alittle and lose more weight so I can work out a little more ad infinitum. This isn't a joke or a vanity thing for me --- I spent Halloween week in the hospital with angina and shortness of breath. They can't find anything wrong with me except that I weigh 200 f'ing pounds.

So I take the old tact that "It's not just what you're eating, it's what's eating you" and log into the message boards to see what experience, strength, and hope I can find to help me move forward just a baby step today.

And what do I find --- hostility and judgementalism. This is supposed to be a community where we pull together and pull for each other. Would it kill one person out there to talk about how they overcame their own excuses and barriers? That's what is really going to help other people.

Wow, this is the most judgemental posting zone I've seen here in a long time! Did this turn into MyFitnessTroll?

Perhaps it would be a little more helpful to those who are starting/struggling/not quite got their shxt together on the fitness bandwagon if people would share the myths and excuses THEY PERSONALLY relied on and HOW THEY OVERCAME THEM!

Complaining because someone else says they "don't have the time" only makes those of us who are currently struggling feel more on the outside --- like theres a river between us and I can't find the bridge.

I haven't always been obese. I spent the first 40 years of my struggling because I was Under-Weight. I wasn't a gym rat but I was athletic and heathy. I put on a few "happiness pounds" in my early forties and then surgical menopause trashed my body in 18 mos.

I am 60 pounds overweight despite eating at or slightly below my target calorie goal for months (I have not neither gained nor lost more than 5 pounds in the last 2 years). I am not a junk-food junkie --- most of my meals are homecooked from fresh ingredients. I choose to drink water at meals so that my calories are saved for nutrition. My major indulgence is a large diet soda with breakfast. I choose to eat healthy whether I'm at home or traveling for work. I'm not a big veggie eater but I try to hide veggies in my food as often as I can.

As for exercize......it's a two-edged sword......I would feel better if I exercized more AND I would exercize more if I could feel better.

I wake at 5:30am every morning to get ready for work --- 30 minute commute and at work at 7:00am. I put in a full day (unfortunately mostly at a desk), eating soup or healthy leftovers for lunch. I am out of the office between 4:00pm and 5:00pm and drive to the grocery store to plan dinner for my family. Dinner is usually on the table around 6:30pm and I sit with my family and we eat for about 45min. (I have teenagers.....they need the time). After dinner, I clear the table, clean up the cooking mess, and then it's off to bed.
I am so exhausted by normal activity that I go to bed by 8:00pm. There is no "watching tv, playing on the internet, or talking on the phone." Weekends are a repeat of the above except when I'm not at a school function or volunteer activity, I'm trying to clean my house. Carrying all this extra weight has made the normal activities of life miserable and overwhelming.

I have tried going to the gym at 5:30am (when the gym opens) ---- I feel like crap the rest of the day and my boss complains.
I have tried going to the gym at 5:30pm (right after work) --- we end up eating dinner out and my husband complains.
I don't have a "lunch hour" in which I can go workout --- I eat at my desk and they don't care if I complain.

Fourteen months ago I did the gym 5 days a week (including two zumba classes); an unexplained change in health status took that away from me ---- I can barely do 30 minutes of light walking on the treadmill now. I've been to the doctors who just say, "you're fine, you just need to eat less and move more". I don't want a diet pill. I don't want surgery. I don't expect a quick fix. What I'm trying to find is a way to get things moving in the right direction so that I can lose enough weight that I can work out alittle and lose more weight so I can work out a little more ad infinitum. This isn't a joke or a vanity thing for me --- I spent Halloween week in the hospital with angina and shortness of breath. They can't find anything wrong with me except that I weigh 200 f'ing pounds.

So I take the old tact that "It's not just what you're eating, it's what's eating you" and log into the message boards to see what experience, strength, and hope I can find to help me move forward just a baby step today.

And what do I find --- hostility and judgementalism. This is supposed to be a community where we pull together and pull for each other. Would it kill one person out there to talk about how they overcame their own excuses and barriers? That's what is really going to help other people.

Epic. I think you covered every excuse people have given in this thread. Hats off.

...
The only time I can think of to "suck it up and deal with the pain" is when I did a really hard workout and my muscles are sore. If I feel as though ANY of my joints are going to blow apart when doing an activity I typically err on the side of caution and stop.
...

When my muscles are sore from a hard workout .. I poke at them all day. I dunno. I like that pain.

You have to analyze your pain. Feel it, experience it .. I ask my boys (14 & 16 yrs aol, hockey and lacrosse players) "Are you hurt or are you injured?" If you're not injured, then suck it up and get out there for your next shift.

That's my point.

To say that anyone with an injury or who has excruciating pain when they do certain exercises should just "suck it up and work through it" is rather ridiculous IMO. That's just asking someone to hurt themselves further. My husband has what he calls a glass shoulder. It bothers him a LOT when he does certain shoulder exercises so he doesn't do those exercises that cause him to have sharp, shooting pains in his shoulder which brings him to his knees.

That is unfortunately, the point.

Chronic tendon pain (which is the vast majority of chronic knee or shoulder pain) is chronic because the body has stopped healing it.

Reinjuring it in a controlled manner to force inflammation (inflammation = healing) prompts the body to heal and strengthen the problem parts.

Study the research, the same stuff doctors study (if on the up and up with current research), single leg squats done on an angled surface is the best exercise there is for chronic knee pain. The point of the angled surface is to make it hurt more, to increase the load on problem tendons. You are supposed to work through pain.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/how-science-is-catching-up-with-chronic-front-of-knee-pain-39583

Thanks but if, god forbid I ever blow my knees out in some unforeseen accident I think I'll take my sports physician/physical therapist's advice and opinion first. flowerforyou:

The one where you eat just enough to fuel your normal bodily functions plus your workouts, usually above 1200 cals, ugh! so stupid!!

1) LIFTING WEIGHTS WILL MAKE WOMEN BULKY.... NOO!!!!!:explode:


2) I actually heard this: "I can't squat because I have bad knees.... besides, it's not like i use that in my everyday life."

WHAAT?! No. You have bad knees BECAUSE you don't squat.

And if you don't think you use it in everyday life, i'd like to know how you get on and off the toilet. :huh:


What are some of the "myths" and excuses you can't stand to hear????

Myths: Weight training will make women bulky
Excuses: I don't have time.
^Hate that excuse cause ain't nobody got time for dat!

Knee injuries can certainly keep a person from some types of exercises. My husband injured his knee years ago, and while he can ride a bike 12+ hours a day (for work), he can't do lunges. It's not an excuse. It's reality.

I too could not do lunges for a long time (heck I couldn't BW squat at first), lunges were the worst. It was the last of the basic movements I was able to do and also the part that unlocked the final piece of the puzzle for me (I fixed all the aspects of the squat first and could do them pain free much earlier)

You see, I didn't know how to lunge. I was only when I learned to flex the abs and tilt the hips back that it turned on my front posterior chain and engaged my rear flexor in a strong stretch....poof the pain disappeared.

Through the lunge movement I learned had/have lazy abs and tight flexors (epsecially on my right leg, which led to a sore left knee), which led to some lordosis, poor upper spine mobility, poor hip mobility, an inability to use my leg posterior chain, and KNEE PAIN. Stretching my flexors, mindfully keeping my posture tight and upright always, allowing my hips to move freely side to side so that my feet point forward when walking/running, and frequently doing basic glute activation exercises have been the last nail in the knee pain coffin for me.

2) I actually heard this: "I can't squat because I have bad knees.... besides, it's not like i use that in my everyday life."

WHAAT?! No. You have bad knees BECAUSE you don't squat.

uhm, as a 28 year old woman who is an ex-cross-country and track runner who can no longer run or do squats BECAUSE OF HER KNEES, i just wanted to say that you, my dear, are extremely ignorant.