Dispelling the Myths
By Nathan Solia

Let’s face it; we are in the information era where we are bombarded with all sorts of “new” and “great” consumer products, diets and information that will change “our life as we know it”.  The health and fitness industry is definitely one field that gets fed quite a remarkable high amount of fiction’

1. Bathroom scales are the best indicator
Using bathroom scales can be the most deflating self-esteem tools. If you are exercising, you will not lose weight on the scales straight away as this is the safe way to slim. Remember, between ¼ lb to 1lb per week is very normal.  Muscle also weighs more than fat so a pound of muscle is smaller than a pound of fat so everything feels and looks smaller but your weight may not have changed on the scales at all. Use your clothes as a yard stick rather than the bathroom scales

2. Weight training will bulk me up like Arnie
The big difference between men and women is testosterone. Testosterone is the hormone that allows men to build muscle a lot easier than women. Even though men tend to gain muscle through weight training, it will take many months, even years of hard core bodybuilding to get close to resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger.

3. Eating’s cheating
The truth is if you do starve yourself and then finally start to eat again you will gain fat. Here’s how it works: when we do not eat, our body goes into starvation mode and the metabolism slows down to retain the amount of body fat it already has.  The body may also start to break down muscle as a fuel source. When you finally eat, the chances are you will gorge.  Now imagine your body is a fuel tank and because you haven’t eaten anything, your fuel tank has shrunk and you have put more food (fuel) into the body than is necessary - this is called overeating.

4. I only need to do cardio
It is necessary to keep your heart rate up to burn fat through cardio but you can also improve the effectiveness through incorporating resistance training.  When you perform cardio you may also burn muscle as well as burning fat. By adding resistance training into your workout you will maintain the muscle mass you have which allows you to more burn body fat easier.

5. I’ve always been this size so I will always stay this size
This statement is a double edged sword.  On the one hand people who are slim may feel comfortable being the size they are but eventually and at some point we all have to endure the middle aged spread in some shape or form.  If we do not use our body, bones become weak and muscles begin to shrink therefore we do not need too many calories to maintain our metabolism but due to our habitual eating habits we tend to eat the same amount of food so all the excess calories are then, of course, are stored as body fat.

The other side of the sword is when we are already overweight.  Can we lose this? The answer is YES.  It is difficult, but it has been proven over and over again that with proper nutrition AND exercise you can achieve the ability to lose the fat.

6. Abdominal crunches will burn the fat around the waist.
Due to all the fancy gimmicks around that promote “Getting a six pack if you buy this machine” it is not hard to keep believing it.  Unfortunately, you cannot spot reduce.  This means you cannot target one area and that area will tone up.  What crunches will do is strengthen the muscles underneath the layer of fat!

7. No pain, No gain.
It doesn’t have to hurt to work. If you are lacing up your trainers for the first time, start with 30 minutes and build yourself up to an hour over four to 12 weeks.  Aim for results over a longer period of time that way your body does not suffer and you continue to reach small achievable goals.

8. You can convert fat to muscle
Fat is fat and muscle is muscle.  So to decrease stored body fat you must either decrease the amount of food you are eating or increase the amount of exercise you are doing. 

9. Snacking between meals is bad
Most nutritional advice out there today actually says you should be snacking on something every 3 - 4 hours to keep the metabolism up and reduce the risk of the body switching to “starvation mode”. 

By no means are these the only lies surrounding getting fit but if we continue to ask: why, what, when, who, where, how? We can make sure that the information we do receive is fact, not fiction.

Nathan Solia is a professional personal trainer and director of Bootcamp, the first outdoor exercise program that has 15 locations across Hong Kong. Visit www.bootcamp.com.hk