5 BIGGEST FITNESS MYTHS DEBUNKED

We watch the Instagram models using and endorsing certain products..

Not realizing that what they're endorsing probably had nothing to do with getting them the results they have.

Many companies, spend BILLIONS (that's right, not million - BILLIONS!) trying to figure you out.

They want to use your insecurities about your body so that they can use it against you in order to convince you to buy into the foolery.

If you've been at the gym for a while I can almost guarantee you've seen 1 or all of these shenanigans. (Or perhaps you've fallen into one of these traps. & if you have it's okay! That's why I wrote this.)

Below are the 5 biggest fitness myths and why you need to avoid them:

1. You Can Target Fat Loss From a Specific Area

One of the most common questions I receive is about "how do I lose fat in my abdominal area?" "how do I lose back fat?" "How do I get rid of my stubborn love handles?" 

Many women yearn to lose fat from one part of their body (I feel you because I've been there.)

In the fitness world this is called "spot reduction."

Spot reduction is the fallacy that we can pick and choose where fat burns off of our bodies.

The theory behind spot reduction is that when you exercise a set of muscles (body part), fat is lost in that area.

For example, many women will do a lot of crunches or abdominal exercises to get rid of belly fat. 

You feel a burn in your midsection, so you assume that there's fat being burned off there.

This sounds like common sense, however, when your body burns fat stores, it doesn’t use the stores nearest the muscles being flexed. 

In other words, crunches don't make you lose fat around your stomach. Fat loss comes off like an entire sheet - not only in specific areas.

Science and exercise physiology has established that targeting specific areas of fat is impossible.

Unfortunately, the myth has persisted largely because of the efforts of advertisers who don't give a f*ck if you ever lose weight (If we're being completely honest.)

Scroll through your Instagram feed and I'm sure you're going to see a shit tone of people promoting exercises (and products) that claim to spot reduce fat — for example, waist trainers and wraps (which I'll get to below).

But, don’t believe the hype, babes!

The secret to seeing your abs, getting rid of back fat or your love handles isn’t a secret at all.

I've received questions about struggling with "rolls" when you sit down. I'm here to assure you that they are 100% normal. Even the most rippled athletes who sit down and hunch over will have rolls. How to get rid of them? Stand up.  :)

Now that we got that out of the way, the second way to help you develop your abdominal muscles is by working out using compound exercises.

If you’re strictly performing body isolating exercises (focused on your back, your sides or your abs) - you're making a huge mistake.

Don’t forget to include these moves in your workout program. Compound movements like dead lifts, squats, overhead presses and planks engage every inch of your core including your back.

The problem is that the answer isn't 1) Sexy and 2) Has nothing to do with a specific exercise or product. How you do this Is through proper nutrition

Seeing results comes from being lean and having a lower body fat percentage.

You do this by consuming fewer calories than what your body needs each day (aka creating a calorie deficit) will help remove the “gut” or “fupa” around your midsection.

You can’t out-crunch or sound bend a shitty diet.

2. Wearing Body Wraps Melt Fat

Essentially, here's how you use a body wraps: you wrap these magical wraps around your waist, transform your waistline and melts your fat.

They tell you that it gets rid of fat and cellulite but here's the REALITY:

You are not going to lose fat or change skin quality with this product.  You have not affected any of the fat cells in your body and you're not changing your body composition, whatsoever.

Although it's hard to believe (we've been brainwashed girl!) there is absolutely no correlation between sweating more and losing more fat.

You have not done anything to change your body fat ratio by putting on a body wrap.

Here's a good rule of thumb to remember: Just because you're sweating doesn't mean fat is coming off of your body.

Any change you see is temporary. Body wrapping is the real definition of smoke and mirrors. Why? Because again, you haven't actually done anything. 

3.  Using a Sweatsuit or Sweat Band will trim your waist

Sweating is your bodies way of cooling off and trying to regulate your body temp while you're working out. Therefore, blocking the sweat with a suit, body wrap or plastic isn't healthy.

Doing these things prevent your body from cooling itself off because you're trapping it within the fabric or latex.

This can also lead to overheating, which can result in heat stroke during or post workout.

Here's another thing to keep in mind: When you're sweating off the water, you're not sweating off fat.

Even if you might temporarily feel lighter, once you drink water again, you'll gain that water "weight" back.

Sweating more has nothing to do with losing more fat but we've been misled to think that sweating makes you lose weight which just isn't true. 

This is why people often rush to the Sauna after a workout.

But remember, the purpose of the Sauna's isn't for fat loss. The sauna helps release toxins from your skin and helps you relax.

4. Waist Trainers Make Your Waist Smaller

Waist trainers do the exact opposite of training your core. They make your core lazy because it's acting in place of your core.

In other words, they make your abs and lower back weaker because they're not able to function properly when a waist trainer is on. #FoodForThought

Wasit trainers are also sold to women as a way to help you appear to have an hourglass figure however, it's only temporary. 

The directions usually instruct you to wear it for a few hours. 

If you can hang, you’ll gradually increase the time you have it on — as long as you can tolerate.

The truth is it's a marketing scam that plays into many women's insecurities of wanting to have an "hourglass" figure.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work because although waist trainers give the illusion that using fabric or plastic around the area and sweating can trigger the fat loss in that specific area OR that doing targeted workouts (like crunches - which is #3 on this list) can reduce fat in that particular area.

We can't pick and choose where our body gains or loses fat because that has to do with our genetics.

Every woman's body gains fat in different areas at different speeds depending on their genetics.

 For example, some women are curvier than others, have less stomach fat than others, larger breasts than others - all of which are controlled by their genetics.

If you want to wear a waist trainer because you just had a baby, are feeling self-conscious about your weight, or are using “fajas” or “shapers” for a dress or event — do you boo!

The mistake is wearing them during your workout or wearing them long term in the hope that they work to change the shape of your body permanently.

One of the worst habits you can build is wearing a waist trainer during your workout.

Waist trainers restrict breathing and limit your range of motion which are two major keys if you want to start building muscle.

You need to be able to move in your body's full range of motion, exceptionally well.

Waist trainers aren't only ineffective but they can also screw up your organs by shifting them around to places they aren't supposed to be and cause internal infections.

Although as humans we are built to look for quick fixes, don't settle for these temporary tactics.

Want to lose weight and have an hourglass figure? If your answer is yes, understand that the only way to do that is with plastic surgery aka Lipo.

Why? Because you cannot change someone's genetics and/or bone structure. What you can do is enhance what you have with nutrition and weight training.

Women are supposed to have higher body fat than men because we are made to give birth to children, so your body will fight you like hell to hold onto it. 

Which is completely normal. To reduce this stubborn belly fat you need to focus on nutrition and training consistently.

What Liposuction does (in essence,) is take out the fat cells in your body. This seems like a great idea at first, except when you gain the weight back (which you will) and since you've just destroyed those fat cells your fat begins to be deposited in weird ass places (like your upper back, arms etc.)

I could write an entire 2,000-word blog post on why Liposuction is a bad idea - so I'll leave you with one final point as a fitness professional who's serious about her craft = It's okay to not have the "most popular" body shape at the moment.

Instead of wearing an external corset, we can work on making our internal corset stronger.

We have abdominals (the six-pack you've seen) but we also have a deep internal abdominal area called the transverse abdominus aka your "internal corset."

HERE’S WHAT THE EXPERTS HAD TO SAY:

• “Waist trainers won’t have any lasting effect on waist size, shape, or appearance,” says Caroline Apovian, M.D., professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and a spokesperson for The Obesity Society.

• “Once the corset comes off, your body will quickly return to its usual weight and shape,” says New York City nutritionistBrittany Kohn, R.D

• “There is no evidence to show that this change will remain permanent without wearing the garment.” — Dr. Nicole Florence, MD Board-certified bariatrician and co-medical director of Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center.

• “Being compressed makes it hard to breathe,” says Kohn. “And with so much pressure on your middle, it can lead to bruising and even organ damage.” — Brittany Kohn, R.D.

Fads change but you'll be with your body forever.

You only get one! So please,  love yourself enough to embrace your (perceived) flaws, and stick with your training program.

5. You need supplements

 When you look up the word supplement the definition states: A supplement is something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.

So basically, a supplement is not what actually gets you results , insteaf it's what can perhaps enhance what's already going on.

Let me use another one of Soheefit's analogies for to help you visualize it below:

A supplement is not what actually gets you results - it's what can perhaps enhance what's already going on. Let me use another one of Soheefit's analogies for to help you visualize it below:

The actual cupcake is the most substantial part and that's what your total number of daily Macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients are.

Next, the frosting is the specific timing and distribution of nutrient intake aka - when you're eating your food. The Sprinkles are your supplements that might help trainees get more results. Pay attention to the word might.

The other part of wanting to use supplements is that it's usually either coming from a place of desperation or you're looking for a quick fix (no shame - we've all been there!)

& let me just tell you that stress is a HUGE issue for you.

Stress eating is real and emotional eating can reverse your fat/weight loss efforts. & when sh*t hits the fan and your day is a hot mess, eating a salad doesn’t sound exciting. Sometimes we can hardly say no to cake when we’re on our period and if someone offers us pizza we’re going to go for it. ( I totally get it!)

But you are not a dog and should not reward yourself with food.

Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people to overeat.

Research has connected weight gain to stress. According to an American Psychological Association survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale.

Stress affects food preferences and many studies have shown that physical or emotional distress increases the intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both. High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible. Other research suggests that ghrelin, a “hunger hormone,” could also have a role.

Once you eat this high fat and sugar filled foods they seem to have a feedback effect that suppresses activity in the parts of the brain that produce and process stress and related emotions.

To help you gain control, ask yourself the most important question: are you really hungry? If you’re not, find other ways to de-stress like exercising, reading, writing, a phone call with your bestie, etc. 

If it is hunger and you just need some comfort food - cool YOU'RE A HUMAN it's completely normal. Having your favorite comfort meals from time to time can help take the edge off. Just don't do it every single day!

The best supplement that has ever existed on the planet is consistency. - @getfitwithmassi

Did you learn anything new from this post? If so, please let me know in the comment box below. I'd love to hear from you!

<3 Your virtual fitness Coach - Masiel Encarnación