Regardless of whether you’re a fitness junkie or someone that prefer to be the couch potato, we all fall prey to certain exercise myths at one point or another, don’t we? Stop history from repeating, let go of these 5 myths, to be better, faster and more powerful.
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Myth 1: Always Stretch Before Your Workout
This is one myth that has been etched in our minds since young. However, the crucial thing is to perform the right type of stretches before working out.
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Static stretching [1] and dynamic stretching [2] are 2 main types of stretches. It is ideal to perform dynamic stretches (e.g. straight leg swings) prior workout. This type of stretching prepares the muscles to work and raises their core temperature, thus making it perfect to get you ready. While static stretches lower the elasticity of muscles, making it poor for preparing a big bout of activity. In fact, studies found that they can cause injury and at worst inhibit performance.
[1] Holding stretches while the body is at rest
[2] Stretching while the body is in motion
Myth 2: Soreness after Exercise Is Caused by the Build-up of Lactic Acid in Muscles
Ever experience any DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) --the soreness you get a day after working out? The building up of lactic acid in muscles is often believed to be the culprit of DOMS, as during intense exercise our muscles produce energy for contraction anaerobically, which leads to the production of lactic acid. However, any lactic acid that is formed during exercise is cleared shortly after the workout stops, long before soreness begins.
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In actual fact, DOMS happens due to microscopic tears in the muscle, which results in inflammation and soreness. Though it sounds awful, but the muscle damage is an important step in making our muscles stronger.
Myth 3: Sweating a Ton Means You Burn More Calories
We hate to burst your bubbles, but NO, sweating a bucket doesn’t equate to torching more calories! Sweat is produced to cool the body down, hence it is, in fact, an indicator of how hot the body is. Surprisingly, the fitter a person is, the less sweat they produce. This is so, as the body becomes more conditioned, thus requiring exercises of higher intensities to raise the body temperature and produce sweat.
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Myth 4: No Pain, No Gain
While some degree of soreness after working out is expected, it’s definitely very different from experiencing pain while you’re working out. You shouldn’t feel any pain while you’re exercising, and if you do, then either you’re doing it wrong, or you already have a torn ligament (ouch!). If it hurts, stop and rest!
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Myth 5: You Can Spot Reduce Fats in Certain Areas of Your Body
If you’re living with the perception that you can exercise the fats away from your waist (or whatever region you fancy), sorry, but spot reduction is anatomically IMPOSSIBLE!
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Fat cells are distributed throughout the body, and it makes up the layer between the skin and muscles. Even though fat is used as fuel during exercise, but the body doesn’t care where the fats come from. Additionally, our muscles do not use fuel from just the fat immediately around them. Sadly, but truthfully it’s our genes that determine where on the body we will lose fat first.
FACT: Calories Burn During Trampoline Actually Equates to Running
We did not concoct the above statement out of anything! The researchers at American Council on Exercise, and the University of Wisconson-La Crosse, actually found that men and women expended an average of 11, and 8.3 calories per minutes while jumping on the trampoline. And yes, the calories expended actually equates to running (at 6 miles per hour).
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You will be surprised to know that this isn’t the first time scientists have studied the effectiveness of trampoline workouts. In the 1970s, NASA found that for a similar degree of heart rate and oxygen consumption, the magnitude of biomechanical stimuli is greater with jumping on a trampoline (10 minutes) than 30 minutes of running.
Credit: Katapult
We don’t know about you, but this trampoline jumping does sound like a fun activity, especially for our team who don’t enjoy traditional cardio workouts. We’re so going for some trampoline therapy at Katapult!
